Interview // Charles Simmonds

Born in 1989 London, Charles Simmonds is a multidisciplinary artist specialising in painting, drawing, photography & writing. Now based in Berlin the artist channels all aspects of what interests him & what pulls at his soul strings into his work.

From ancient philosophy, science, history, astronomy, deep space, the human form, inner & outer interactions, to emotional everything's, flowing poetic prose & humorous observations on the outer & inner worlds.

A solitary insanity in the awareness of all things being obscurely painful & beautiful is at the centre of the artists work.





Where are you originally from?

London.


Where are you based and What brought you there?

I live in Berlin, I came kind of on a whim from Brazil, I had been living pretty remotely & nomadically & I had an urge to be somewhere more connected, where I could really start to flourish creatively, I heard Berlin was the place, & upon arriving I became pretty quickly captivated by the city & the people I met here. 

"Somewhere  where I could really start to flourish creatively."


What is your favorite flavor of your city?

It used to be the wine soaked streets, I guess now it’s something different, something more melancholic.


Best recommendations for your city; Favorite dinner/Brunch/cocktails/ secret location :

Favourite dinner - Anything Sudanese.

I don’t consider myself someone who has ever eaten brunch, thankfully.

I quit drinking now, but cocktails was never my thing, rather a bottle of Caribbean rum & a Templhof sunset.

"Secret location, well I guess that’s a secret."




What are your life essentials—What do you carry with you at all time?

As little as possible : something good to read, Dostoyevsky at the moment & a note book for writing, iPod for necessary music.


Tell us your daily rituals: Weekday vs weekend :

Weekday or weekend, it’s all the same to me. No set routine, wake up around 8am - 10am recently,
Stretch, shake the body up, breakfast. Start painting/drawing around midday, if the weather is good I’ll go out walking or cycling early afternoon, read & observe people in parks, contemplation & dreams of evacuation. Perhaps a long walk home as the sun sets, taking photographs on film camera, - Intresting compositions within the city. Evening is more painting & drawing & studying films, recently revisiting Kubrick & Tarkovsky. Play Bass guitar, sleep around 2-3-4am.

"Read & observe people in parks, contemplation & dreams of evacuation."




What is your plan for today, this week and this year?

There is no plan, survive, prosper, stay loose & lite as possible,
- evolve.


Most influential person in your life?

There aren’t many people in my life at the moment,
Certainly no one in my immediate physical reality that is influencing me much,

"Many things influence me"

I suppose you mean artistically?
Emotionally?
John Coltrane influences me,
I listened to his great opus - Giant steps again yesterday, this music always moves me.
Also the music of John Frusciante is a great influence on my work,
in particular his albums - Niandra Lades & Usually Just A T Shirt & Smile From The Streets You Hold.

"Kerouac influences me, his work is pure soul."






What are some inspiration things : designs, artists, music, sites that you find yourself re-visiting often ?


No sites, the online world is a drag.
I guess like I said above I find the music of John & John inspirational & the writing of Kerouac. 
Cy Twombly is a big inspiration & the movies of Kubrick, I really dig, they send me catapulting into another universe of aesthetics & philosophy where image & mind collide. The writing of Camus I revisit & Democritus the Greek philosopher, whatever information  I can scrape together of him I always dig & Diogenes also.

"Universe of aesthetics & philosophy where image & mind collide."

Tried and true methods against creative block?

Walking.






Likes/dislikes? (just a short list, one word answers)

Likes: Sincerity, intelligence, humility, humour.

Dislikes: Society, ignorance, unoriginality.



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