KT A Go-Go is a striking presence in the UK’s alternative art scene, blending religious iconography with gothic flair and subcultural depth. Since the pandemic, she’s transformed relics and symbols into haunting works that challenge convention and captivate the soul. With several of her pieces adorning the walls of Crypt HQ, I sat down with KT to explore her creative rituals, her artistic space, and the magnetic pull of sacred imagery. What drives her vision? and why do these symbols continue to speak so powerfully?
Who is the artist KT A Go-Go?
I’m KT, I make art with gothic, dark, horror, historical and religious themes, and I’m inspired by Gothic architecture, dark themes and religious iconography. I was previously a tattooist for about 20 years, having owned two of my own tattoo studios, one in Essex and one in central London. I always made art just because I liked to, alongside tattooing. During the COVID pandemic, while all the tattoo studios were closed, I started selling things I made online from an Etsy shop, and now I do that full-time. I spend my time painting, casting my own frames and making sculptures.
Do you remember the first piece of art you created?
No, I’ve always drawn and made things my whole life. I always drew as a child for fun, listening to books on tape and drawing pictures to go along with the stories while I listened. My mum painted oils and watercolour; she was really good and exhibited her art in local art shows and sales, so we were always around art and lots of it on the walls of our house. We always had any art materials we needed to hand, and I grew up being able to paint, sew, draw, and do woodwork, all skills I still use now.
What compels you to make art, and what were the major inspirations for your signature work?
I find inspiration in my love of history, science and architecture, subcultures and tattoos. I guess I’m a Goth at heart, but I always liked the unusual and dark side of things, also the beauty and drama of imposing imagery. A lot of the things I make clearly stem from popular tattoo themes, like sacred hearts, skulls, etc. They are all traditional subject matter, and I guess years in that industry have definitely been a major influence on my art themes. I want my art to not only look good in someone’s house but also to be personal. People can choose the piece that calls to them; that’s why I would never mass-produce anything. I hope people feel drawn to the piece they may buy, and if they do, then that’s the person I have made it for.
You tend to focus on Los Muertos, Santa Muerte, Sacred Hearts, Skulls, and a beautiful and striking array of religious symbols, notably the intricate and ornate crucifixes, which seem to be a recurrent theme. Where does this particular influence and fascination come from?
I guess ultimately it’s death and the fragility of life. Death is present in all our lives; it’s that one sure thing that we all have to deal with at some point, both our own mortality and that of the ones close to us. Recently hammered home by the death of my own mother. I’m not obsessed with death, but I find people’s views on it interesting, especially what happens afterwards. For some of us, it may be scary to think that there’s just nothing, we simply just cease to be, which I believe fuels a lot of people’s religious beliefs, the wanting to think we are more than just an organism, that our consciousness is somehow immortal and that there will be something after death. Death and religion are intertwined, the thought that someone might go to heaven or hell when they die, that threat hanging over you if you don’t tow the religious line, or the reward you might reap for sticking to the rules. Religion can have a very dark side. If you take Catholicism, for example (which is the source of some of my favourite imagery), crucifixion, possession, demons, eternal damnation, exorcism, and punishment, it’s pretty brutal, scary stuff, and has been a constant in horror films from the beginning.
Are you a religious person yourself?
I’m not a religious person, I respect that some people want to have religion in their lives but it’s not for me, I might even go as far to say that I’m fearful of it, and anti it in a lot of ways because of what it can do to people, the hold it can have, and the ease at which people can exploit it for their own gain. I can understand someone wanting the community or reassurance that religion can bring, but I think there are other sources of that, from family, friends and even social media for some. I certainly don’t wish to offend people that are religious, everyone’s entitled to live how they want and believe what they choose to, I’m of the ‘do as you like as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else’ school, I don’t believe in worshipping anyone/thing, I have my own morals without the need of the threat of wrathful gods or punishments. Treat people how you want to be treated, look after your loved ones and those that need help and make the most of the life you have.
What do you think it is that people find so alluring about religious relics and symbols?
I find them beautiful and intriguing, and for me, it’s the sense of the power this stuff has. It might not have the type of power over me that’s intended, but knowledge of the power that religion has wielded over humans for centuries gives it a kind of energy. The opulence of churches and cathedrals is the main draw for me: velvet, gold, beautiful carvings, statues, ornate architecture, and amazing artwork. It’s all very epic, and it’s like that for a reason: it creates awe. Regardless of whether you’re actually religious yourself, it’s played such a huge part in all of our history; our lives are deeply impacted by religion, whole countries are ruled by it, and it’s killed people and changed how people live. Even the most anti-religious person can look at the roof of the Sistine Chapel and feel something; it’s a powerful aesthetic.
How often do you experiment with new moulds, resin and frames as I know each of your items are created from scratch. Have you mastered the technique now?
My first foray into casting was with resin, but unfortunately, that couldn’t continue because I very quickly discovered that I’m very allergic to it, and suffered what I can only describe as a kind of DIY face peel. I had to find another less offensive substance to use for casting. I tried standard plaster, which was far too weak and easy to break, then Jesmonite, which is fairly costly but was pretty good, then I discovered the type of toughened plaster I use now. It took a bit of trial and error, which is basically how I work out everything I do. I’m pretty pleased that all that happened. I had reservations with producing resin pieces because of the environmental implications, and resin can feel light and a little plastic, which just isn’t the way I want my pieces to feel. I like them to have weight and feel substantial. After that, I moved on to making my own silicone moulds to cast from, too, just because of the lack of variety in moulds available to buy. I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered anything; there’s always something new to learn.
What dictates the size of your art pieces?
I’m afraid at the moment sizes of my pieces are largely dictated by what I can reasonably ship to customers, I sell a large percentage of my pieces overseas and over a certain weight and size the shipping costs are ridiculous, I do sometime make larger pieces but then I am only be able to make them available for sale to the UK so it’s easier to try and mostly stick to a manageable size. Although lately, with all the trouble with shipping into the EU and the US, I intend to do some more UK in-person events, so this will give me more opportunities to create some larger, more impressive pieces for sale.
How does the actual space you’re using influence the work, and vice versa?
I surround myself with things I like. I have museum-like areas in my house, with display cabinets and bookshelves and have art everywhere, mirrors, gallery walls, a lot of Vanitas painting prints, maps and old botanical book plates. It’s dark and cosy and comfortable, which is a good creative space for me.
Tell us about your daily practice or space that you work in, and how it has changed and evolved over the years.
I make all my pieces at home, I’m really lucky to have an adjoining garage which I use as a workshop for woodwork, spray painting and making a general mess, and my utility room is now also the plaster room for casting. But I like to paint and craft mainly in my living room. I couldn’t paint if I wasn’t comfortable. I’m often up very late making things, I don’t sleep as much as I should. Being a full-time lone parent, my schedule was always dictated by my child’s needs, although not as much now that he’s older. It’s not glamorous. I’m mostly covered in paint or plaster dust, and working from home offers very little interaction with other people, which is something I miss from when I was tattooing. I know I would still make things and paint, even if it wasn’t as a job, so I actually feel very lucky to be able to work doing something I enjoy, that I can fit around parenting and be fully in control of.
Do you have specific tools or techniques that you’ve incorporated into your work?
I have my trusty scroll saw, jigsaw, mitre saw and Dremel, which covers most of the woodworking. I like working out ways of making things. I can find a way of making pretty much anything, and am also blessed to be surrounded by talented friends with skills in different areas, whom I can call on if I need advice on something I haven’t tried before. I tend to think about what I want to make, then work out how to; there’s always a way!
How do you know when a piece is finished?
I’m pretty good at knowing when enough is enough, you can easily spoil something by fiddling about with it too much and I usually have a very clear image of what something will look like when it’s finished before it even starts, and due to my lack of patience when it’s done, it’s done and I move onto the next thing I’ve already got planned.
Have there been any pieces that have been particularly hard to let go of?
I do have my favourites, but I don’t really like putting my own work on display in my house. I would just notice things I’m not happy with or wish I had done things a different way in hindsight, and start picking holes in it. I’d much rather look at things other people have made. The only things I tend to make for myself are things I just can’t find elsewhere and really want, or personal things to me, like my jacket, which I recently painted.
Are you open to accepting commissions?
Ah, now this, I get asked a lot. I want to, but it’s time-consuming with a million messages back and forth, and if I’m honest, sometimes people want stuff I don’t want to make, that I don’t like aesthetically, and I don’t want to put pieces out there that I don’t really like. There are good aspects to commissions too, like someone might have a great idea for a piece, but again, I can only make so much in a week, and for every commission piece, it would probably mean two or more fewer pieces for the shop, with all the added to-ing and fro-ing. I also don’t like making copies of pieces I’ve done before, I don’t intentionally make the same pieces over again, I’m sure I have because I have a finite amount of frame types and things I use in them, but I have no interest in churning out ten of the exact same thing, I don’t want to become some sort of human conveyor belt, I like that my pieces are all handmade and have their own uniqueness.
What’s the most challenging aspect of creating art for you?
Creating art is the fun bit, the bit I find easiest. The selling of it is the hard part for me; it is, after all, a business, and I have to make a living as it’s my only source of income. It’s the admin, parcels, shipping, accounts, I have to force myself to do any of that, I just want to make stuff and paint, that’s all I ever wanted to do. The more I absolutely have to do something, the more I tend to avoid doing it and will leave it till the last minute (or wriggle out of doing it altogether). I believe I may have pathological demand avoidance, which also leads me to not want to do some of those tasks that we simply have to do as part of adult life, which can get me in sticky situations sometimes with paying bills, etc., but luckily, I have people around me who help with that. Also, I find it hard to put value on what I make. Deciding on prices, I often ask my sister or friends what I should price things at, because I have no idea what someone else would think they are worth.
You launch a collection every Saturday night at 6pm through your Etsy store – and I’ve seen first-hand that these collections sell out within hours of upload. Why did you choose to release these collections weekly, and what sort of pressure does this put on you as the artist to fulfil this weekly deadline?
It does put a lot of pressure on me, but I need that; without pressure, I would be flaky. Some weeks I’d hardly do anything otherwise, as it is, I cruise through the start of the week, then have to hurriedly get myself to work the second half of the week to get enough made. I have a set amount of pieces I try to get made each week. It’s now three times what it used to be, but I need that structure, and it means I can make the most of my making time. I’m extremely prolific and I work seven days a week. I’m quick at everything. When I was tattooing, I was twice as fast as other artists I knew, and it’s not because I try to do things quickly; I have no patience, and my brain just runs fast. It can be a problem; not everything is best done at light speed, but it’s my baseline, and it takes a concerted effort to take my time with things when I know I need to.
You don’t have a dedicated website to showcase yourself. What is it about the Etsy and Instagram platforms that seems to work so well for you?
I use Etsy purely for ease; it makes shipping easier and recording sales, etc., for my accounts. There are definitely some things that could be improved about it, and obviously, the fees are a drawback, but for someone like me who hates all that side of the business, it’s the easiest option for now. Instagram is where people find me, so the actual selling platform I use isn’t that important for me, as I drive most of my sales from my Instagram myself. I could be smart and save those fees and have my own website. I can even build websites myself and have done so before, but at the moment, it’s not something I want to spend the time on, and obviously, the more people tell me I should do that, the more I don’t even though I know it makes sense.
Who do you tend to listen to musically to get you in the creative zone?
Metal, rock, psychobilly, punk, country, some out-of-character modern stuff that’s just become a brain worm because I heard it somewhere. Totally depends on what I’m doing, though. Ghost, Sleeptoken, Slaughter to Prevail, and Gojira are all regulars on my playlists.
What’s next for KT A Go-Go?
Just keep on trying to evolve, I guess, find and make more new moulds to expand my range of things to cast. Carry on using my own passions as a basis for what I make, and drag myself and my wares to more in person UK selling events, I have just had a stall at Cornwall tattoo convention, which was my first time working a tattoo convention in a trading rather than tattooing capacity, and it went really well, I met some of my customers that had previously bought from me online and met lots of new customers too. It was fun and pretty exhausting, but I’ll definitely be up for doing it again. I’m working to live, not the other way round. I work really hard, it’s great because I like my work, but I have to make sure I schedule some time off When you like your job, that’s actually quite hard to do; it’s hard to tear yourself away. There is always that creeping fear that things won’t be like this forever, and you should be making the most of it while it’s going well. But I need time with my loved ones, to go see bands and spend time with friends, so I try to make sure that happens.
https://www.instagram.com/kt.agogoart
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ktagogoart
