Memories of Light: in conversation with Pablo Alpe

Leyla Fakhr: You are an artist of many talents: you recently worked as a stage designer of an opera! How would you define your practice as an artist?

Pablo Alpe: I have been working in the digital and interactive art world for over 10 years, so I have gone through many experiences and been involved in different projects where art and technology have always been the main characters.

I consider myself a multidisciplinary digital artist as I work on both generative art and interactive and immersive installations. As you say, in 2022 I worked with my studio Vitamin Studio in the technical and aesthetic design of the interactive visuals for the National Opera of Finland in the show called CircOpera 2.0 where circus, opera, and technology were blended.

Leyla Fakhr : I am particularly interested in this series that you are exhibiting as part of Odysseys, it feels it touches upon your continuous interest of how light behaves. Could you expand on this?

Pablo Alpe: Of course, light and how it makes the world and nature look has always been my source of inspiration. This project, Postales, speaks about memories where light has allowed them to stay engraved in me.

Leyla Fakhr: As your previous generative pieces were in black and white, the advent of colour feels like a new direction. What was the reason for this, and were you at all worried that your work may lose its recognisable traits? Do you think it’s important to keep these as an artist in the digital space?

Pablo Alpe: This year has been an incredible and yet very complicated year for me personally. All these experiences, both good and bad, have made me stronger and allowed me to step out of my comfort zone (black and white). They have made me understand - and know - how to use colours not only as an aesthetic means, but as a means of expression.

Leyla Fakhr: What are you hoping people will take away from this series? How much do you think about your audience when you are creating a work?

Pablo Alpe: To be honest, I don't usually think about the audience when I do this type of work. Unlike many of the works I do with Vitamin Studio where the audience is a key piece to consider (e.g. the Finnish Opera) this project and all the other art projects I do are made for me. To put it another way: I don't make them thinking about whether they will be liked or not, I make them because I feel them.

Leyla Fakhr: You seem to travel a lot ! You are currently in an exotic location in Indonesia, how important is it for your art to travel and connect to other parts and nature of the worlds?

Pablo Alpe: I was born in Spain but when I was young my family moved to Brazil for 4 years, since then, my parents always instilled in me the importance of travelling and getting to know new cultures. Thanks to them I have had the opportunity to see a lot of the world and it is something I continue to do today. I think it's essential for my work because each piece of art I create has a little of each place and that makes my work so varied. Travelling and seeing the world is my number one hobby.