On Portraits, Community, and the Portals Between
An interview with Asia Cybele
Caroline Vitzthum Asia, you are Braziers’ current ACRE (Academic and Creative Research) resident – tell us about your time and experiences so far – what aspects of life here at Braziers interests you and how does it feed into your practice?
Asia Cybele I paint people, and Braziers is full of different characters – each unique, fascinating, gifted, sometimes extreme. I want to test the cultural myth that a painter has to be alone for long periods of time to produce something of value (it has been true for me in the past). Every day presents an opportunity to choose engagement with the community or creative loneliness. One feeds into the other, and as my residency progresses, I look for ways to weave these options closer together. I also explore the contrast between the elevated portrait – historically only afforded to nobility – and the daily reality of the humble work we all do here to keep Braziers, and ourselves, functioning. In practical terms, we are all laborers here, but with a rich inner life and a variety of interests and passions. I look for these in everyone I paint.
CV You describe a balance between creative loneliness and community engagement. Could you share a moment from your residency where this tension felt especially present or inspiring?
AC These moments happen every day – in big ways, such as joining (or deciding not to join) a spontaneous group activity or an interesting meeting (especially in the evenings when it’s easier to paint), or “saving my energy” during meals by not talking to anybody and overthinking my work, as if processing it alone can make a difference. There were times, though, when despite the pressure I put on myself to return to the easel, I decided to join the group and felt uplifted and inspired to get back to painting, often filled with new ideas. I also noticed that painting models who physically sit in front of me is a meaningful way to get to know members of the community better, as they reveal themselves in those vulnerable moments of silent observation. It’s very different from painting from photos I took of them, which I attempted at first.
CV Thinking about those “vulnerable moments of silent observation” you mentioned – it’s interesting how that space between painter and sitter holds so much quiet intimacy. It almost sounds like a form of collaboration, where both of you are contributing something to the exchange, even without words. I wonder whether living in a communal environment like Braziers has deepened that sense of shared authorship in your work – has it changed the way you think about where creativity begins and ends between you and the people you’re painting?
AC My style has shifted significantly during this portrait-painting period. I feel like I owe a certain objectivity and realism to the people I paint, despite my symbolic inclinations. But the extent of co-creation depends on the person – some had a very clear idea of how they wanted to be presented (pose, setting, theme), while others chose the “come as you are” path and allowed me to decide the details of the execution. Still, since it’s portraiture, there would be no painting without the sitter – it’s all about them; I’m the interpreter. It feels like a privilege to have so many willing participants who allow me to see them.
CV That’s beautifully put – I really appreciate how you describe that sense of co-creation, and how much care and awareness you bring to representing others. Listening to you, I’m also thinking about where these exchanges happen.
You’ve been working in different corners of Braziers, often alongside the people you paint, and not necessarily confined to one studio space. Braziers Park itself has such a distinctive atmosphere – a place layered with history, creative energy, and so many traces of past residents and projects. I’m curious how the site itself – the atmosphere, the architecture, the natural environment – shapes your work. How much do these surroundings feed into your work?
AC The influence is strong. It seems that people end up in Braziers not only because of the community, but because they are attracted to the “castle” and the land with all its history, possible hauntings, and mysterious corners. I’ve always been fascinated by such spaces. The house itself is like a force field, an egregore organizing people and activities around itself, securing its own survival through the centuries, giving us all a temporary home and meaning. The surrounding land is familiar but also wild – we tend to it in established cycles and still get lost in the forest at night.
The natural environment has especially influenced the content of my paintings: I felt drawn to wrap the subjects in vines, especially if they work or volunteer outside. Most of the paintings contain botanical elements I have seen around: bindweed, ivy, nettles, apples, the never-stopping thicket. I spent quite a bit of summer making obsessive studies of greenery around Braziers, and these are some of my fondest creative memories from this residency.
When it comes to the house, it presents itself through library books, which appear in a few portraits, and through some of the fantastical elements seen on the furniture and iconic windows – but behind the window, there is the wild again, creeping in and calling out. It’s a big bubble, and everyone inside can feel it.
CV I like the idea of the house as a kind of force field, with nature always pressing up against it. You’ve mentioned these recurring botanical motifs – vines, ivy, bindweed – that seem to weave people and place together. Could you say a bit more about how you think about these symbols in your work? Do they have a particular emotional or conceptual meaning for you, or do they emerge more intuitively from your surroundings?
AC Wherever you look, there are the vines, slowly creeping into the garden and covering the house. I see them both as a visual backdrop to our life at Braziers and, metaphorically, as thought forms, programs, patterns, or even self-imposed obligations. They are very much alive, just like the vines and leaves are, wanting to proliferate. Our choice is to become consumed and overgrown with issues, or to become a gardener or farmer – propagating ideas of our own choosing and cutting off what is not needed when we notice it growing.
CV As your residency at Braziers Park draws to a close, I’m curious what you feel you’ll be taking away from this period – both in terms of your artistic practice and on a more personal level. Has your time here shifted anything in how you see your work or how you approach making it? And finally, are there any upcoming projects or next steps you’d like to share with us as you move beyond Braziers Park?
AC I’m still processing this experience and my findings. I was journaling about it all day, looking for patterns and themes.
I can see that different functions of art have been expressed, with different results and reactions. Sharing the process with many people was something new, and ultimately enriching. The feeling of accountability was beneficial – having a promise of a show-and-tell, a deadline, people knowing what I’m working on. I often find it challenging to call any work “finished.” They say, “Paintings are never finished, only abandoned” – and I allow myself to show it even if, in my eyes, it’s not done. Everything is prone to change over time, even a static painting. I must be able to let go.
Leading workshops and drawing sessions was an important experience. I’m not sure if I’m the best suited for it, but I enjoy the aspect of sharing knowledge and spending time on creativity. It’s rampant at Braziers, where so many talented people share their unique activities.
As for the future, I want to continue painting real people and expand the botanical aspect of my work. Exploration of natural pigments, and making charcoal and ink, was an unexpected activity inspired by the abundance of summer and the spirit of sustainability. I would like to explore more wild and foraged materials in my work, and open up to time and place to inform the work while holding on to the personal vision.
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Asia Cybele (she/her) is a creator of visual art. In her work, she attempts to express the subtle and the invisible as they manifest in human traits, emotions, and reactions – to paint the obsessions, programmes, and yearnings. She continues to expand her worldview while expressing it with growing precision – and there is no end in sight.
Caroline Vitzthum (she/her) is an artist working across performance, film, and community-led practice. With a particular interest in peatlands and the cultural and environmental narratives woven through them, she works to reveal overlooked worlds through careful observation and creative collaboration. Caroline is part of the Education Team at Braziers Park, where she helps cultivate spaces of learning, connection, and shared exploration.
www.carolinevitzthumstudio.com
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Find out more about our ACRE programme here.