Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kendra Sollars. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Kendra, thanks for joining us today. Before we get to anything can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I am an artist based in Tempe, Arizona currently focusing on digital video projection. My work investigates our human connection with the natural world and other humans, the importance of our role in maintaining the environment’s balance, and themes of loss, isolation, and hope.
I have loved to create and build since I was a child, but did not really consider the possibility of becoming an artist until college. I was involved in all sorts of creative endeavors as a kid, from drawing and pottery classes, to competitive Artistic Swimming, to creating “movies” with my friends as a kid, to being involved in a worldwide creativity/theater/improv competition called Odyssey of the Mind. As it came time to choose a major in college and the stress of deciding “the rest of my life” was looming, I went with my gut in choosing what I had enjoyed the most which were my art courses. As the years progressed, I found myself really enjoying video art and the digital/tech side of art. I was really intrigued and excited by the fact that video and digital technology could be art and started to find my footing there. Since I was a varsity Synchronized Swimmer at the time as well, I was able to combine both of those passions throughout undergrad as well. After college, I went on to perform in Cirque du Soleil’s “O” for a time, and then returned to Arizona and eventually found my way back to visual art.
My first big artistic endeavor after returning to Arizona was a collaborative project with artist Lauren Strohacker called ‘Animal Land’ (2013-current). In this large-scale video projection series, we project native animal species into urban spaces to digitally “reintroduce” them into areas they once inhabited before being pushed out due to human activity. The ghostly, slow moving imagery often sparks memories of real wildlife encounters, which are increasingly becoming more rare. In this piece, we are responding to nature on the verge of collapse due to the politicization and exploitation of land and wildlife management, and investigating a future where genuine interactions between humans and non-human animals may not exist.
A number of years later, I returned to my love for water and underwater videography, and began work on series called ‘Groundwater’ (2017). In this self portrait video projection piece, I explore our vital connection with water, it’s strength and ability to control us physically, as well as our ability to destroy this resource through destruction of natural ecosystems. I am responding to the importance of maintaining this finite resource. In another piece entitled ‘Synthesis’ (2019), I also film myself underwater and digitally manipulate the imagery to reimagine the human form as native Arizona plant species as they blossom and grow, highlighting the importance of coexisting with our natural environment.
In 2020 as COVID began to change the world and many of us became isolated, I began a piece entitled ‘Dark Days, Bright Skies: Isolation and Quarantine’. Beginning March 27th, 2020 when it was announced that the US had hit 100,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, I filmed a 10 second glimpse of the sky from my window each day. While physically we were separated and the future was uncertain, the sky represented a connection to each other; the same backdrop we all exist under. As each metaphorically dark day elapsed in stark contrast to the physically bright skies, this was my way to stay connected and hopeful. The piece serves as a solemn memory of the devastating toll this pandemic has taken on human lives, but also represents the hope on the horizon that the vaccine brought us and the slow transition we made and continue to make into post-pandemic life.
Lately, I’ve begun working on a smaller scale with a series of digital terrariums I create entitled ‘Terrarium Memoria’ (2022). In this series, I film native trees and plants as they bend and move in the wind, and project them inside wooden and glass terrariums that I create. The digital terrariums represent the possibility of a future where we may no longer experience these plants in our lives, and only have the digital memory of them. As our climate continues to change due to human activity, some plant species may not have the ability to adapt quickly enough, potentially leading to the loss of these important parts of our ecosystem.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, what do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Consistent themes throughout my work are the environment, the importance in maintaining its delicate balance, and our vital connection to it and to each other. With the threat of climate change and human activity being the largest contributor, an underlying goal of my work is for people (including myself) to connect with the environment in new ways and hopefully to inspire people to care about it. In addition to those goals, I create as a form of self discovery and growth. Each time I work on a new piece of art, I learn a new skill or discover something new about myself, and/or about the world. In my opinion, art is an incredible way to learn both as a viewer and as a creator.
Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?
For me as an artist, my background as a competitive Artistic Swimmer (formerly called Synchronized Swimming) has a huge influence on my work. But while pursuing my undergrad art degree and competing for one of the top Artistic Swimming teams in the country at the same time, some of my professors and fellow students considered it a distraction from art and thought that an athlete could not possibly also be an artist. Thankfully, I did have some incredibly supportive professors and my teammates were always ready and willing to help with various projects I was working on during undergrad, particularly with my underwater videography and photography. To this day, underwater videography is part of my process, and rhythm and movement is an integral part of my work that I would not otherwise have in my skill set if it were not for my 15+ years as an elite athlete. I truly believe that you can have multiple passions in life, and each of those passions can inform ideas and processes for the others. I believe there is no one way to be an artist or to create, and your path can be uniquely your own.
These days in addition to art, I also foster homeless dogs who are medically and/or behaviorally needy, volunteer for neighborhood endeavors, help coordinate community events, and I consider myself a Maker with a passion for home renovation/construction projects and a variety of crafts. My art would not be what it is today and I would not be who I am today without my athletic background and my other passions in life.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I think I am still working to unlearn the idea that perfection is the goal. Artistic Swimming is a sport where perfection is the goal and having spent so many years of my life striving for that, it’s tough to unlearn. Since retiring from competing in the sport, I’ve discovered more and more that especially in something like visual art, perfection can really stifle the creative process. This is not to say that striving for a specific goal or striving for a quality end product is not important. But in the creative process, mistakes are necessary and can often lead to inspiration or take you in a direction you never expected. Allowing myself to explore new ideas without always having the expectation of a ‘perfect’ end product has been very freeing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kendrasollars.com
- Instagram: @kendrasollars
Image Credits
Kendra Sollars, Peter Fuhrman