“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Name: Iluá Hauck da Silva
Age: 34
City: London
Places traveled & places lived: Brazil, where I was born. Estonia, Finland, Austria, Italy, Romania, Iceland, Mauritius, Turkey, Sweden, France, Slovenia, Hong Kong, Montenegro, Denmark, Czech-Republic, USA, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Norway and Hungary.
Art/artists: Camille Claudel, Cathy de Monchaux, Paul Delvaux, Rachel Kneebone, René Lalique, and HR Giger.
Books: Tristan and Isolde, Perfume, Daphnes and Chloé, and Brazilian indigenous tales.
Authors/philosophers: Oscar Wilde, Michel Foucault, Clarice Lispector, Manuel Bandeira, Nietzsche.
Music: Shostakovich, Debussy, Bossa Nova, Das Ich, and Inti Illimani.
Style: I like timeless pieces, preferably tailor-made ones, and have been wearing some of my grandmother’s clothes for the last 18 years.
Technology: My gramophone, my kiln, all technology related to the arts of fire (glass, metal and ceramics), high definition paper printing, digital art, and textiles.
Politics: I am suspicious to talk about politics because inevitably I support my father, who is deputy mayor of Itatiba, Brazil. A member of the Green Party, and a doctor of medicine, he has worked extensively to improve the municipal health system, and the cultural department. His latest project is to get as many people in town as possible to plant trees everywhere. I hope for more politicians like him for our marvelous planet!
Education:
Goldsmiths College, University of London – BA (Hons), Art History
Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado – BA (Hons), Fine Arts.
Creative works:
www.iluahauckdasilva.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Iluá-Hauck-da-Silva/165561800161656
What would one find in the pages of your Paperblanks journal?
Thoughts, ideas for new pieces and bodies of work, texts about my own work, the occasional drawing, and everything I am grateful for.
Do you have any personal philosophies you’ve come to develop about writing, art, creation or culture?
I would be naive to think I have a fully-formed philosophy. It is a constantly developing process. I follow my love, passion and obsession for my work and ideas – though, actually, I am not sure whether I freely follow them, or if they have enslaved me… Regardless, they keep me alive, busy, and at work! I am always thinking about my work, always tuned with what is happening around me, and how it can be translated into visual language.
Do you have any specific themes that you continually refer back to in your work?
Each body of work deals with a central theme. This means that for the next few years the same themes will appear in different pieces, but once all the bodies of work are complete, their own individual narratives will become apparent. Material and spiritual desires, the masculine and the feminine, our monetary and trading systems, and Greek and Catholic mythologies are the themes I am, and will be working with for a while. After that, who knows what will make my creativity ache and itch!
No matter what type of creative art you make, what or who first inspired you to make it an essential part of your life?
I grew up surrounded by art: prints of paintings by Van Gogh, Monet and Cezanne on the walls, Murano and Czech glass objects, tribal artifacts, books, music, ballet, antiques and, of course, nature. Then followed years of painting classes, piano lessons, art history classes; visits to museums, antique fairs, concerts and theater. I feel immensely lucky to have been given all of this and to have the sensibility to engage with it. Therefore, being an artist is not simply something which anything or anyone has inspired me to do. I feel that if I was not one, I would be extremely ungrateful towards everything I have been exposed to.
How did you find Paperblanks?
In 2007 I found a 2008 Dayplanner that looked like an antique book at Waterstone’s in Piccadilly, London. I thought it was beautiful – so exquisitely designed – and have been buying Paperblanks ever since. Each year I make sure to get a dayplanner and at least one Paperblanks journal to fill.
Do you have a favourite Paperblanks design?
I love them all and can never make my mind up, which is why it takes me at least half an hour to choose one!
Do you have any advice for other creative people?
To study art history, learn different techniques, explore new media and stick to their guns…
