A Mother’s Day special: Anna & Erika

Anna and Erika are the next-door neighbours of our creative director. When choosing who we wanted to front our recent Mother’s Day shoot, a real mother-daughter duo felt like the most beautiful route.

Both artists in their own ways, Anna is a performer & director while her mother Erika specialises in glasswork, video & silverpoint drawing – an ancient technique using silver wire to make marks on paper and canvas. We asked them to tell us about their relationship and how they inspire one another – in work, life and love.

Notes on art

Anna: “I have so many creative memories from childhood. Mum was always painting and drawing. She set up a big blackboard in the kitchen, so I could draw all over – always getting me involved.

Mum has taught me to be dedicated to your creativity. She is so good at being disciplined and creatively productive every day – take it seriously, like it’s work. When we create together, there’s another side to my mum where she’s super-confident. She’s confident in life, but there’s a more decisive quality to her when she’s making work. It's really cool to see.”

Erika: “My art had always been quite abstract, then I began filming Anna when she was about nine months old, doing this constant sort of moving. It was the first time I’d used video. Anna gave me a way of bringing another person into the mix and a range of media that I hadn't worked with before.

She’s often an enormously important starting point. She’s helped me to see things differently, and I’ve really valued seeing her develop her own independent practice. It’s like we work together, but also independently.”

Notes on life lessons

Anna: “Mum’s taught me so much about love. The fact that she loves me – totally as I am – teaches me a lot about self-love. And I guess that teaches me about how to love others. Valuing people as they are, not feeling like you have to change yourself for someone else. She’s also so patient – I wish I had a little more of her ability to be centered and calm.

Erika: “I’d like to be more outgoing like Anna. I’m ok with people one on one, but Anna is really brilliant at talking to complete strangers, putting them at ease and really getting to know them. I remember when she was only about two she went over to a huge group of teenagers on Hampstead Heath, and invited me over to come meet them!”

“I write a lot in notebooks, and when I'm editing videos I’ll make a lot of notes. It makes me feel less chaotic for sure.”

Notes on movement

Erika: “Since she was really tiny, Anna was constantly on the move. She still hardly stays still. Whenever we used to watch films like Mary Poppins, she would always reenact the parts. Then she grew up and became really interested in performing – it seemed like it had always been there from the beginning. The way she improvises and trusts her own energy is something I really admire and respond to.”

Anna: “Mum was the first person I’d perform to when I was really small. She’s taught me so much about trusting my own intuition. I think that helped me build my confidence. She's taught me a lot visually that comes into my work all the time. I see connections sometimes and I'm like 'oh wow that's so inspired by Mum!'

My mum is also a great dancer. She’ll do this thing with her hands and because she's an artist, it looks almost like she's painting in the air.”

Notes on paper

Erika: “Early on, I worked on paper a lot during my degree. Now I really draw and paint on glass and canvas, but I use paper for everything else. I write a lot in notebooks, and when I'm editing videos I’ll make a lot of notes. It makes me feel less chaotic for sure.

Anna: “She is the queen of lists!”

Quickfire Q&A

Describe Mum in three words...
Anna: Creative, intuitive, unique.

Describe Anna in three words...
Erika: Spontaneous, open-hearted, loving.

A day in Erika's past you wish you could revisit...
Anna: Mum’s wedding day – I’d love to be a fly on the wall that day.

A day in Anna's past you wish you could revisit...
Erika: When we were in Paris filming together.

Finish this sentence: Anna makes me feel…
Erika: Loved.

Finish this sentence: Mum makes me feel…
Anna: Loved!

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