Reader of the Week: Anna Christina Trotter
artist from Charleroi, Belgium
By Britt Julious
Published: January 29th, 2008 | 12:00am
Web site: christytrotter.com
How long have you been an artist?
I've been an artist since birth. My dad was in the U.S. Navy, and that lifestyle had a huge influence on me. We moved a lot, always living near water. I'd lived on both U.S. coasts as well as in Athens, Greece, Brussels, Belgium, and had crossed the U.S. in the back seat of a car five times before even hitting high school. I've hung out at the Acropolis, stood in the home of the Minotaur, touched the stones of Stonehenge, and felt the evil of the Coliseum. I speak fluent French and conversational Spanish. Thanks to my dad's Navy career and adventurous ways, I packed more living into my first 14 years than some people do in a lifetime.
What are your inspirations in your work?
Travel and water have been key inspirations. Travel because it allows me to experience juxtaposition, and water because it soothes me.
What messages are you trying to address in your work?
At the moment, I'm working on identity issues — my own. I had a meltdown at the end of 17 years in New York and got out before it killed me. I've been putting the pieces back together ever since. I found a reference to the term "insani kamil" while reading about the mystic Persian poet Rumi. It means "complete person," and I've been using that as a guiding thought as I go about my work.
Are you working on any other projects?
I also run the Visible Trash Society as my superhero alter-ego Little Shiva. I get really sick of overconsumption, overproduction, and waste in general. Dunno what we can do about it without changing the system completely, but in the meantime, there are a lot of free art supplies floating around.
Issue #26
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