Shallom Johnson

Shallom Johnson is a Canadian visual artist, writer, dancer and curator currently based in Cape Town, South Africa.  Her creative practice explores human emotion, personal story and memory through a wide range of mediums and disciplines. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and seen on the streets in Canada, the United States, the UK, Western Europe, Russia and South Africa.  She has been painting under the alias Indigo since 2008.
Born into a family of artists and activists, Shallom’s creative practice has always been multidisciplinary.  Having grown up in Northern Canada, she moved to Vancouver BC in 2000 to study Contemporary Dance and English at Simon Fraser University. The years after graduation were spent working as a choreographer, performer and instructor in Canada and the United States, both independently and as a part of multiple companies and collectives. 
Always intensely interested in collaboration, the last few years have seen her actively seeking out new venues, methods and partners for creation and curation, at home and abroad.  One of her main goals in life is to build bridges between creatives and communities, working within a global network to effect local change. After six months managing Cape Town-based organization /A WORD OF ART’s gallery, artist in residence program, and community outreach activities, Shallom is currently leading two large-scale community projects in South Africa that explore water & food access, sustainability, ecology and collaborative art practice, set to launch in early 2013.


6 Questions with Shallom Johnson:


1. What are your favorite and your least favorite words?

This was the hardest question for me to answer.  my favorite words are: memory, covet, silence, ephemera, solace.  My least favorite word is smegma.  Or possibly mucus.

2. What turns you on creatively, spiritually, emotionally?

 Traveling, meeting new people, immersing myself into unique environments, helping bring people together to share ideas and moments in time. Also, on the flip side of that, I often feel the need to hole up in my studio, sleepless and hungry and painting for days on end until I feel like I'm on the brink of temporary insanity and nothing exists but these four walls and everything inside them.

3. What is the closest you have ever come to giving up?

Hasn't happened yet, fingers crossed it never will.  I tend to just switch to another medium or genre if I feel like I need a change in order to stay productive.  Writing has actually been the most consistent thing for me creatively over the past 10 years - because it's mainly something I do for myself that isn't attached to any kind of project or public presentation. 

4. What decision in your career do you most regret?

 No regrets.  Every bad decision is a lesson learned.  But I wish I could learn to say no to things more often, when I don't have the time for them.

5. What is the strangest thing you have ever done while writing? (Same as above.)

I talk to my paintings a lot.  

6. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God (or Allah or Yahweh or Odin. Generally the Supreme Being of your choice.) say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

Hey, nice to see you, want some wine?  All we have is red.  Oh, by the way, your friends and family are waiting for you in the other room, along with every pet you've ever had.

Brilliant! If you want to know more about the fabulous Indigo you can find her at any of the following:
flickr
blog
twitter
tumblr
online store

Thanks to Indigo for indulging me and thanks to you for reading! Until next time!