
This week we connected Hugo Rocci to Anouk van Zwieten and Anouk to Hugo. They answered each others questions about their studio and staple guns.
What made you want to become an artist? Do you regret it?

As a kid, when I got asked the question what I wanted to be when I was older, I always replied I wanted to do something with drawing. I read a lot of comic books back then and the realisation that people made those and that that was their job, seemed like the best job in the world.

With a little detour to studying to become a hairdresser I finally got into art school. It would have been a funny plot twist, but I can’t say I’m regretting it.

What would you use in your studio to defend yourself with if you had to?

The closest I get to a gun is my staple gun and I definitely feel cool using it.

What do you do outside your art practice?

At the moment I don’t have a job next to my art practice, the place I work at is closed during the lockdown. But next to my art practice I work at an Escape Room and operate the rooms they have there.


Anouk van Zwieten Exhibition view of ‘Provisionally Finished’ in Centraal Museum Utrecht (2020)picture by Robert Oosterbroek
How do you prepare for a good day in the studio?

A good day cannot start without a good breakfast, which includes a freshly pressed orange juice, a big cup of coffee and some tartines.
That way I can be fully awake and ready to work.

What is your favorite part of creating your work?

My favorite part is when I get lost in the making,
A spontaneous feeling that is not so easy to reach.

It is short moment where the brain disconnect from reality.
When the brush and the eyes are having fun and I am not in control.

If you had all the money in the world, would you still work with the same materials?

I don’t think I would change my materials or my way of working, but I guess I would work with in a bigger scale without limitation.

Now that I think about it, I would like to have a large studio with glass walls and ceilings to get beautiful sunlight.

Just like georges méliès studio, but bigger, and share it with friends.


Hugo Rocci ‘Window with flowers and a Manhattan cocktail’ (2020)
These interviews are part of an ongoing series of short interviews between Unfair artists, originally published through our mailings. Check the overview to read the other interviews or subscribe to our mailing list through the button below:
These interviews are part of an ongoing series of short interviews between Unfair artists, originally published through our mailings. Check the overview to read the other interviews or subscribe to our mailing list through the button below: