The term Bygone refers to a past occurrence, meaning “belonging to or happening in a past time”. Nostalgia as the emotive dimension that ties up an intricate net of references in Bridget’s digital collages, aka Bygone — artist and DJ from Adelaide, Australia. Her images are an open love letter to Japanese animation, early y2k tech, video games but also folkloristic elements withdraw from medieval and archaic aesthetics. Re-processed from her own childhood memories, all these elements are puzzled together to create dream-like landscapes where everything is suspended and doesn’t really rely to reality limits: bubbly pastel-colour fantasies alternate with darker emotiveness, revealing a deeper connection with themes such as being hurt but also healing and acceptance.

Bygone introduces to Coeval her visual imagery alongside with the influences shaping her art and music, chatting about missing Tumblr, club nights and her childhood love for anime.

I would like to start with a brief introduction on you. The term Bygone refers to a past occurrence, meaning “belonging to or happening in a past time”. What does this pseudonym means to you and how is related to your art practice?

Hi I'm Bridget, aka Bygone, an artist and DJ from Adelaide, South Australia. When I was thinking of a name, I brainstormed a few words starting with "B", but Bygone stood out to me because I've always loved the archaic. At the time I was heavily fascinated by folklore (notably Russian folklore artists) and also medieval aesthetics (medieval art, armour/weapons and architecture), and I've always loved the dark fantasy and gothic elements of many films and animes - which ultimately led me to a name that focused on the past. Also - I'm an extremely sentimental person and I often spend too much time dwelling on old memories and reliving the past, I really cherish old family relics, letters and little antique trinkets, so I felt the name fit.

An out clear love for anime, early 2000s tech and maybe even a bit of cottage core, characterise the visual world of your digital collages. Are there any particular memories from your personal past that were relevant for your artistic growth? Where do you draw inspiration by?

Totally, actually one of the biggest influences for my art is my childhood love for anime (that remains), and childhood period. I started borrowing anime and manga from I'd say around 5. I was obsessed with the worlds I was propelled into, be it dark fantasy/gothic, mecha, bubbly cute worlds, amplified everyday scenes of vast blue skies and fields... I still feel very akin to my child self, I loved to create little worlds through art and I think that's what I'm trying to accomplish still - digital dream realms that exaggerate the day-to-day. Back on childhood, I was obsessed with mythology, folklore and videogames/game aesthetics (that of say final fantasy, fantasy RPGS & console/tech aesthetics) also... cute stationary. Which I think maybe answers for the "cottage core," 2000s tech & 2000s elements haha! I draw a lot of inspiration from my friends and all they teach me, also from watching film and listening to music, going for long walks and taking lots of pictures of whatever I find.

Ethereal light seems to be the energetic force aiming meaning to some elements in your composed imagery. What quality and symbolic value does light have for you?

I find myself always adding a lot of light in my collages, I think maybe because it feels pure. When I go for walks I take a lot of photos of light sources because I find them the most mesmerising, and I layer a lot of different light that way into my work. I would say I used to make much darker art in the past, so shifting more into brighter imagery I'd identify as an attempt to embrace more of a positive force, a brighter and more blessed attitude. I suppose also in a spiritual way, after some dark times and loss of a loved one, I try to resemble lightness & heaven. Not to say I don't love dark imagery too, I like to experiment with both a lot, sort of like Abe's "Haibane Renmei" & "Serial Experiments Lain" contrast in work.

If you grew up in early social media’s baby steps, you also grew up developing the need to express an intimate emotional state on blogs, profiles, tweets, etc. by choosing a precise aesthetic coherence. Tumblr for example was perfectly made for this. So your work is a bit nostalgic to me, but it also reminds me of this need to put together some affective elements to express an idea. Is this something that might be of relevance to you when approaching to a new visual work?

100% rings true for my art. I grew up right as social media really became a part of the everyday, and I first had Tumblr around the age of 14. I was obsessed with curating images and trying to piece together a puzzle of all my favourite visual things on a blog. I actually recently got back into Tumblr. On this topic I think I have to mention a negative in how I think social media has changed in the current economy - that we are made to feel we ourselves must be a "brand" so to speak. I do think artists can and do use platforms as a way to articulate ourselves visually and with emotion still. I try to stay true to the imagery and aesthetics I've always loved, and try not to get too caught up in the feedback loop of it all sometimes, certainly feels draining sometimes. I have a love-hate relationship for social media for sure, but ultimately I'm so glad I can connect and share my art with lovely people who find something maybe nostalgic or beautiful in it also.

Bygone is also the pseudonym for a series of mixes and tracks posted on Soundcloud - dark but somehow rhythmic delicate and glitchy pieces. Is it a personal envision that you would like to bring outside of that virtual dimension to a more live shared dimension? (I actually spotted some pics of you on your instagram during a live set in a club)

It's funny because I haven't made music in so long but it often gets brought up because of my soundcloud. My music from 2016 is basically compiled of samples of things I find fascinating, sort of like the imagery in my art, like horses running or swords being drawn. Music is probably one of my biggest influences, it's such a moving force and I think I'd go crazy without it. I stopped making my own music but I've continued to DJ and make mixes which I enjoy just as much, I love to make soundscapes in the same way I make art - creating the feeling of entering a dream/alternate world. When I DJ alongside friends (and in a B2B duo "Meta nurse" with my friend David) and in my local community it feels totally different to my digital art, because precisely it's the irl shared dimension that fulfills that important human desire of community and real life interaction. I love the rawness and lack of tech (besides the CDJS & projections) in the club, it's especially needed to regenerate when I feel a little robot from being on my phone or computer too much.

For as much as I know your visual work exists only in the virtual space as a digital object, have you ever exhibit your work / thought about it? And besides this, what are your plans for the future?

Yes, I've only really shown my art/digital art online, although I'd love to make more tangible pieces to exhibit too (prints, sculpture or mixed media). I did contribute to "888 ･ﾟ✧ SUGAR STAR ??? ･ﾟ✧" which was an exhibit curated by underground flower (@greedy_rigor) and my piece was printed onto physical. That was a pretty relaxed and quick project on my behalf, but I love what they organise as they do a lot of digital-turned-physical exhibits in irl places like abandoned buildings, which they then photograph or you can visit if you can get to their location (based in Hong Kong mostly.) I would love to do more stuff like that now that I'm surer of my approach to my art. I also have made art for the club and have a few posters/visuals (for projections) in the works for club nights my friends and I organise here in Adelaide. My plans for the future are a little unclear, as I'm better at dwelling, but I am going to make more stuff for the club/as collaborations with other artists, continue to learn about ways to further my digital art (my next battle is learning blender), and maybe make some prints or tees ! I wanna shout out @cyborgypo, a fellow digital creator and friend of mine that I'll definitely continue to collab with going forward and hopefully make some physical prints with soon. ☆