In conversation with Ines Fernandez de Cordova

Ines Fernandez de Cordova is a London-based Bolivian artist, who combines sculpture, photography and printmaking in her beautiful, surreal work from our Abstract Etching Collection. We spoke with artist Ines about her practice, inspiration and influences. 

1. How would you describe your art in one sentence?

I would probably say I create still lives from which to draw narratives, tying memories, imaginary landscapes and bizarre moments together through sculpture, photography, painting and print.

2. What inspires and influences you?

I think collecting things, anything from objects to photographs or postcards have always been a big source of inspiration for me. Visiting my grandmother's place in Slovenia, who was a real hoarder, was always an exciting house to be in as there was always so many oddities you could find lying around. I really didn’t have to look too far to find something which in some way had some connection to the work I was working on, whether it was a visual or emotional relationship, it always seemed to make sense to pick it up and bring back to the studio with me.

3. Are there any recurring themes in your work that are vital to your practice?

I think working in a series is something I always go back to in my work. I tend to make groups of prints which are part of a series of 8 or 6. It makes sense to me when I’m developing work to create various prints which are part of a bigger group in the end. I don’t think they have to necessarily exist together after they are made, but in the process of making I get a lot through recycling my sculptures for different works and see how far I can push them. I think this creates a bit of a narrative when you see how the work bounces off each other.

Ines Fernandez de Cordova, printing in her studio 

4. Can you describe your studio setup and your approach to creating?

I start by making plaster objects with different moulds I usually collect or find. Once these are set I use them to create different scenes and still lives from which to take photographs of in my studio. Once I have the photos ready, I translate them into screen prints or photopolymer etchings depending on the image and what kind of technique suits it best. I am lucky enough to work as a printer for two different print studios. I’m a screen printer for Jealous Print studio and I edition Anita Klein’s etchings and linocuts in her private studio. Both places allow me to use the facilities for my own practice which is incredibly helpful if you’re mainly a printmaker. Once I edition the prints, I bring them back to my studio for hand finishing such as painting or drawing.

5. What has been your proudest achievement to date?

In terms of works I’ve made I believe it might be ‘Orbita’, which is a screen print I displayed at my solo show Hold onto this Echo at Blue Shop Cottage. It is my largest personal print so far, measuring 84.5 x 111cm and I was so pleased to have achieved so much detail throughout the entire print. All the nuances in tone and texture printed just right which was exciting and a huge relief at the same time.

6. What are you currently working on?

At the moment I am still working on a series of photopolymer prints based on hands which I started in 2020. I made various plaster objects with the intention of being held, having dents, creases and different textures depending on how one would carry these, exploring how these feel on our hands. The prints have a dream like feel which hopefully provides an ambiguous interpretation of these unknown objects.

7. What is next for you and how can people follow what you are up to?

I am very pleased to say my print Ofrenda 2, part of the Hands series, has been selected to be a part of the Royal Academy Summer Show 21 which begins end of September.

RA Summer Show 21, Ines Fernandez de Cordova, Ofrenda 2

8. Which living artists do you most admire?

This tends to change as my interests shift but at the moment I really enjoy Mamma Andersson’s paintings. I find it very absorbing and inspiring the way she uses old found photography and ephemera in her work. There is a subtle combination of vague memories and dream like scenes in various locations, which resonates with what I try and convey in my own practice.

9. If you could get a studio tour from any artist throughout history, who would it be?

There is countless artist studios I would be dying to visit. But one of them would be Richard Serra’s studio or foundry. His work is so incredibly monumental, I am so curious to see how it all comes about, beginning to end and how much of an ordeal it is to move, bend and construct with these colossal sheets of metal.

10. What work of art, from either a public or private collection, would you love to have in your life?

This question is terribly hard to answer, but I have always loved the work of the American painter Richard Diebenkorn. It would probably be one of the paintings from his Ocean Park series. Ocean Park #79 is an old time favourite of mine. His abstraction of real landscapes has always been something I’m drawn to and I think his composition always seems to be so carelessly flawless. I really do admire his use of colour and I believe there is a real peacefulness to his paintings, which I would love to have the freedom to revisit whenever I would like.

Ines Fernandez de Cordova, Untitled, 2020

Ines Fernandez de Cordova has included Untitled in the Abstract Etching Collection. View the artwork here.