Zoe Alameda clashes digital aesthetics against tactile material to examine the duality of tangible and intangible worlds, emphasizing the impact technology has on identity and relationships.
Her work evokes a sense of overstimulation through assemblage techniques, effectively challenging traditional notions of representation and iconography.
Alameda uses unconventional presentations and hidden elements, inviting viewers to engage with her pieces from different perspectives and discover new meanings.
Through painting, sculpture, tattoo, and clothing design, Alameda highlights the anxiety and ambiguity associated with the current state of existence.
Alameda: When did you start curating?
Impermanent: Three years ago, but technically when I was in 8th grade I was curating on Tumblr. I feel like I got pushed away from it because nobody surrounding me was interested in art. My surrounding influences were white suburban families trying to get their kids into Ivy League schools.
Alameda: I had a similar experience in the sense that where I grew up I was one of the only artists. People kind of praised me for that in a weird way. I was put on a pedestal, but I felt entirely disconnected from people.
Impermanent: Where did you grow up?
Alameda: About 30 minutes away from LA which was also a similar suburban situation. There wasn’t an art scene where I grew up. In LA it's a lot nicer to be surrounded by people who not only support what you do, but are also interested in the same sort of things. In the past I had a lot of anxiety about being comfortable with what I was doing because I didn't know that many people with shared interests as me.
Impermanent: Yeah, it seems like you have a great community surrounding you now.
Alameda: Yeah, I do. I’ve met some great people online. Many who’ve become close friends to this day. I think meeting people online is like the best way to make friends. People usually hate connecting through the screen and then meeting. I get kind of scared meeting people naturally.
Impermanent: I guess there's definitely a negative narrative surrounding meeting people online. But it's actually a great thing.
Alameda: It still feels kind of toxic, though. Your expectations can get weirdly high because you are just obsessed with the game of finding cool people on your phone.
Impermanent: Scrolling past accounts is like a process of elimination with human beings.
Alameda: Exactly. Seeing you have a whole world of people to look at and then slowly you're like, “no, no, no, no.”
Impermanent You can really curate your life now. It's fucking weird.
Alameda: it's also very city centric. In the suburbs no one's living near you- you just take what you get.
Impermanent: And I feel like this connects to your work a lot- you draw a lot of references to the nature of the internet and the culture of how people interact with technology, and each other. Can you elaborate on that?
Alameda: Yeah, definitely. I like how you didn't directly just say like memes or facets of the internet, but more so seeing it as a broad culture. That is definitely something that I try to tap into and see as a part of my own identity. Everyone has their physical life, but humans also have a digital life that is this intangible way to navigate through the world. Once you enter the internet, it is a whole new way of seeing other people, but also seeing yourself. I think it's something that we all talk about or joke about, but the nature of the internet hasn’t really been solidified. There's like so much anxiety in that, but you just can't put a finger on it.
Impermanent: Is anyone ever going to be able to put their finger on it? Or at this point is the internet and other technology just ever-expanding and unable to fully understand?
Alameda: My generation is the first to grow up partly online — the internet has become an extension of ourselves, so I like to think we understand it the most. I think right now it's a big question mark, but I don't think it will always be as more and more iPad babies come along.
Impermanent: I'm thinking more in the context of AI and how it is its own like organism.
Alameda: I low key follow the ignorance is bliss mindset when it comes to that. I am trying to just shut out most of the really scary shit when it comes to the internet. It's always going to be difficult to live in that fake happy place, but that's why my work isn't the most positive, happy thing.
Impermanent: So you look at the internet pretty optimistically… but your work doesn't reflect that.
Alameda: I’m constantly flipping and flopping between both sides, so it's really hard to be certain. That's kind of how my process goes too. A lot of the time I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I'll have a vague idea with the imagery that I'm picking and then I'll decode it afterwards. Some artists build a framework, or series, to build under. I'd rather just subconsciously build the whole thing and then say, “wait… this means this, and this means this.” My anxiety rides between the line between calculation and impulsion. I don't know what I'm making until it's done. Like, If I include Drake in one of my pieces it doesn't really mean anything to me. That choice just relates to disconnectedness and allows my viewers to create their own interpretation of my work.
Impermanent: So there’s no real reason that you’re using Drake in your work?
Alameda: Because he's Champagne Papi. He's a band aid.
Impermanent: Drake is a band aid?
Alameda: He’s a Human Band Aid. Write that down.
Impermanent: Definitely quoting you on that. So you are not just a painter and sculptor, but also a tattoo artist and clothing designer. Your stuff is very cryptic, but I see parallels throughout your body of work. How do all of your media connect to each other?
Alameda: I can get pretty ADD and so I don't really like working at one thing consistently. I feel the most emotionally attached to my paintings and my sculptural work, but sometimes that gets so depressing. It's nice to be able to have a lighter hand when it comes to tattoos and clothing because it's more aesthetic. It gives me an outlet for illustrations and a faster paced mode of working. Using different channels keeps me balanced.
Impermanent: Do you have aspirations in the fashion industry?
Alameda: I think seeing myself as a fashion designer is kind of strange for me. I don't know if it's because I'm trying to reject labels or any of that bullshit. I think that being a fashion designer sounds limiting for me because I create a lot of work outside of fashion. And I'm very attached to art objects and non functioning pieces.
Impermanent: There’s a weird divide between something that has function versus something that doesn’t.
Alameda: Yeah, and stringing function to capitalism and thinking that things need to be productive is also just a very strenuous thought. I can't deny that it is kind of the thing that I get the most attention for. Socially I'm able to get myself out there as an artist when it comes to vending, or like putting on runway shows.
Impermanent: It's also a blessing, though, that you have a commodity that you can give to people to express themselves socially. It still connects people to your overall just artistic practice. How does your tattoo work come in?
Alameda: Tattooing is something I recently picked up. I’ve been learning more about tattoo culture which also helps me think about my practice as an artist. It’s interesting leaning into less representational things and just doing scribbles or something else unorthodox. I've found so many tattoo artists who will use it as a performance art or even turn bodies into canvases. I think that planning something meaningful in advance and going to a random shop is very closed minded. I think your body is a sacred space, but people should think of tattoos as art- you are an art collector putting pieces on your body.
Impermanent: Very good points. Tell me more about the performance aspect of tattooing.
Alameda: Someone will be riding his bike and tattooing someone at the same time or something (@rixardtattoo). Or attach a tattoo machine attached to a Roomba and have it poke someone's ankles.
Impermanent: Wow, that’s fucking crazy. I am very disconnected from tattoo culture but I follow a few tattoo artists. I think it’s sick when people layer tattoos on top of each other.
Alameda: Yeah, that’s called a blast. When you aren’t covering up a piece but you're intertwining someone's work with another.
Impermanent: What kind of motifs or themes come across in your tattoos?
Alameda: I have a big affinity for fingers. In my paintings I'll include hands a lot. I guess they come across as toes in my tattoos. I like the playful nature of weird creatures that I tattoo. It’s just been really fun to have a form of release that isn't so serious or boxed in. And now I like being able to use pictures of my tattoos for my paintings. The different mediums cross paths all the time.
Impermanent: And you've been doing a lot of sculptural work recently, right?
Alameda: Yeah, I really found a love of found objects. Sculpture has been a great way to be even more tactile with the work I'm making. That whole aspect is super important to me because the work I'm making is about inextricable feelings, anxiety, and like I said earlier, shit that you can't really put a finger on. So being able to put my finger on a physical object helps me process these emotions. I kind of stopped painting for a while too because it felt such a slow process versus sculpting, which is a lot faster.
Impermanent: I really love how your work has progressed in that way. It really resonates with me. I appreciate the qualities of paint but there’s something about alternative materials that feels more real than representative.
Alameda: It’s interesting because my work isn’t permanent either- I use assemblage to stack and collage. My sculptures are just 3d collages. Using building blocks to form pieces in different ways is really fun compared to something that is just static and only has one way to be viewed. Re-installing each work and each iteration is a process in itself. Like, I think of setting up my room as its own art installation. I also get so sentimental with my paintings and drawings and I'm such a hoarder in general. So it's nice to be able to have temporary objects that can form new creations and then turn into something else.
Impermanent: Is being sentimental or nostalgic detrimental to your work at times?
Alameda: Very much so. I think it's difficult for artists to not make paintings, though, because of the way that we are trying to support ourselves. It’s hard to sell a modular item. Clothing sells, but I get nervous about being misrepresented, pigeonholed, or boxed into one certain thing.
Impermanent: I feel like a lot of artists are worried about misrepresentation- especially on social media.
Alameda: Definitely. I also have so much friction with that.
Impermanent: What do you think of TikTok?
Alameda: I love TikTok. I love being a TikTok consumer which is not a popular opinion. It's my happy place because I can shut off my brain and just look at cat videos and be inspired by anything I guess. I think if I tried to dabble into posting on TikTok, which I sort of have been questioning lately, that's where it would get annoying and unhealthy for myself. I think there's still a lot of play that can happen on the internet. It doesn't all have to be so critical and marketed, even though Tiktok is a critical and marketed place.
Impermanent: Can artists find success without using their phones?
Alameda: I just went to this residency last year and a lot of the artists that I was working with don't really post about their work. Yet they are still getting connections with galleries, getting recognition for their work, etc. The internet is such an expansive place, but it's also a place where you can really trap yourself in a bubble. That push and pull is something I think about a lot.
Impermanent: Will you tell me more about your residency experience?
Alameda: I studied at the Yale Norfolk School of Art. Norfolk is a super small town in Connecticut, and honestly, it's the most beautiful place that I've ever been. That's also considering that I haven't been anywhere other than like LA my whole life. I was there for six weeks and basically just lived and breathed art every single day, which is the most rewarding and perfect place to be as a creator. I was going through a lot of deep shit last year, and that experience was very life changing. It really just helped me to be in nature and be around other creative people and realize my practice in a new light. The experience helped me focus on myself rather than the collective. Previously I felt like my work was too universal- now it's more about me.
Impermanent: Your work is presented in very unique ways. How are those types of decisions made?
Alameda: I think lately I've been really interested in like double sided paintings and sort of attempting to make the work sculptural. It automatically activates the person to physically walk around the piece. If I want my work to function as an object then I want the back to be seen. I think that's really fun for me- putting Easter eggs in my work and separating expectations. It feels nice to not have something that's so traditional. I try to make flat works come forward and expand upon itself. Framing devices are also part of the work itself. A frame can stand as a sort of portal or doorway. Pulling discarded or single-use material is something that I'm really drawn to because I'm connecting it with imagery or feelings. I feel like I'm recycling something and picking up on old identities and blending it with the new.
Impermanent: How have you been feeling in the studio lately?
Alameda: It's been a while since I've been able to “let loose.” As a result, I've been making work that is very rigid- I'm trying to make the viewer feel confined. With my work I want people to be unsure whether they have escaped themself or are trapped within themselves. I very much try to align how I’m feeling with how my work functions. I think I understand my work more now than I did two years ago. That, to me, is an indicator that I'm growing with my work and uncovering more parts about myself. I really like that aspect of art making- it is inherently a form of expression that allows me to do shit that I wouldn't be able to say in a conversation. I’m allowing intangible emotions to be expressed.
Impermanent: What kind of work have you been focused on most lately?
Alameda: I’ve been creating smaller works that are faster for me, and I want to continue making those. A small sculpture can take two days but a painting takes two months.
Impermanent: So the overstimulation comes through visually in your work. But in terms of the process it also is stimulating to complete something, right?
Alameda: Oh my God, we haven't even talked about overstimulation, which is so interesting because it used to be the number one thing that my work was about- chaos and abundant imagery. I’m definitely trying to be more specific with what I'm trying to say.
Impermanent: There’s definitely a wave of artists who are completely focused on overstimulation. Personally, I think that overstimulation is more of a tool used to convey other messages.
Alameda: It’s almost the same concept as when I have conversations with my therapist… It’s better to describe things physically. I feel like that’s what every artist suffers from- being able to describe emotion. Every artist is crazy and has problems and that's why we make work.
Impermanent: Your work is a device to sort through those problems?
Alameda: Definitely. It's a visual train of thought. I wish people were more familiar with what contemporary art actually is. I think that would open up people's perspectives.