Joanic Geniüt

Medicine is the profession I learnt, an artist is what I am.” This is how Joan Dalmau, aka Joanic Geniüt, describes himself. His show, Tristos Tòpics, is still on until March 16 at the Fundació Valvi in Girona, and he invited us into his studio, part of La Volta project, in the Sant Narcís neighbourhood to share the main elements of his artistic universe with us.

1. Cròniques feréstegues, the name of a sort of diary I am writing, with philosophical, literary and personal reflections, which I upload to my blog (www.feresteq.com). I decided to become one of the items featuring in this section, manipulating the original photo and giving it a surreal, fantasy look. First, because I like to laugh at the character I portray, of the post-modern artist convinced that his work will become successful, who accepts the anachronistic rules of power in the world of art. All this is intrinsic to the process of conceptualising my work.

2. Painting. As an artist, I am radically self-taught. I started with classic painters and then I went on to experimenting on my own. My painting is figurative, it visually portrays recognisable elements, and I usually paint human solitude, solitary characters, and interior landscapes, via a metaphysical, lyrical or poetic filter.

3. Prints of Sant Narcís. I made an expo with engravings and prints of Sant Narcís as a tribute to the neighbourhood where I spent the first years of my life, and where I established my studio.

4, 6, 13. Miniature theatre, paper figures, conserves. Since I started digital illustration, I wanted to materialise this work. This came out as tri-dimensional figures, the materialisation of vectorial works: theatre, paper figures, paper in a glass pot.

5. Tsinebox. I was asked to participate in a project in Berlin, centred around cinema. It is a projector similar to Cinemix, as I am quite interested in the cinematic process, and on the whole it was a very enriching experience.

7, 9. Engraving, screen printing, was my project as an artist in residence at La Volta. I spent a few years making them and I developed a very low-cost workshop, I built a press myself, and made etchings, screen prints and engravings. I like the challenge of making things with my own hands. The next step would be to open a screen printing workshop for everyone interested in participating.

8, 10. Mobile press, La Collita. In the past few years, I’ve had quite a connection with music and made various Croniques ferestegues in concerts. I was invited a few times to Afònica, to make an illustrated chronicle of the festival, and I made an animated video clip, La Collita, for a song by Mazoni. I did a a performance that consisted of making a live engraving of the concert. People would come and print their own copy of the engraving after the concert. The project is still open and I’d like to expend it by working with museums or other artists.

11. Pad printing.I spent a lot of time learning to make ink pads myself. It is a bit anachronistic, and quite rigid and related to old professions, but I find that using it is wonderful as a technique for artistic expression.

12. Tristos tòpics, the show on at Fundació Valvi. The venue is large and there are lots of walls to fill. It was a challenge for me and it also helped me to define myself. It explores this tragicomic image of the artist. It is ridiculously funny from the outside, but when you find yourself in this situation, it is quite sad.