“I love it when I can finally distance myself from work and start to wonder about it as a stranger.”
Name
Lucia-Charlotte Ott
Profession
Artist
Website
Where are you from?
I grew up in Augsburg and then lived in Budapest and Munich, right now I am based in Augsburg and Leipzig.
Your style in 3 words?
fragile, layered, fragmentary
Your weakness? Your strength?
I care, and I care.
What makes you different?
I am a good observer.
When did you decide to become an artist?
I grew up with artist parents who had certain qualities I can understand and value now, but being a school kid this way of life didn’t seem desirable to me. In my case, it was often feeling insecure and unstable. I was jealous of all kinds of normal family living I could observe. For a while, I wanted to be a horsewoman, and then become a kindergarten teacher. Finally, I wanted to study photography but didn’t get accepted back then. So I studied communication design, being half motivated for that and continuing photographing mainly for myself. I escaped this somehow unsatisfying situation by studying photography as an Erasmus student in Budapest from 2018-2019. I met a couple of interesting people from Hungary and other countries and we formed a temporarily active collective, organizing a series of exhibitions together. Through that, I started to feel I could be an artist. I felt comfortable and inspired among these people. This time has put me on fire in terms of art.
Do you choose your art form, or does the form choose you?
I try to choose it as a starting point but through the process it chooses me.
What do you find most fascinating about the creative process?
The fact that imagined things take shape. I am getting pretty nervous shortly before the realization, but the greater is the release when it is physical and open to the public. I love it when I can finally distance myself from work and start to wonder about it as a stranger.
A few words about your favorite creation?
I don’t have a favorite creation, but I like to see how works and topics evolve from year to year and grow into or from each other.
2023: Where are we going?
I can’t predict that.
What surprised you most about your first art shows?
How quickly the joy is over.
Someone else’s work that inspired or inspires you…
Heidi Bucher, Joan Jonas, Patricia L. Boyd, Richard Frater, Tony Cokes.
Who would you like to work with someday and why?
With everyone whom it makes sense to work with at a certain time. Soon I want to work together with my curator friend Anna Tüdős from Budapest because she has an understanding of art that I appreciate and am impressed by.
A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on?
I want to work with a specific FLINTA* choir I am in contact with. They are singing in the streets as a form of protest, but also practicing and developing their texts in a more protected space. I think a lot about the problems and chances of protest culture in general and feel like collective singing is a special way of speaking up. There is an evocative moment in this. Also, I am pretty interested in going through the process of directing a short film, but concerning this, I am still waiting for the right time and the urgency of a film topic to haunt me.
Finish the sentence „More important than my career is…“
…taking time to cook and share food, drinking sparkling things with friends, and being close to water.
Do you think about time as an artist?
The concept of time seems often abstract to me. For working artistically I want to stay sensitive to the things around me and I am in a way attached to my moods, so according to that, my perception of passing time varies. It seems that the easy, laissez-faire times pass quicker, but they stay in a way as a taste that can feed me through the less optimistic or tenaciously passing ones.
When the going gets tough…
I just move around in any possible way: I go for long walks, cycle around a lake, or take the train to another city. If that doesn’t help and if I can, I try to leave the country, most likely to Italy or Hungary by train having a sketchbook with me.
Put on your future vision glasses: What direction is our generation moving in, what will our world look like in 50 years?
I see and value the tendency of our generation to talk quite openly about feelings, sexuality, personal needs, and things such as trauma. But imagining the world in 50 years seems impossible to me. I honestly can’t imagine that. But if I can make wishes I see no more abuse of power, I see dignified and safe living conditions and democratic rights for all humans.
What would you do if you could change the World?
Take people who abuse power out of their positions.
What does freedom mean when it comes to art?
For me, it means remaining as independent as possible and being aware of active dependencies. But also being able to freely change my interests and ways of thinking and working. As well as the freedom to react and reflect on current issues in a way that is not necessarily based on common knowledge systems.
If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?
A crazy soup
Tell us about your future plans…
I want to do residencies and collaborations abroad and at some point I see myself moving either to Vienna or Berlin and going around a lot with the metro, which is a place I am always fascinated by in everyday life.
Beyond that, I am open to surprises.
Your city’s favorite spots?
in Leipzig: Grünauer Welle for watery fun and relaxation, Skala Bar for a drink and losing hours without noticing, Tobagi for delicious Korean food, Störmthaler See for a day off. And: the train to other places
A book that everyone should read…
The Force of non-violence by Judith Butler
Last but not least: what is your favorite Song?
All good things (come to an end) by Nelly Furtado
One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“
stone and art
Your #…?
#luczsia
