INTERVIEW with Amanda Stuart
Carmela Loiacono talks with Amanda Stuart who takes part in the International Art Exhibition NATURAL FLOW – Exploring water’s essence in Matera, at cultural hypogeum Lega Navale Italiana Matera-Magna Grecia.

Carmela Loiacono – Please talk about the selected video art work “Oceana” you exhibited during the exhibition NATURAL FLOW – Exploring water’s essence. 
Amanda Stuart – Special thanks to Carmela for selecting my video art piece “Oceana” for the exhibition NATURAL FLOW, International Art Exhibition, Cultural Hypogeum Lega Navale Italiana, Matera, Italy (2025).
Oceana is a dramatic descent into the deep, where the underwater soundworld calls and the ocean breathes. It begins in the depths of the water, submerged with pulsing sonar like sounds, building to rushing water and long haunting calls. (Original audio of the Orca and Ross Seals is heard at 1:15). More harmonious calls are heard before moving into a distant almost birdlike section. Strange noises of wailing and deep granular sounds move through the ocean. A storm builds and the turmoil leads to a dramatic climax which suddenly releases. Back down into the deepest part of the ocean, we are immersed in powerful rushing moaning sounds that dominate the seascape. Slowly rising up through the layers of the ocean, we are left gently floating into the wild blue yonder.
I was delighted to be chosen to take part in the Polar Sounds project – a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) who made the original sound recording of the Killer Whales and Ross Seals in the Antarctic. The aims of the project was to highlight the soundscapes of the Antartica and the importance of sound communication between the animals and how it is affected by climate change.
The Oceana soundscape was created by transforming a 2 minute sample of Orca and Ross Seal calls into 61 different sounds and the visuals created by layering and transforming fourteen of my paintings.

Carmela Loiacono – How would you describe your creative process? What or who influenced or is influencing your work?
Amanda Stuart – My process is one of surrender—listening as much as seeing. I follow the rhythm of the brush as I would the rise and fall of a melody, allowing colour to move like sound through space. Shapes drift into being the way notes gather into harmony, each one finding its place in an unfolding composition. Layers of colour swell and fade like soundscapes— fluid, unplanned—until a flicker of recognition passes through me, a moment when something alive begins to hum beneath the surface. From there, each brushstroke, each note, each texture of sound either belongs or it does not; the work itself decides.
My practice explores the intersection of beauty and drama, crafting immersive visual and sonic experiences that guide audiences through journeys of emotion and intensity—from subtle gestures to powerful, climactic moments.
In both my visual and sonic works, I blend delicate gestures with moments of striking intensity, weaving translucent colours with dense textures to create layered, dreamlike worlds of resonance and reflection. Whether through the stillness of a painted surface or the dynamic interplay of sound and moving image, I want to invite sustained contemplation and sensory immersion.
Drawing inspiration from nature, science, places, and deeply felt emotions, I shape layered sonic and visual landscapes—ranging from the most delicate gestures to powerful climaxes. Often imagining my works within performance spaces, I allow the setting to guide form and narrative, building a sonic and visual palette that evolves organically.
Experimentation with new technologies and transformative techniques is central to my process, yet accessibility remains key. My aim is to create organic cohesive works that invite audiences on believable yet unexpected journeys.

Carmela Loiacono – What do you think about shared art on social media? Could it be an alternative way of communicating contemporary art?
Amanda Stuart – I think social media is a powerful way of sharing and communicating contemporary art. It allows art to reach wider audiences instantly, creating connections across distances and sparking conversations that might not happen otherwise. At the same time I feel experiencing art in a dedicated space offers something unique—the chance to slow down, spend time with each piece, feel its scale, and let it resonate with your body and soul. Ideally, both approaches can complement each other: social media opening doors and sparking curiosity, and physical spaces deepening the encounter.

Carmela Loiacono – What are your future goals and/or projects?
Amanda Stuart – My future goals are to remain brave and open in creating work from whatever ideas and emotions arise, to experiment with large-scale installations, and to continue sharing my art with wider audiences.