This weeks Brighton artist is Stephen John Connett who was born in Hale during a thunderstorm. He was taken down to Brighton by a car and a girlfriend and has stayed ever since. Self taught, Stephen works as a full time artist and his work can be seen at The Naughty Pirates Gallery on Kings Road. Here is what Stephen has to say to our questions.
Where did you learn your art? School of life and intense observation of the crazy world around me.
What is a typical day like in your life? Get up, get out of bed, drag a comb across my head, drink a cup of coffee, wake up an hour later, check the mail/email, go to the ‘office’ to daydream and start work.
What is the best part of the day for you? Having an idea for a picture and making it better.
What do you do when you’re not creating? Read a lot of non fiction, research, watch TV with the sound off and a CD on.
What is the best summer vacation you can imagine? The one where you lose yourself and don’t have to come home.
Best way to spend a weekend? If I wasn’t working, it would be a hazy lazy mucking about somewhere in the countryside.
Do you have a favourite artist? No Favourite Artist but those who made me think ‘this is an interesting job I could do something like that’ were John Heartfield, Jamie Reid, Andy Warhol and Ed Kienholz.
What are you reading at the moment? The Mysterium by David Bramwell
Favourite TV show? It changes from time to time. I like things which are more than just about the surface of things, like Westworld. I still like The Prisoner, even though it’s really old, it looks (disturbingly) more like the World we live in now than it did fifty years ago
What’s your favourite place to go to on a night out in Brighton? The Cinema.
Where is the best coffee/tea? The kiosk place at Brighton Train station, I think it’s called ‘The Flying Bean’ or something like that. The real thing.
Most embarrassing moment you’ve experienced? Probably travelling to a job interview on a very hot day on a train years ago with some home made sandwiches my partner had kindly produced for me. I noticed a really terrible smell in the carriage I was travelling in, I looked around, looked on the bottom of my shoes, nothing. I moved to another carriage but there was still this terrible smell, and then, as the train was arriving at my stop, I opened my bag and realised where the smell was coming from, my partner had made me sandwiches with Camembert cheese. The bag and it’s contents went straight in the first bin I saw after getting off the train.
Best moment you’ve experienced? Getting rid of those Camembert cheese sandwiches.
What is the one thing you will never do again or never do for the rest of your life? Stroll around a Lion enclosure wearing a Sheep costume from a fancy dress shop.
Inspired by modern society and current affairs
What is the one thing you dream of doing in your life? Travelling to the stratosphere in a high altitude thing, as close to being in space without actually being in orbit. Head in the clouds, but feet still on the ground.
What is your go to sin that makes everything better? A cup of Tea.
What inspires your art? An acute observation of life through the mediation of electronic media.
Where can people buy your art? The Naughty Pirates Gallery, 237 Kings Road, Brighton BN1 1NB or via Email: [email protected]
What Brighton artist do you nominate to answer our questions next week? David Downer.
All pictures in the article are by the artist Stephen John Connett.
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