Adrian Buda, a graduate of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, specializing in Graphics and Comics and Animation, combines various mediums of expression in an interdisciplinary artistic practice.
In his works, Adrian explores the recontextualization of archives, analyzing the way memories transform and lose their privacy. In parallel, Adrian develops a participatory and journalistic practice, collaborating with communities in rural areas to explore these places’ ritual and mystical aspects. As a member of the Artivistory Collective Association, Adrian is dedicated to documentary practice and cultural mediation through comics and documentary drawing.
In this interview, Adrian shares significant artistic experiences, his sources of inspiration, the stages of the creative process, the central themes of his work, and future projects.

Angela Izvercian: You are a very young artist, but you already have a rich exhibition history. What is your most memorable experience so far?

Adrian Buda: Definitely the experience I had in the artist residency in Singapore. It is one of my most precious memories. It was a very important step for me, I still remember the amazement I had when I arrived at the accommodation because I was convinced that I was going to get lost on the way, especially since it was my first time traveling alone by plane and of course, because the destination was just one of the most developed countries in the world. A part of me continued to live there, that parallel, utopian life, with all the friends I discovered, with the fascinating conversations, the exhausting trips, the intense work, and that feeling of well-being that I had throughout the residency and which I still felt a month after returning back to my European self.

A.I.: When did you first realize you wanted to become an artist? Is there a specific moment or maybe a mentor that guided you in this direction?

A.B.: It was clearly not during my childhood. I was not a talented child. Every time I took a pencil in my hand, I “impeded” the surface of the paper with precarious gestures. I had no imagination and was consumed by the desire to represent. I didn’t want to become an artist, I wanted to be able to draw whatever I wanted, to be able to close my eyes and shape whatever world I wanted. In the meantime, looking for ways to achieve what I wanted, I arrived at UAD and, like never before, I felt that I was lucky (most likely I used it all up) when I met Alice Iliescu, the one who told me about conceptual art and comics, and who instilled in me the passion to make things, and so, not only did I manage to escape the barrier of representation, but I began to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I was me by what I do.

A.I.: Tell us about your artistic practice. What influenced the transition from graphics to installations and mixed media?

A.B.: In general, my artistic practice is of a conceptual nature, using in particular the connection of the work environment with the message I want to convey. I don’t think it’s necessarily a transition; I just changed the angle of view a little, and normally, the research, the consequence being the work environment that came to conceptually meet the new subject. Constant experimentation is essential in my artistic practice, as each exercise “gives birth” to a new conceptual tool that I will later use in my creative endeavour.

A.I.: What dominates in your works? Do you prefer spontaneity, or do you put more emphasis on research?

A.B.: Documentation, Analysis and Research in relation to the visual object. Every time I start a new project, I collect materials, look for similarities, and look for how the context can influence the content or how the content can influence the context.

A.I.: How important is it for you to convey a message through your art?

A.B.: In some cases, ideas and messages are much more important than the final material form that the artistic approach takes. It is very important that my artistic concepts also reflect the issues of the moment. If the aesthetic component disappears in certain cases, the stake is to convey a direct message that does not suffer from transformations or “beautify” and only truncates the coherent reading.

A.I.: At what point did you start to explore concepts more deeply, such as recontextualizing the archive or memories/memory? What inspired you to tackle these themes?

A.B.: I started this research four years ago because it seemed to me a good start to understand the intergenerational processes at the community level and how these processes turn particularly towards individuality. I also found it extremely interesting to observe how these local communities hybridized when meeting industrialization, and many of the so-called traditions/rituals are still preserved in a certain way but have lost their original function or even meaning.

A.I.: What role do rituals and traditions play in your art?

A.B.: I could say that they are among my main sources of inspiration. In a big, uniform capitalist world, we still have cultural diversity; this fantastic specificity is still preserved in rural areas, but even there, time has not stood still because industrialization has had its say, so we are talking about some hybrid traditions and rituals. In some cases, they were completely torn from their original context; in others, they adapted to new technologies. Thus, my interest is rather directed towards the adaptation phenomenon of these customs in the contemporary period.

A.I.: What are the stages of your creative process, from the idea or source of inspiration to a new series of works?

A.B.: My working process is really a laboratory in constant motion, which changes and diversifies with the new books I read, people I meet, thoughts that cross my mind or any kind of lived experiences. I could not say that I have concluded particular research; they constantly continue, each generating a new way of reading the emerging sequential ensemble.

A.I.: Denying Baptism, Silence has no Face, and The Flowers Will Still Grow without You are some of the titles of your works included in the traveling exhibition “Permanent World Encyclopedia”, organised by Arta Prezentului. How do you choose the titles of your works? Do I come before the work is done or after it is completed?

A.B.: All of those works are responses that were generated while working on the Signs of Resistance Against the Habit research. In most cases, I know what I’m conceptually following before I start a series. As for the form, it undergoes constant changes during the work process.

A.I.: You are part of the Artivistory Collective Association. What is the broad mission of the association?

A.B.: First of all, I would like to say that Artivistory is much more than an association for me; it is a team of fabulous, dedicated people who constantly inspire me and without whom my life would be much too monotonous, I can really say that it became a soul family for me. We use urban comics as a creative, narrative, context-based, collaborative and dynamic practice for conducting research in urban spaces. We have a creative working method used both as a representational tool and as a catalyst and activator of community imagination (used in discursive, exhibition, and participatory contexts).

A.I.: How do you see yourself evolving further as an artist? Are there new directions or techniques you want to explore in the future?

A.B.: Definitely! My most important aspect is creative thinking, constantly exploring “mundane” elements and dialoguing with them in novel ways. As before, I want to keep experimenting, learning and constantly rediscovering the relevance of making art.