We were lucky to catch up with Leanne Wiggers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Leanne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents have always been a big advocate for the arts and creativity in general. At home we valued culture in the broadest sense. Visiting museums,, traveling, listening to all kinds of music, watching movies and readingmany books. It was always very diverse and a very educational environment which created this curiosity and openness to all kinds of different interests, cultures, just anything outside of my little bubble. It helped shape my eagerness to learn from others, from different perspectives. I think this is a very important aspect to have as an observer, which I think as an artist you are. Observing the world and expressing your experience of it through art. I think my parents have helped a lot with this development. They also helped me think outside of boxes and think ambitiously which, through their encouragement and focus on finding a passion to pursue, really pushed me further than expected. Their support has been the best kind of push towards my happiness, including the ups and downs They have helped me through tough times when I really felt like the Art Industry was too much and too difficult, and have always been proud of any show or artwork that they see. I honestly don’t tell them enough how incredibly happy I am with them not giving up on me and even admiring my courage to pursue an artist career which isn’t easy. It really is one of the reasons I push through the hard times to keep going towards my goals as an artist. Together with my sister they cancel out my bad thoughts and make me work harder towards my happiness.

Leanne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Dutch Visual Artist based in London. I came here to study photography at the University of Westminster because I wanted to learn about both the practical and theoretical aspects of photography together with the analogue processes which are still very relevant in my practice today. I completed my master of Art in Contemporary Photography and Philosophies at the University of Arts in 2021. I work through means of photography, sculpture and installations to produce artworks that create new spaces of experiences. Within my art practice I search through experimentation and repetition for connections between the Inside and Outside Space, looking at how we as humans interact and perceive the natural world and vice versa. I mostly use natural materials and mix traditional and modern techniques to create my artworks, creating a diverse portfolio. Through all this I question elements of Living and Being, exploring the sense of Human and Non-Human.

Currently within my research I am focusing a lot on the ecology of light and how it is the principle of life and photography combined, looking at it in different ways such as how dependent we are to light and how the basis of perception is light. I recently showcased some of the works made from this research at my first solo show at the CICA Museum in Gimpo, South Korea and will hopefully have another opportunity to showcase the works again.

I experiment a lot with mixing traditional and modern ways of photography, printing most of my work by hand in the darkroom with different techniques, such as cyanotype, photo emulsion printing, from digital to analogue printing and sustainable darkroom practices. I also teach some of these techniques in the Hulkes Lane Darkroom as part of a bigger course about Site-Specific Practices, giving workshops that focus on understanding and using the landscape sustainable and ethically. I also gave a lecture on this,which I was very proud of as it is a big part of my practice and I would like to share this further.

An overview of Leanne’s artworks is showcased on her website: https://www.leannewiggers.com/.
She is also represented by Artiq agency, where some of her works are available to rent or buy.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is touching the hearts of others through your artworks. aking viewers see a different side of a subject or even somethingthat wouldjust never have popped into their minds. I find that my own experience with looking at or perceiving art has also been that it makes me think differently. It makes me look at things in a different way and that is such a powerful and important thing, as I believe that we are always in a state of learning and never fully educated. Art is the best way to learn from others, to try and understand the world and think further. It creates a space to become innovative and help others as well as a voice of action that can change things within society for the better, through inclusion of unheard voices, through subjects that need attention as they have been ignored. It is a way to comment on society together, to create a conversation that helps us understand each other better, and create a better world.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I want to believe that there is no such thing as non-creatives, as everyone can be creative in their own way. It’s essentially playing and a lot of the time it gets lost after we become adults. I think creatives haven’t lost their willingness to play. To play with ideas, to play with materials and to test things out, experiment. I think maybe non-creatives might not understand that desire to keep playing around. Thereby I think a lot of creatives have this urge to express ideas or feelings that can’t be easily said out loud, and their only way of expressing it is through art. It’s a way of thinking and a way of communicating, which can’t be turned off as it is a part of your sense of self.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.leannewiggers.com
• Instagram: @llwiggers
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leanne-wiggers-170520152/

Image Credits

The Personal Photo and the working portrait in the darkroom are taken by photographer James K Barnett.
The work in progress photo of the pavement floor with leaves with my hand on the right corner is taken by photographer Beier Xie.
All other photos are taken by me, Leanne Wiggers.