Blow-Up Art
Wendy Banks interviews the Inflatable Museum's 
Ana Rewakowicz on the subject of inflatability

WB: How and why did you get started doing inflatables? What is it about latex?

AR: I am not sure why I started to work with inflatables... Perhaps it has to do with flexibility, transformation, instability, fragility, and because in some way, inflatables are like vessels that reference the body. My first inflatable piece was a mattress-sized pillow with text on it that simulated goose bumps, alluding to the  contradictory states of uncontrollable pleasure and discomfort. I started with text and ended up with texture. The pillow was made of latex and the air was controlled by an air pump
     Why latex? Because it looks like skin... I've become more and more interested in the sensorial experiences of the body in my art practice, by moving away from the use of canvas and photographic papers to latex as a medium. Like skin, latex can be stretched. It can also stimulate a human sensation, and has illicit psychological and physiological effects.

WB: It seems to me that a lot of your inflatables have to do with the uneasy relationship between mind and body. Is that true?

AR: In answer to your question, I am interested in generating questions rather than answers...

WB: My experience going inside the latex room (Inside Out) was that it was very pleasant and sort of sensual. The room billowed and rolled around and there wasn't much I could do about it.

AR: I wanted people to feel destabilized and out of control. To make them let go and enjoy it and perhaps be afraid.

WB: With regards to the inflatable suit (Bigger Than Life Size), you talk about identification, projections and desires and being at ease in one's skin.

AR: Yes, that's true.

WB: So, do you think your work reflects a conflict or separation between the mind and the body?

AR: Hmmm... Perhaps it's about my leaving something or someone behind and feeling it, trying to rationalize the process. Perhaps it's also a reflection of my immigration process that was a combination of curiosity, excitement and regret at the same time.

WB: What do you think of the body in general? Because it seems to me you represent it as something fragile, helpless, maybe a little silly or inert, with its own agenda...

AR: I like that. I think about the body as this stranger whom I want to get to know better.

WB: What kinds of reactions do you find people have to your work?

AR: Latex makes people either love my work or hate it.

WB: What kinds of reactions did you find people had, particularly to the room and the suit?

AR: About the room...some people are claustrophobic and don't want to go in. There was one woman who said: "Uhhhh it's a like a big condom!" That's funny. Some people feel like big kids when they're inside it, and kids love it.
     With the suits it's a similar thing. Some people are eager to try it on, some are intrigued but decline, some are grossed out...it was summer when it was in the gallery, and it was hot, so people were sweaty. For some people it's fun, but others are worried about who has been wearing the suit before them.