Aldis Hodge

Take a sip of the wine. What’s a piece of creative work, yours or someone else’s, that you’d pair with it?

AH: Selfishly I’d pair this with one of my watch designs. There’s an elegance to the flavor of the wine that reminds me of the elegant and calming process of design.

You’re involved in acting, producing, painting, and watchmaking, just to name a few. What is it that ties all these creative parts of you together?

AH: Invention and innovation are my languages. I use design to navigate, explore, communicate and study what life is. Designing a watch is synonymous to designing a character for a film or creating an original story. My aim is to reflect what I know, what I believe or what I’m curious about and see how people respond.

In both watchmaking and winemaking, some things are made to age and endure, while others are meant to be enjoyed in the moment. What do you believe makes something timeless?

AH: Something that is “timeless” is deemed so because it has the ability to capture, punctuate and/or define a moment, an era or a core-value. So when you experience something that you regard as “timeless” I believe it’s because whatever you’ve experienced and how you’ve experienced that thing has created a lasting influential impact on your life.

And what do you appreciate about things that intentionally aren't timeless, that capture a specific moment in time?

AH: I believe those kinds of things teach you to exist in the present. They urge you to appreciate what you can while you can without taking it for granted.

You’ve taken on roles with deep cultural resonance. How does knowing you’re celebrating someone’s legacy influence the way you approach your creative expression?

AH: I see those opportunities as my responsibility to reflect or amplify one’s legacy. And to a further extent, become a vessel to carry on the lessons they intended to teach.

Is there something you’ve unlearned along the way that has helped you grow into a stronger artist?

AH: I’m still intentionally unlearning many things. But at the top of the list are self-doubt, impatience, hopelessness and fatigue that often masquerade as anger or frustration, and a lack of self-prioritization.

Have you encountered anything lately that energized your creative spirit?

AH: Most recently I’ve been energized by difficult life challenges. Life constantly throws surprise blockades or instability, and those challenges constantly remind me that I’m capable of surpassing them.

What is it about creativity or art that brings people together?

AH: I believe it’s community and a sense of belonging. I feel like the most consistent and constant need we share as individuals is the desire to be seen and understood so that we don’t feel ostracized or alone. Creativity and art help us communicate certain things amongst one another without having to utter a word. And they have the ability to make us feel comfortable in foreign environments.

Art/creativity has the power to unify people which often results in communal progression in powerfully impactful ways.