NAMES by Siskin Brace - Music, Pictures, Stories..

1. Please tell us about the work you will be showing in the 2012 E17 Art Trail

We are putting together an online exhibition of songs and paintings to be released during the E17 Art Trail 2012. Our project is called NAMES by Siskin Brace. Each song, and its corresponding painting, bears the name of a different fictional character. Their various narrative strands combine elements from folk tale and legend with Sci-Fi, post-apocalyptic and fantasy fiction. All the songs are written, performed and recorded by Siskin Brace (Tom Bloor and Leeroy Lugg) with contributions from some guest musicians, and all the paintings are by Joanna Bloor. Website design is by Leeroy, who is Creative Director of local web designers Suspire Media.

2, Is this your first time in the Trail or are you an E17 Art Trail veteran?
This is our first time taking part in the Trail.

3. What are the challenges of getting everything ready for your Art Trail event?
The challenge is to make sure all elements of the project are ready by the various deadlines.

4. Do you remember the first artist that really influenced you? Does that artist’s influence still have an impact on your work?

Between the three of us, some influences detectable here and there could range from Eels to Marc Chagall, or from dub reggae to Georges Rouault via Tom Waits.

5. The E17 Art trail has become bigger every year. Do you think it is because more artists are calling it home?

The E17 Art Trail attracts a fantastic range of artists. Slightly more affordable housing/studio space than in other parts of London may have brought more artists to the area. Though formally something of a cultural desert, we hope the E17 Art Trail is paving the way for an ever more exciting and vibrant Walthamstow.

6. What has E17 bestowed on you?
We all live in E17 and have done so for many years. It has bestowed upon us all some appreciation of what home might mean.