Sedition x Alex McLeod Interview, Watch the interview

In December, as the final release of the year, we launched a stunning new collection Back and Forth by Alex McLeod. Coinciding with his new launch, we asked Alex McLeod a series of questions about the concepts and the recurring themes in his practice, the concept behind the series Back and Forth and his thoughts about the future of digital art. The new collection is made up of four artworks; Circulate, Teal Fabric, Floral Room and Fool's Gold that continue Mcleod's work and his exploration of the idea of interconnected matter. Watch the video to learn more about McLeod's latest collection.

Fool's Gold & Bones II, Alex McLeod

Sedition: Floral forms or pinetum, woody settings are common in some your works, such as Drawforest or Rotating Flower on Sedition. Could you tell us some of the recurring themes in your work?

Alex McLeod: I have a lot of recurring themes in my work. I started working primarily in landscape and building virtual worlds, virtual forests of once that I grew up in whether it was in real world, woods or whether it was imitated through video games like map builders, RBGs engaging in forests , I did as in many ways as I could. It's the same with flowers. I tend to regard in since I was a kid, as an artist you make work with what you know and those things were really close to me and I feel like they’re part of who I am. And illustrating this tale of interconnected matter, life and death and cycles, I felt like perfect authentic mix of who I am and what I identify with and the ideas that I want to communicate through my art practice.

Rotating Flower (Pink), Alex Mcleod

Sedition: Could you explain the concept and the inspiration behind the recently launched Back and Forth, the new collection on Sedition? 

The new pieces on Sedition continue my work and my exploration of the idea of interconnected matter and revealing the technologic tools that are used to create the work as well as masking it too, in this illusionary space, these things could exist in real life. But now as I've been doing this for some time, I’ve started to feel more comfortable revealing some of the digitalness more, before I felt like “ oh it's a bad thing, I have to hide it". But now it’s like a painting it's like a specific texture you see in a Rembrandt painting- like you need it. It’s important to have it there.

Floral Room, From Back and Forth, Alex McLeod

Simulating materials or landscapes that also exist in the real life is one of your central point in your practice. You usually explore the potential lives of certain forms and materials in the digital world. While creating your works, how do you balance reality and fiction in your work? Are you particularly interested in constructing fictional narratives?

Alex McLeod: I'm interested in creating narratives, or allowing the viewer to create narratives. Whether it’s fictional or non-fictional, mythological, imagined, or spiritual, I basically just wanted to take viewer on a journey somewhere, like open a portal into a world that they never knew and that they might want to visit. It’s kind of a mystery, creating a mystery for the viewer to explore and to think about their place in this world a little differently, reminding them that they’re part of it whether it’s macro or micro or the space in between.