Interview with Aidan Amore

Welcome Aidan we are very excited to have you today with us to discuss about your work.

First off, Who is Aidan Amore and how did the passion for art begin?

I’m a “cre a c t o r” in film, music, art & fashion... My vision in coining this phrase is to convey the wholly untamed breadth of an artistic persona creatively enacting new narratives, that strive to disrupt normative culture as ordained by a seemingly “modern” imperialist, white- supremacist, capitalist heteropatriarchy.

Thus, hope is to nourish the change-thirsty youth within late Millenials, Gen Z, and Gen A, with empowering stories about their joint venture in nurturing cultural shifts required on a poetically utopian but nonetheless substantial quest for tomorrow’s global society, built upon mutual understanding for long-term sustainability, supported by broader diversity and better education, for more equity and inclusion in the face of a global climate emergency.

I hope I won’t come off sounding like an ass by saying: Art is innate in me. I’m only a channel to something which started long before my birth and which will continue hopefully long after my death... Art is part of my genetic code. Everyone who knew me as a child can testify of how Art just seemed to be pouring out of me like a natural spring, of which I hope never to find the source.

Unfortunately, we know well what Humans do whenever they reach the source of things, may it be literal or physical like water... Humans disgrace a profound sacredness by wanting to seek it, explain it, control it, grab it, exploit it... Same goes for Art. My passion for it never begun, it is.

Can you tell us about your previous work ?
Going back to the phrase “cre a c t o r”, my artistic production has always been hybrid. My creativity goes through periods where it wants to express itself into a predominant medium, but still feeding off all other disciplines I practice. Although, “cre a c t o r” hints at where I come from: the stage. I emerged out of the Paris underground scene with a solo performance called, “Hamlet Unlimited”, developed in partnership with French director, Yves-Nöel Genod. A beautiful movie rendition of the piece, shot by Vivianne Perelmuter & Isabelle Ingold, is accessible on my website. Amongst other significant works, I can cite the experimental short-film “The Birth of Venus”, developed with Georgian artist, Melano Sokhadze (also available on my website). Music production came later but it is definitely the turn my creativity now wants to take. So get ready for more music video releases...

CONVERSATION ABOUT: LIFE ON MARS | Are We for Real ?

How did the themes of the song from 1969 resonate with you, especially considering the contemporary context of the global climate emergency?

The theme of escapism probably resonates the most for me in our contemporary times. After an argument at home with her parents, “The girl with the mousy hair” of the song wanders off to the movies, which represented the most modern form of entertainment back then. Today we see the expansion of new entertainment spaces with the rise of virtual reality experiences into unconquered Metaverses... Humans tend to act like ostriches burying their heads under sand in situations they don’t wish to face, may it be the repetitive dreadfulness of daily life, or the wars and natural catastrophes, which we should most urgently deal with.Unfortunately, entertainment is very often the go to place we choose instead to try and cope with the harshness of reality.

Oddly enough though, the way we entertain ourselves is through the magnified replica of what we seem to take a flight from. “But the film is a saddening bore for she’s lived it ten times or more...” says the song before breaking into a chorus, basically depicting scenes of violence and corruption between “alpha male” archetypes tearing the World apart. In short a patriarchal portraiture of society we have yet to step out of.

Your project aims to go beyond a simple cover and delve into the themes of the original song. Can you elaborate on the artistic choices you made to achieve this and how it contributes to the exploration of the critical zone?

Like junkies on a flight from Reality, we binge on entertainment we know deep down is but a “fabric of dreams where stars become stale with repetition” as music critic Peter Dogget already commented then about the song. Therefore I knew that when taking on a cover project it would have to adopt a serious stance rooted in a contemporary questioning of our time, avoiding to please the crowds with a naive David Bowie emulation...

The critical thinking of late French philosopher, Bruno Latour, thus has been a foundation to build upon visually, after I heard him give a talk about the importance of researching new visual languages in the arts which aim to reveal the fabrication of image making in the hope of softly pulling the viewers out of their illusory sleep and root them into the here and now, to discuss the very ground on which all our Human feet rest, namely “The Critical Zone”.

LIFE ON MARS / ARE WE FOR REAL ? starts in a white limbo with texts setting the tone of a fictional story and as the edit progresses the more the visuals deconstruct themselves by revealing the viewers what is usually kept hidden: thus, the presence of ugly glitches making you wonder if your screen is actually crashing, excerpts of a busy editing bench and of myself editing the movie, until the movie ends by finally exploding the fourth wall as I directly address the crew on set asking them: “Is it a take ?”

What is your creative process like? Do you have any specific rituals or routines that you follow to get into the right mindset for creating music, film, or art?

Imposing the will of a “mindset” rarely produce good work in my experience. All I can observe is that the more I move forward, the less I try to rationally interfere with the flow of things... there was a period where I would try to be the decision maker of what had to get done creatively at a given point in time.

Creativity is often narrowed down to a product of rational thinking when indeed creativity encompasses all our creative centres: mind being only one amongst body, heart, and soul. But the Western world still has great difficulties in stepping out of its head and let itself be guided by intuition.

So maybe my prep is to actually check that my mind does not take over operations and make sure I don’t fully grasp what I am getting myself into.

I guess my mindset is exactly not to have anything set in the mind. I often catch myself thanking my mind for wanting to try and keep me safe by submitting me conventional ideas that would probably get me to please the majority... when that happens I know I have a good indicator of exactly what NOT to do.

What is the reasoning behind the bold experimental stylistic choices in your project ?

Again, you’re asking me to put a lot of thought and reasoning mind to answer you about phenomena which were purely guided by intuition. I did not sit at the computer with any intent of producing “bold experimental stylistic choices”. That is more how you or someone else can chose to perceive it.

But if I have to give you a reasonable answer by retroactively trying to analyse what might have been going on in producing this piece, I could maybe interpret that the many self-representations I undertook by way of self- deformation were probably there to communicate a sense of disreality creeping up on me at that period of my life.

I recall thinking things like, “how can I, how can we be so self-obsessed and disconnected from what is happening to our living environment...” thus maybe the birth of a monstrous “avastar” I started ironically referring to as “MiNiMi©” wandering behind reality goggles in a secluded white limbo.

I’ll have to leave the rest to psychoanalysis, but I just hope that the state of alienating isolation depicted in the video is not a reflection of the Future, especially for the Youth born in the Tech era.

As you aim to raise awareness about Earth's critical zone, how do you envision audience engagement beyond the immediate consumption of your art? Are there interactive elements or calls to action that you incorporate into your projects?

I think there is a danger in phrasing the question in those terms, as “the consumption of art” like most other forms of consumption go against raising awareness about what Earthlings have yet to learn to survive on the very grounds they inhabit.

The way we made use of Art as a vehicle for education by way of information with LIFE ON MARS / ARE WE FOR REAL ? was by taking the streets of Zürich upon day of release, during a performance in which my “avastar” MiNiMi© and I distributed QR-coded fair trade chocolate, redirecting passersby to the video with plenty of articles and recent climate research data for people to hopefully take an interest into.

A call-to-action AIMAFF Festival could actually contribute to is by reposting the climate emergency declaration I recorded to thank you for awarding LIFE ON MARS / ARE WE FOR REAL ? Best Music Video.

What can we expect from your future transdisciplinary endeavors with Redgun and Kaitsauka? Are there specific themes or issues you plan to explore in your upcoming projects?

Redgun is the company backing the creation label Kaitsauka® (also abbreviated KS®), which we run together with my partner on a mission to create “uneKSpectedness in film, music, art & fashion...”

Responsible action in the face of the climate crisis is growing to be a running theme in anything we produce. My partner being originally from the Siksika Blackfoot Nation in Canada, we are also very much driven by the protection of Indigenous rights and the preservation of forests.

We’re dreaming of benefitting from funds which could help us involve underprivileged communities into our projects but for now we are a solid two people team, reinforced by a wonderful set of rotating collaborators with whom we have now been working since years to ready ourselves to put an ambitious transdisciplinary project out into the world. Expect “uneKSpecteded films, music, art & fashion...” in 2024 !

Can you give us a glimpse into any upcoming projects you're working on? Are there specific themes or genres you are eager to explore ?

The first chapter to what is starting to grow into a multimedia concept album bears the title, “F00LvsWORLD”. It is actually my first original single release already available on music streaming platforms. We are aiming to develop “F00LvsWORLD” into an environment-friendly live show in the year 2024, in an attempt to contribute to the vulgarisation of the most recent scientific data by way of engaged entertainment.

While waiting for next year, you can already discover the official lyric video to “F00LvsWORLD” on my YouTube Channel “Aidan Amore Creactor”, which teases the science- fictional aesthetic of a ~ 10 mins musical short film to the score of “F00LvsWORLD” which will open our live show.

An acoustic rendition of the heavily produced original track should hit the internet by the turn of the New Year.

Finally, thank you so much for offering this space to open up about what is in the works... your contribution to putting us in contact with a community of Humans with whom we can resonate is very meaningful !

Don’t hesitate to reach out on socials and keep informed by subscribing to a newsletter at: www.aidanamore.com

Thanks for reading !

Wishing Peace for all,

That was the interview with our beloved creator Aidan Amore. Our community is rising everyday, new talented filmakers and screenwriters get onboard. Be sure to check the rest of our interviews and why not schedule one for yourself to promote your work.

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