4 stars

Nike Savvas’ first major UK exhibition in ten years displays her fantastic focus on colour, creating artwork that is both eye-catching and intricate. The eight geometric sculptures that inhabit the space are made from wood and coloured string, creating a three-dimensional moiré effect from the overlapping colours and meticulous repetition of pattern. The pieces range in size, shape and colour, but all are fascinating to look at.

However, it is Savvas’ installation, Liberty and Anarchy that is most impressive. The piece consists of walls of colour formed from hundreds of brightly coloured strips of plastic ribbon. Each ribbon stands alone with a small gap in between the next in order to see through the gaps to the other walls of colour. In order to properly view the piece, small groups are guided through the zigzagging walls of colour, and the colours merge together to create dazzling, and seemingly solid, walls around the viewer.

 The effect created is different for everyone, and the piece draws a mix of reactions from each individual. It is both weird and wonderful, marvellous while also somewhat overwhelming. The colours can have a dizzying effect on its viewers but it is also completely mesmerising. The movement of these walls is quite rhythmic, reminiscent of sound waves, and viewing art in such a way that you are directly inside the piece itself is an experience worth having.

I caught up with Nike herself for some exclusive insight into the exhibition.

What got you into the art world, and did it take long for you to find this ‘style’ of your own which is so distinct?

Artmaking has been a part of me since I was 14 years old. I see it as part of who I am. I would be someone quite different without it. It’s who I am and what I do. There is a purity here, an existing truth, before it reaches the Art World that you speak of. Then it sadly becomes many other things.

Your use of colour is so bold and vibrant – what inspired it and why do you use those specific colours?

The way I use colour in different series of works varies. With the installation Liberty and Anarchy I was limited to the colours that were available in the plastic ribbon that I used. I then identified certain colour pairings that maximized optical effects. I needed the work to moire, and colour theory played a major part in realizing this. With the Sliding Ladder series I tried unfamiliar colour combinations to create a sense of curiosity. I avoid making my colour choices too polite and familiar. I try to problematize them by creating discords that work well together.

Some of your work uses black instead of the usual bright colours – What was the purpose of such an extreme contrast?

The use of black and white is to create a strong contrast and to give a simple and solid grounding to some of the works. This is sometimes used in contrast to the high coloration of other works. In this sense, the black and white provides a space or break from the assault of colour. This in turn amplifies the colour making it more vivid and luminous. Pictorially, this generates visual spikes in the experience of the work, where the eye is excited over and over again through peaks and troughs in the colour landscape. Black also has a very different emotional impact and weight and plays off the other luminous and ethereal colours in the show. It’s about creating a new experience for the audience and for myself. Nothing safe, just new. The black and white paintings were based on the black structure, so this is how they came to be this colour.

The use of these colours can sometimes be quite overwhelming to look at – Is this intended, and if so, then why?

Sometimes I want the colours to overwhelm, other times they do something different. Sometimes I want them to merely sing. I make the choices as I go along using feeling and experience. I tend to feel my colour choices informed of course by years of studying colour theory. You make a decision in relation to what you have just done….and then it goes on…

Do you look for a particular reaction from viewers of your work? If so, what?

I use a number of devices that, on the whole, allow for multiple modes of engagement. It’s important for me that viewers engage with my work on their own terms. In this way it acts to validate and acknowledge their reality, experience and humanity.

What sort of reactions have you had from people and how has this effected your work/view of your work?

It’s quite interesting that the initial response is often one of wonderment… however in the immersive experience there is also a sense of engulfment and occasional loss of control. So there is a more sinister underbelly to my work. Liberty and Anarchy on the surface seems fun but stay with it a few seconds more and the moire spins you out of control. Can be sublime, poetic, beautiful but also very scary and overwhelming. Some people only make it down the first corridor and need to turn back. Stop and look through the eighteen screens of ribbon and you are in a world that you have never seen before…time and space collapses. Then you become aware of the limitless creation of color combinations and viewpoints…every turn there is another painting..thousands of possible paintings….thousands of bands of colour…..limitlessness can be frightening…constantly shifting ground…

That sums up the experience of the exhibition perfectly. What’s the significance of your use of repetitive shapes and patterns?

Repetition is used in different ways for different works..for instance clearly if you are trying to create a moire effect you need repetition for a visual system. While this is artwork, the production of these pieces must involve an incredibly detailed amount of mathematics to put together the structures – Is the inclusion of this important to you, or is it simply a matter of doing what is needed to create your work? I’ve created more than 14 series of work -not all of them use math.

Liberty and Anarchy is showing at Leeds Art Gallery until February 23. 

All images: Jonty Wilde

words: Alice Rafter