#88: Sage Stutchbury
We're joined by second year fine art student, Sage Stutchbury, who tells us more about Zanele Muholi, the surrealism of Hieronymus Bosch, queer poet Richard Siken's book 'Crush', and much more!
Sage Stutchbury is a second year fine art student at Michaelis, UCT. They like to make different types of art, from realism, to abstract, to digital. Some of their art can be seen as chaotic, some of it simple. They do not like to define themselves in a singular style. Many people prefer Sage’s realism, and for the most part that is what funds them, but their wider passion is Sage’s conceptual work, the work that is somewhat stylised. They enjoy videography, graphic drawings combining watercolour and fineliner, and at the moment digital image edits have been peaking their interest.
We welcome Sage to The FRM Newsletter to share what they’ve been into recently!
🎨💄 Art
The current style I am playing with is a digital collage style, with many glitchy and overlapping effects. I like creating organised chaos that appeals to the eye. My inspirations in art range widely. I like the surrealism and strangeness of Hieronymus Bosch, while the conceptual nature of Stacy Greene appeals to me more when coming up with ideas. A lot of my work begins with instinct, almost automatic art that links to 20th century Surrealist values of exposing the strange nature of the mind.
A few of my works are inspired by poems, mainly ones that I write. I like to take elements from each poem and throw them together into something that excites me visually. In terms of which literature I am inspired by, I would have to say mainly Richard Siken, a queer poet whose book “Crush” I really resonate with. I utilise similar techniques to Siken when writing my own poems, sometimes leaning into automatic writing, another product of Surrealism. When I do publish my poetry, I like to make a poetry cover that for me, encompasses the spirit of the poem.
This year I am majoring in photography. When it comes to the types of pictures I take, I focus on hidden moments that are often ignored. I feel that those are often more important than first expected. I have done some nature photography, portrait, photography, and concept photography, all of which can be found on my website, sagestutchburyart.com. I have always admired Zanele Muholi, and hope to be able to photograph such a raw expression of the self.
🪕 Music
My music taste varies as much as my art. From classic “dad songs”, to dance music, to alternative, to indie–I love them all. What I listen to really depends on what mood I’m in at the time. When I work on my art, I like to do so with music. It keeps me focused, helps me enjoy the process, and also inspires me. Visual art and music are both forms of creation, and love to use one to inspire the other.
🤖🎬 Film
I have recently been getting more interested in strange, disjointed animations that blur the lines between fantasy and reality, such as Love Death and Robots. A few of my favourite episodes include The Very Pulse of the Machine, The Witness, and Zima Blue. I am currently experimenting with mixed media analogue animation, and want to combine that and videography into my career.