Meet Lydia Horne | Artist & Journalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lydia Horne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lydia, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I’m pretty risk averse. Less “follow your dreams” and more “do they offer a 401(k) matching program?” Still, I’ve somehow managed to expose myself to plenty of risk: I left my full-time job in an industry that I loved to enroll in art school in the middle of a pandemic. I moved to San Francisco with no job in sight. Making these choices was a miserable process because they were uncomfortable. However, I’ve realized that the moments when I felt discomfort have resulted in periods when I’ve felt most fulfilled. I’ve observed this in an external way too, especially with my work. For example, the video pieces I’ve made that viewers find most compelling are oftentimes those that also make them cringe. I’m not advocating for exhibitionism here, rather I think discomfort reveals vulnerability. And, especially if you’re an artist, people respond to that.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I just received my MFA from CalArts where I made mixed media work about surveillance. My recent thesis show was a series of self-portraits captured using different home security cameras, including a Ring doorbell, Furbo dog camera, and baby monitor.  I printed some of the imagery on fabric and presented the rest of the work digitally.

Looking back, I think my work was largely inspired by my time in San Francisco. Those years in SF were really formative. Between my job at WIRED magazine and general existence around the tech zeitgeist, I was around people talking about AI, cybersecurity, crypto, etc. all the time. I was most interested in the imagery these devices produced; the pixelated, quantified representations of ourselves derived from piles of data or selfies.  I found it somewhat fascinating and mostly terrifying. One year later, that same tension is what unintentionally emerged from my work: our obsession with our own image shadowed by bigger, oftentimes nefarious forces that are monitoring us all the time.

Post-grad, I’m not sure how my work will evolve but I’m decidedly optimistic. I’m interested in location sharing and how it’s become a form of intimacy. I’ve also been playing with some footage I recorded using a nanny cam, which is a concerningly cheap and easily accessible piece of equipment. But these days, I spend most of my working hours fact-checking and writing. It feels good to be back in the meticulous, fact-oriented world of journalism after two years of studying conceptual (and sometimes impossible!) art theory.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My knowledge of the city almost exclusively pertains to the east side. I love a good dive: Crawfords, Bigfoot Lodge, La Cuevita. I live in Highland Park so I’d probably take them on a hike or over to the local courts for tennis in Arroyo Seco Park. Or maybe over to Frogtown to roller skate along the LA River Trail. Food-wise? Greekman’s is a fave, as is Woon and Momed. Maybe Colombo’s for a martini or two (or three).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I met artist Naama Attias last year. We both completed the same grad program at CalArts and discovered that our work addresses similar topics. Naame is a wealth of knowledge and has turned me on to some of my now favorite photographers. She’s encouraged me to take advantage of the resources and faculty at CalArts to produce the grad school experience I otherwise wouldn’t have had. Her work is funny, dark, and oftentimes documentarian in approach. It’s wonderful to feel connected to someone on multiple levels so immediately–and that’s how I feel whenever I talk to Naama.

Website: https://www.lydiahorne.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyderature_/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lyderature

Image Credits
The two images with low lighting in the gallery setting should be credited to Zenaido Zamora, personal photo by Simons Finnerty.