2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. At The CAMP, we kicked the year off by starting from scratch, adding new and wildly talented artists to our darling roster (i.e., making loads of new friends), partnering with FAMA for a 40-artist exhibition, leaving our Little River home and setting up shop in North Miami, and even the launch of a brand-new virtual gallery with the help of Emperia, UK.
Which made us curious—how has the unruly intensity of the new decade impacted those we work closest with?
In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.
Alice Zilberberg. Bear With It, 2019. Photography on Canson Infinity Rag Photographique. Multiple editions.
Award-winning artist Alice Zilberberg utilizes photography and meticulous digital painting to create a parallel intimacy through her series, Meditations, wherein photographs of zoo animals are superimposed on digitally rendered landscapes brimming with a tranquility that comes through organically despite their careful composition. Zilberberg’s images are meant to have a meditative effect on the audience in the same way they have functioned as her own self-therapy. She plays with an aesthetic blend of minimalism and metaphor uniquely her own for weeks and even months before a piece is finished.
For more about Alice Zilberberg's creative process and her thoughts on pandemic's influence on her approach, you can check out her November IGTV interview with CAMP Creative Chloe Fabien.
2020 has been a difficult and often tumultuous year - how has it affected you and your artwork?
As always, I’ve tried to focus on doing what I can, and not worry about things that are out of my control. I’ve been focusing on making new work with the resources that I have available to me, either from previous shooting trips or with what I can shoot here in Ontario.
Have you noticed any changes in your work?
I’ve continued to employ my philosophy of keeping calm in times of stress. I always use my artwork to aid with this and express myself.
Have you noticed any changes in how people react and or engage with your work now that they can see it mainly online?
I’ve definitely seen a spike in interactions with the work online. I’ve enjoyed seeing that the work is getting to more people this way. I hope to see the engagement stay up even when things open back up to how they used to be.
What has been the best thing that has happened this year?
I’m grateful for many things, and even though I’ve exhibited my work in many places in the world, I was very happy to see the work shown in Israel, a place I always hold close in my heart. Meditations was part of the yearly photography festival there in November – PHOTO IS:RAEL.
Alice Zilberberg. Laid-Back Lemur, 2020. Photography-based digital painting. Multiple editions.
Has anything surprised you this year?
I was happy to hear about the positive affects of the medical issue on the environment.
Is there anything (exhibition, event, travel, etc.) that you had to forego this year that ended up working out beautifully?
I’ve had many travel plans get postponed due to the medical issue. However, this has forced me to explore the nature and locations in Ontario that I have never even visited in the 20 years I’ve lived here.
In the same vein, is there anything that quarantine/isolation has inspired you to start doing or practicing?
Taking more nature or city walks.
How does your process differ now that we’re all spending less time out “in the world” and more time with ourselves?
I actually always spend a lot of time with myself. I need to do so for my work.
How do you see this moment in time affecting the bigger industry in the long-term?
I’ve love to see the people who have gotten more comfortable engaging with artwork online, keep comfortable with it even if things go back to how they were.
Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions?
Every December I write a list of things that I am grateful for that happened that year. I also write a very specific list of goals for the next year in the categories of health, work, and travel. I try to look at this list weekly to stay focused throughout the year.
Alice Zilberberg. Reflecting Ram, 2019. Photography on Canson Infinity Rag Photographique. Multiple editions.