Once upon a time, we met an enigmatic spirit. He’s a sculpture, a designer, a maker. Only his closest circle could gain access to the intelligence of his mind and the rhythm of his melodic voice. His name is Nep Sidhu and he let us in one Friday night for a two hour long telephone call.

Q1. You were on the artist roster for this year’s Glasgow International, can you tell us a little bit about the body of work you produced?

Q2. You have created inspired work from deeply rooted memories and the perpetual state of injustices toward the Sikh people, how does it feel that that work, coming from such an oppressed space, was not shown [due to COVID]?

Q3. Your work often explores duplexity. I’ve been reading about the past work you’ve done…it speaks about creation and destruction, retrospection and introspection, ancestry and present day, grieving and healing, I wonder what informs this line of inquiry for you?

Q4. You’re speaking about how these opposing concepts can sometimes unify, has this happened before for you?

Q5. In your household, you were raised by Punjabi Sikh parents. Was Sikhi a big part of your upbringing or was it learned?

Q6.You lost your mom recently. What were her parting words to you and what impact has this had on you?

Q7. There’s something eternal about your work. What does sovereignty mean to you?

Q8. The Black Constellation, they offer radical reckoning of our current cultural moment. Can you speak to this reckoning?

Q9. These objects that you make, the quality and what you consciously and subconsciously put into it, what is it that you hope your art can bring to others?

Q10. In your practice, when you’re designing and making, and even prior to that, in ideation, what are your processes? Do you see or feel something before that then has to materialize? How does your brain work?

Q11. A curious point that you’ve made a few times is truth. You reference it, you point to it either in the final product or in how you construct your personal thoughts. So how do you find truth and how do you know that that truth is what resonates with you? Like how do you know that is your absolute truth?

I’ll contextualize this question, as an artist , when you imprint on something that you’ve made, you are equal parts vulnerable to equal parts courageous…that you’re willing to share so much that you carry over your lifespan – be it wounds, memories, rhythms, energy – and you put it into a piece that will suddenly be made available to the public. How do you make sure the piece reflects your truth, even if it’s your truth of that time?

Q12. During this time, when so much is unravelling and there are concerted attempts at levelling, how do we move forward in the direction of truth?