Interview: Alexander Ikhide
By Lia J. Latty
Published November 15, 2022
Did you always know you wanted to be a creative and a photographer?
ALEXANDER: Not really. I think it was more so when I started secondary school, which is high school over in the States. With all the subjects that a student normally gets involved with, like math, science, english, and all the other subjects, Art was the one subject that really stood out for me. It was something I enjoyed doing. I felt it was not having to have so much pressure on what you make. That was what I remember really drew me to being into art more when I was younger. I never had the intention of being an artist, but from those early years on when I was about 14-15, I got really engaged and interested in art. I did my A Levels (in Art), which is after high school here. Then I went on to university and I did my Bachelor’s in Applied Arts. Now, eight years later after graduating from my Bachelor’s degree, I got my MA, which has been a whole journey. It’s unbelievable when I think about it and look back.
What inspirations influence your work?
ALEXANDER: I can’t really pinpoint one because I do so many different things as my practice is multidisciplinary. I’m constantly looking at so many different artists at any given time or one artwork or whatever. I think it always changes and usually, depending on my ideas at the moment, I’m thinking of something photographically and taking photos or I’m thinking of a painting, which I’m doing now. Collage work as well. Usually my ideas are always spread between these different mediums, and I work through how to execute these ideas or explore these ideas of things I haven’t considered recently or stuff I’ve done way back. This is why I go to loads of exhibitions as well and just get a scope of a range of work that I think I like. At the end of the day, what I think resonates with me when I see something is when I think, “Oh, that’s like an interesting idea”, or that’s something I think is similar to my work in a way.
What is your process like when you’re working with the people you photograph?
ALEXANDER: I’m not really a studio photographer, that’s the thing. A lot of my earlier portrait work has been documenting spaces where I’ve encountered my subjects, whether indoor or outdoor. I always ask if I’m allowed to take a photo of them first. You’re not entitled to someone’s image at the end of the day and if they say no, they say no. That’s that. The last thing I think I remember documenting was a vogue ball a friend of mine put on last year, documentation of this Black queer space and that kind of energy and connection that’s happening in that space. When I think about it, I go through a documentary, studio and sometimes editorial approach to capturing my subjects. These modes are kind of my way of thinking about photography in that sense.
Impulses, 2022
How do you navigate the world of contemporary photography?
ALEXANDER:I’m not really that involved. I’m not a photographer photographer. I think there’s a difference between a photographer that’s an artist as opposed to an artist that’s a photographer, I fall into the latter category. When I describe myself, actually, I think about it in terms of how I use photography compared to other photographers. I know other photographers shooting editorials and covers for magazines etc but I’m not really involved in that world like that. I don’t build a portfolio and send it to editors or any of those things. My ideas are still very much rooted in art. It’s all rooted in that kind of world/canon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still informed about what goes on in contemporary photography, but I’m not so much invested in all of that at the moment.
How do you define your relationship with photography?
ALEXANDER: It’s always been about the image. The basis of all my ideas is rooted in collage. How I find these images I come across that I work with, the thing that’s always intrigued me is the power of images. I think when it comes to photography, within the context of artists I’ve looked at and drawn from in terms of how they use images, there’s so many things you can do with photographic images. That’s what interests me the most more than anything. Artists like Lorna Simpson are a huge influence in terms of how she’s made collages and her photographic conceptual work. I think that really resonates with me. When I think of photography, I’m probably never satisfied with just taking a photo. It’s like I’ve tried it before, my ideas almost touch on some of that, but usually I think about what I can use the image for. That’s how my ideas work. I might see an image of something and I’m usually thinking, how can I use this image to form a composition? When I create a collage work, the image is in juxtaposition with another image, and there’s these associations you have going on on a subconscious level and how we’re always thinking in images, at least I am. That’s how I process things. The images are always in the forefront of my mind. Usually when I create these collages or when I make these paintings I’m making now, how I’m using images, how I see them, they’re almost like flashes, if that makes sense. They’re almost like glimpses into the internal self. They’re conscious because it’s always fleeting. One moment it’s here, then it’s gone.
Narcissus, 2021
“As an artist, there’s a constant search you have that drives your work that you will probably never overcome, but you just keep pushing and pushing. It’s never a static process.”
You have a long history of creating collage work within your art practice. Do you think your photographic work has a connection to your recent collage work? What is your view of the relationship between photography and collage?
ALEXANDER: I think it goes back to the same answer I just had now. I’ve taken self portraits and then made a piece using the pictures of myself. I’ve thought about that and how I can use my own image to create something else, that’s also been a part of my thinking process to some of my ideas. But I tend to separate these things in my head. Collage is collage, which doesn’t really involve images of me. Then, the photography side of things is the photography side of things. When I’m taking self portraits, I’m performing in front of the camera. I separate both, unless I have an idea where both of them are linked. Collage for me exists in its own dimension. There’s so many things that can be collage. When I think about it in terms of composition or materials, and how different materials can be used on a surface. In terms of photography I think my ideas are grounded in that sense where I want to create a work that’s still very me, but then it’s also playing with your perception of things.
What do you hope people take away from your imagery?
ALEXANDER: Something very honest, because I try to create from an honest place. When I look at the span of the past 10 years of making work, it’s never been the same. Hopefully when people look at the work I’m making now or the work I made 10 years ago, they see a process of evolution and of constant enquiry. I think that’s always been the case for me. I’ve never been satisfied with just one way of working. As an artist, there’s a constant search you have that drives your work that you will probably never overcome, but you just keep pushing and pushing. It’s never a static process. I’m constantly pushing myself in terms of my ideas. I never want to be pigeonholed or boxed in. That’s one thing I’ve always tried to push back against, especially being a Black artist. I think there’s this idea that you have to make a certain type of work, where you feel like your ideas only go so far and you have to always talk about these identity issues in your work. I feel there’s still so much more to explore and to push your ideas beyond all of that. I would hope that when people look at my work, they get a sense of transcending beyond limited barriers.