Art Nouveau reflects a more elegant style of design, where as Art Deco, conveys a sense of prosperity, so it's difficult to deviate from the symbolism that it portrays or the artists who typify these styles. I have been trying to develop a style that strongly resembles calligraphy, where a few simple brushstrokes, can convey light, tone and shape. Unfortunately, it's difficult to paint something with a few simple brushstrokes and really make a strong impact. It's all about finding beauty in simplicity but sometimes you need to use technique to fully captivate your audience. There are so many amazing contemporary artists out there, who are all doing different things, so you really need to use style and technique to amaze your audience and grab their attention. I have tried to incorporate different styles into my art work, and relate it to the subject matter. While working on the bubble painting, I used an Italian technique called sfumato, which creates a smoke like effect. This was perfect for the reflection of colour on the bubbles, as it sits against a translucent texture and still reflects the shape and form of the object. While working on the Snow Tiger painting, I wanted to show the black on white contrast of the Tiger's stripes. I created a stencil from the design, took the stencil outside whilst it was snowing, spray painted the design and then left the snow to fall onto the canvas. The water from the snow, absorbed the paint and flaked off into what looks like snow in front of the Tiger. I think it's a matter of trying out new things and experimenting with what you have. Some techniques work and others don't, but you need to take those risks to really achieve greatness.
How do you see the relationship between emotional and intellectual perception of your work? In particular, how much do you consider the immersive nature of the viewing experience?
I want people to take an in-depth look at my work, rather than just seeing what's on the surface. The smallest detail can have it's own characteristic and I want people to have a realization about the underlining connotations. Water for example, is formless, it can work around an object, slowly eroding it. To some, water can seem uncharacteristic and insignificant. Water eroding an object shows us that persistence can help us break down any given task. For me personally the sound of water can be peaceful and relaxing, it reminds me of a quiet day watching the rain from my bedroom window. The solace that you feel from being surrounded by rain, is almost like a blanket from the outside world. I try to relate the subject matter to the viewer, to give them a more personal, immersive experience. I am trying to spark an emotional response in the viewer but at the same time make them think about a deeper meaning.
I had a girl contact me on social media to say that after seeing my art work, it made all her problems melt away. Giving someone that kind of experience is really powerful. In society our minds are so focused on ego driven goals, when in fact we should forget about our worries and stresses. Having too many minds, means that we can't focus on what's important. A side tracked mind can lead to confusion and a loss of direction. I am hoping that when people see my work they feel inspired, expressing themselves in different ways and improving their self-esteem. I've had people, in the past, say to me "but I am not as talented as other artists". Buddhism teaches us not to compare yourself to what your neighbor is doing, as everyone is doing something completely different and unique. Look inside yourself and make up your own creative process. It's all about the mutual appreciation and connecting to other like minded people.
Before leaving this conversation we would like to pose a question about the nature of the relationship of your art with your audience. Do you consider the issue of audience reception as being a crucial component of your decision-making process, in terms of what type of language is used in a particular context?
I would say that the audience is at the core of my decision making process. I make art for people to enjoy, rather than trying to reflect my talent or mindset. I want people to have a multitude of experiences when seeing my work. I don't mind if people don't understand my work or think that it's too superficial. I want the audience to live vicariously through me and follow me along this journey. I feel blessed at my success as an artist. I have won multiple-awards and had my work sold at auction alongside Andy Warhol, LS Lowry and Peter Howson, but I feel that I have only scratched the surface of my artistic intentions. When I first started out as an artist, I used to get stressed out at the thought of people seeing my work. During my first group exhibition, I got quite drunk, as a way of dealing with the nerves. Once I got to the gallery, I noticed that the overall reaction was really positive. It made me realize that people were not out there to criticize but rather enjoy and appreciate the art work. These days, I feel that my creativity is boundless and my ability has given me the freedom to create whatever I like. I am never going to amaze people on every occasion, but at some point I will create a masterpiece that will go down in the annals of art history.
Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Michael. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving?
I am going to continue working on the themes of 'living in harmony' and 'the wisdom and beauty of imperfection', as I feel that there is lots more for me to explore. I am going to extend my reach further, by taking up some exhibition offers abroad, in places across Europe. I would love to exhibit my work in Japan, as I feel that the theme of nature and harmony would go down well there. I have recently finished a three month run of exhibitions in Edinburgh, Scotland, so I am going to head back to the studio and produce some new work.
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All my way is influenced by encounterings.
It began by the meeting with my professor of literature at school. More than giving French or Literature classes, she brought us to discover texts, movies, plays, visual artworks and to think about on what we saw or read.. Thanks to her that I met Pierre Vincke, a theatredirector who was worjink in the tradition of Grotowski ... Both of them have led me to go to theater school. In this school I had meetings. Meetings with artists but also and especially human beings that made me discover. I always need o discover rather than to master a practice. It's probably the reason my encounter with Monica Klingler and Boris Nieslony was decisive for me and led me on the path of Performance Art which is a form still difficult to define. Each performance artist has a different definition of what it is...
Could you identify a specific artwork that has influenced your artistic practice or has impacted the way you think about race and ethnic identity in visual culture?
No I don't have a specific artwork that has influenced my artistic practise but many.
I'm influenced by some philsophers as well as poets or musicians or dancers or visual artists but also by some places or landscapes or atmospheres ... For some years, I was used for example to go to India where I was used to follow some traditionnal muscians or to learn bharatanatyam and practice vipassana meditation... Of course this experience has impacted my art work.... This brought me to think and work differently... My experience in India brought me to discover traditionnal strong art and paradoxally to the way of Performance Art. But there I see one common point: to make no separation between art and life and to be here and now, without projection on the future.
It's difficult for me to speak about race and ethnic identity. But I can say that today we miss more and more this notion of “to be here and now” which is more present in some cultures ... By practising Performance Art, it's my way to be connected to this way of thinking. And even in this field actually it's more and more difficult. The society and the art world brings us more and more to plan in advance, to define our work, more than to do. Just to do. To do what we deeply need.
And of course, my encountering with Black Market International and later the notion of Open Source or Open session via PAErsche have also a big impact on my work. When we go on that, each of us perform by sharing time and space but without trying to convince each other on some common way. This is for me a wonderfull way how we can meet each other, regardless of our origin, our race or our “identity”...
Many of your works carry an autobiographical message. Since you transform your experiences into your artwork, we are curious, what is the role of memory in your artistic productions? We are particularly interested if you try to achieve a faithful translation of your previous experiences or if you rather use memory as starting point to create.
My memory is clearly a starting point to create. I don't have any autobiographical message. I use my personnal experience ( what I feel , what I see, what I learn, what I ear...) to work. It's a motor or a material. I'm not able to paint, so I can't do something with red or white or yellow or black colors. All I have is life, a body alive. And I need to do something with that...
My sensation about life sometimes is too intense then I need to transform this intensity in some action. Some artistic action... If people can take something from this action this is great... but I don't want to give them “a specific message” or to control the translation of my experience.