“The Weirder, The Better” - Anna Keville Joyce’s Insatiable Fascination for Experimenting with Natural Materials
Food artist and director, Anna Keville Joyce, first met Nancy Nina Hwang in New York City almost 15 years ago. Years later, having since launched JANE, Nancy reached out to the director about joining their roster of talent. Despite the time that had passed, Anna remembered Nancy for her bright smile and welcoming nature. A mutual understanding was quickly established between the two filmmakers, and Anna felt immediately understood: "Nancy was one of the first people who could see that my transition from socio-cultural anthropology into food styling and direction as something natural, almost obvious."
Anna’s gravitation towards food was instinctual: it was a way to authentically channel her anthropologist background, keen interest in herbalism and natural propensity for creating art. Combining these three passions, the director has earned a reputation for her innate ability to recognise the intrinsic rhythm of natural produce. Signing with JANE coincides with a creative transition which has seen the director move away from "bright pop art-focused work" to "more subtle, emotive work" such as the recent campaign she directed for Gillette. Although still utilising her core skills as an artist, the project feels consciously divergent and full of exciting new energy.
Based out of Buenos Aires and New York, Anna relies heavily on her somatic intuition and speaks candidly about her approach to her craft. Speaking to LBB's April Summers, the director opens up about freeform exploration of each new creative venture, why she chooses to see AI as an energy-saving tool, and a memorable encounter with shamanistic Sardinian green grocers. Fair warning, readers, LBB cannot be held accountable for the inevitable salivating caused by the following...
LBB> Have you always had a fascination with food? Can you pinpoint the moment you realised you had an affinity for this type of creative work?
AKJ> When I was a little girl, every year for my birthday my parents would let me raid the spice cabinet. I would combine all types of different spices and herbs into a large bowl with water and food colouring and who knows what else. I’d work diligently on this “brew” and let it sit out for several days until, well, things started to grow. I looked forward to this and, now, looking back, it’s an interesting expression of what I recognise as something intrinsic to myself: an insatiable fascination for experimenting with natural materials. To date, this has found its primary expression in food, but it also extends to plants, humans, etc.
LBB> How do you decide if a project feels like the right fit for you?
AKJ> Honestly, it’s intuitive. I do a mental exercise of imagining the somatic feeling of developing that treatment and/or working on that project. If I like the feeling, I go for it. If not, I let it go, and I usually forget about it entirely within about three minutes. I have a general rule that “the weirder, the better,” and I tend to prefer projects that push the envelope.
LBB> Your work takes you all around the world but where have you found the most vibrant or interesting food?
AKJ> I have spent a lot of time in Italy over the last few years. Italy may seem like an obvious choice for good food, but what surprised me was this: when I first went to the fruit and vegetable market, everything looked beautiful, of course, but essentially it was all the same and vibrating with the same low energy. Then I came across the produce stand of two old, gnarly men from Sardinia, and suddenly I felt their food vibrating with true life. The perception was subtle, and almost animalistic. My then-partner later said to me, “Be sure to buy from the old men from Sardinia, their produce is the best”, confirming my observations.
LBB> Working with food must be pretty challenging at times – what is the biggest obstacle you have come across during a shoot? And how did you overcome it?
AKJ> Anything is possible. The most challenging obstacle is indecision from leadership, and situations where the delicate, ephemeral, energetic food is expected to wait as if it were a ceramic plate. After so many years, I’ve learned to demand the time necessary to create or re-create the final food scenario. At first no one likes the supposed delay, but the end results never disappoint. Food has its own rhythm, my role is simply to recognise and defend it.
LBB> Artificial intelligence is on everyone’s mind right now, and a large aspect of your work is about innately human creative interpretation. Does AI feel like an imposing threat to your work or are you embracing the opportunities it presents?
AKJ> I love the dialogue surrounding AI and the questions that are emerging. It seems we continue to fall victim to fear mongering cycles, wondering if we will indeed eventually be replaced. Similar to when computers arrived, and later the internet, at least in my lifetime. Yet here we are, sensitive and sensorial, still eating breakfast and clipping our fingernails and going to the therapist to talk about last week’s emotional hiccups. I think AI, like any tool, with thoughtful use and proper execution, will be a wonderful contribution to our creative fields. I see it as something that can save precious energy, which can then be put towards deeper creative exploration.
LBB> If you had to pick your favourite or most meaningful piece of work, what would it be? And how does it demonstrate your signature style?
AKJ> It was a long time ago, but “A Tribute to Budgie” is still one of my favourite projects. It was the result of a painful but extremely positive rupture in me which resulted in the realisation that the most important thing is to be faithful to what I deeply feel, in spite of all of the external pressures, demands and expectations. It was also the project that taught me the power of art to sublimate and heal.
It demonstrates my style by highlighting a deeply obsessive approach: I created immersive environments each time I made one of the pieces, covering the studio with elements that channelled the right “feeling” of what I wanted to produce. I am detail-oriented, exploratory and experimental, with an impermeability to criticism as I abstractly dedicate myself to a project. I recently had a conversation with another artist who had asked me for feedback on his work, and we came to the conclusion that artwork is finished, polished even, with outright love.
LBB> Looking specifically at 2023 so far, what work stands out as your biggest accomplishment? How did you lend your creative voice to the project?
AKJ> This year I moved into and renovated an ex-art gallery, turning it into my home. It was a tremendous amount of work. Taking ownership of the space was a decisive step towards freeform exploration, a type of laboratory of life and ideas where the external influences are stopped at the doorstep. A refuge and a sanctuary, it’s affectionately called The Egg, conceptually designed as a space to incubate ideas and flow in the endless ellipsis (natural to the egg shape) of dynamic life and creation. I presented my first art exhibit a few months ago, which was wildly beautiful, and I have firmly defended the space and concept, giving room for people to re-inspire themselves and take on an almost childlike enthusiasm and eagerness. This is my true creative voice — genuine exploration as a personal necessity rather than a commodity or deliverable.
LBB> Can you tell me about your recent work with Gillette? How did the requirements of this project differ from previous campaigns?
AKJ > Seemingly different, but surprisingly similar, the Gillette film spoke to the sensorial. Living humans and quickly-evaporating shave gel, it was a bit of the same dance. I hadn’t worked on such an actor-forward project, but I found this element quite familiar and delightful. Recently I’ve been moving away from bright pop art-focused work into more subtle, emotive work, and the Gillette project is a reflection of this.
LBB> What made you want to join JANE’s cohort?
AKJ> The JANE team saw my prismatic and unconventional background and lifestyle as an asset instead of a nuisance, and this was indeed refreshing. They’re a small, connected group that has been present and supportive, and I’m excited to see what we will create together.
LBB> Finally, what has been the most memorable meal you’ve had in 2023: where, when and what was it?
AKJ> Usually a few times a year I go to Santiago, Chile, for a film shoot. There’s a restaurant there called Boragó, it’s delicious. I have the playful habit of taking all of my trips per diem and spending it on one expensive meal, all by myself, looking out onto the mountains. Boragó specialises in utilising natural, foraged ingredients endemic to Chile, things which I would otherwise never encounter. I come from a background in herbalism, and I’m delighted to try slimy cochayuyo seaweed, wild mini apples or chilean hazelnut. Everything is unique and thoughtful, and after several shoot days perhaps the real reason I go is to drink big glasses of rainwater they bring from the mountains.
