An Interview With Mark Vessey

At the intersection of pop culture, personal history, and visual storytelling, you’ll find the work of Mark Vessey.

With a love for music, photography, and cultural icons, he’s built a career capturing the emotional resonance of time and taste. In this conversation, Vessey reflects on the role of trust in collaboration, the creative energy of the ‘90s, and what’s feeding his imagination now.

MV: I was always very messy and creative as a child. I was fascinated by artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, and then, when I was at college, the Tate Modern opened, and I soaked up all that had to offer.

I don’t think there was a specific moment when I decided I wanted to be an artist, it was just something that I did as a way of exploring how I was relating to the world via my love of photography. I didn’t go in thinking, ‘I’m going to be an artist’, it just fell into place, and here I am.

All artists suffer from self-doubt but I’ve always felt the drive to be myself through my art. I’m proud of the courage I’ve shown in expressing myself but it’s a daily practice not to fall into the trap of over-thinking. It’s all about surrendering and trusting that what wants to emerge will be right for me.

MV: I love how music ties everything together culturally. There’s a narrative thread that really interests me. Whether it’s opera, hip hop, house music, or even fashion magazines, at some point all of these areas of popular culture have influenced each other. I love making those connections of how everything is linked.

Music is also special because it captures and reflects people’s personal experiences, which makes us relate to it emotionally. Songs transport people back to the most emotional moments of their lives, the good and the bad. People can’t help but look at my work and remember something, or feel something. It’s a way of making them return to themselves in some way.

I find it so interesting that I can visually capture that emotional experience by depicting a certain time period or genre. Music is such an interesting way to look at Pop Art. By taking something that we interact with in our everyday and making it larger than life, it helps people to look at these songs and records differently, and make their own personal connections.

MV: When approaching a project my process involves absorbing myself in as much of that specific genre, time period or artist as possible. If it’s music-based project, I’ll immerse myself by listening to playlists on Spotify. It’s a really fun part of the process to discover so many artists that are new to me, and I love it when a genre takes me by surprise. I also love making connections between different styles of music, and seeing how people have borrowed music from other genres to make their own records.

When I’m working on a collaboration, I read interviews, articles, books and anything else I can get my hands on about the person I’m collaborating with. I want to understand the artist’s backstory and cultural impact, so that when I meet them, I can just allow them to be themselves and soak it all up. I’m learning that there’s an art to letting someone show themselves to you. It’s all about creating a sense of trust. That’s where the collaboration lies for me – in holding that space so that they feel safe to show me who they are, and so that I can then use their items to create a true portrait of them.

For example, when I worked with Norman Cook, I spent three or four hours in his studio with him and I remember reminding myself to stay silent, to give him space to think and recall memories that he then felt compelled to share. He was in his process going through his records. It wasn’t a time for me to talk. It was a time to listen and learn about him so that I could then put what he told me about his life into a portrait.

MV: It’s all about key genres and decades, and in terms of collaborations, as well as working with people I admire and respect, I gravitate towards those who’ve contributed to a wider dialogue within art and culture. When you look at Norman Cook and Carl Cox, their careers have spanned not only a significant time period, but also multiple genres and tastes. Their work has touched so many people around the world, across multiple generations.

MV: I go for walks, get out into nature, go to museums, talk to other creative people. I trust that something will always fall into place if I get out of my own way and give myself space to allow the answers to arrive.

Sometimes I look back at my old diaries on my shelf, and it helps me see that I’ve been doing this for 10-15 years. I’ve experienced creative blocks many times and while it’s uncomfortable, I have faith that if I just sit with it, something will shift.

MV: My collaborations have been a real highlight. Norman, Carl and Simon Dunmore have all been so generous in trusting me with their intimate spaces and personal items. My collaboration with Carl took me to Australia, and Norman took me down the road from where I live, and they were both wonderful experiences.

The relationships we form during the collaboration are so central to why I do this work. Each experience has shifted something in me, helping me to feel more comfortable with who I am and what I offer as an artist. I’ve been myself with these incredible people, and have been welcomed me into their homes and worlds. It’s feels like as I’ve gained more experience and become more comfortable with who I am, everything has started to flow better. I don’t need to do anything, I just need to be me. We create something together and that’s enough.

MV: For me, it was the late 90’s, in the run up to the Millennium. It was such an exciting time. New Labour had just got in. Brit Pop was taking off, and the Spice Girls had just released ‘Wannabe’. It was an amazing time for art - the Tate Modern had just opened, and the Young British Artists were everywhere. I was in my late teens and completing an Art Foundation. I remember feeling a real sense of liberation and more acceptance in the air. Britain was experiencing an exciting political and cultural shift, and it corresponded with a time where I was out in the world, exploring myself, what I wanted to do with my life and what I wanted to create.

MV: If Keith Haring was alive, I’d love to collaborate with him, and God knows what we’d produce together! It would also be a dream to do a portrait of Elton John through his music collection. I’d love to do something for his Aids Foundation, where we raise money by collaborating on a portrait of Elton that speaks of his career, his legacy and his cultural impact as one of the most iconic artists of all time.

MV: It’s not for me to oppose an emotion on people looking at my art. I hope that my art helps people connect to their emotions via the memories the work sparks. As an artist, for anyone to have a response to my work, whether negative or positive, is a win to me.

MV: I’ve got a few exciting things in the works, but nothing I can reveal just yet. I’m going to continue to do what I love to do - finding interesting people to work with and visually telling their stories.

At the moment, I’m also exploring a whole new cultural identity by spending time in Brazil. It’s feeding me creatively in so many ways, and opening up new things within my own mind. I’m not sure how getting to know South America will affect my work, but I’m excited to see the impact it has.

If you have any questions regarding Mark Vessey or any of his artworks, please do not hesitate to get in touch.