At times, a connection with the world of the unconscious, the dreamlike, and symbolism emerges. Is this correct? Are these elements that attract you, or do you lean more towards analysing the true and tangible aspects of daily reality?
I like to look at the tangible and investigate how I can pull dreamlike elements out of it. I live by this philosophy of there being an inherent beauty in all things. That’s why I love conceptual and object art, because it makes you look at everyday objects in a whole new way, it makes you see the latent potential in anything around you which honestly makes everyday life more fulfilling. One of my all-time favorite compliments from a very close person in my life was that If I were sitting in an office and all I had was basic office supplies like pencils, tape, paper, etc., that I could still somehow find a way to make a conceptual artwork, that meant the world to me. In my mind, the artist is a magician that takes the ordinary and intervenes with it to make something extraordinary. A big influence to this philosophy was the anime Bleach, one of the story arcs was about how all objects had a soul and there were these special people called Fullbringers, who could call upon and manipulate the souls that exist in all physical things, particularly objects that are of great importance to that person.
Creative expression involves experimentation and the fusion of different techniques and fields. Could you tell us about three figures (without temporal or contextual limits) that you hold in high esteem and find inspiring?
For me it’d be Arthur Jafa, Aaron McGruder, and fictional character Uncle Iroh. Without the work of Arthur Jafa, I honestly might not even be the same artist I am today, I saw “Love is the Message, The Message is Death” when I was like 17 or 18, and to this day I don’t think any other work has produced as emotional a response from me (I cried), and I was like “damn, you can string together found videos to some music and it can be in a major museum”. I’m inspired by his boldness in not shying away from dark images, I respect someone that just does what they want, what they feel, he has this thing about certain sparse people being “witches” in terms of embracing the disturbing, and I honestly identify with that a lot. Don’t get me wrong I definitely have my strong criticisms of him for sure but like bell hooks said, we are allowed to critique the things we love. And one of his arguably most outspoken critics who has even come at me, Faith Ice cold, he documented his call with her, transcribed it and put it in the book for his museum survey, which I really appreciated because he acknowledged and debated his criticisms. With Aaron McGruder, his seminal series “The Boondocks”, a lot of people grew up watching it, myself included but it wasn’t until rewatching it as an adult, that I was able to pick up on all the meanings, and even at times prophetic pieces of social commentary specifically around black culture. He’s part of this greater but also in some ways waning tradition of black humor. I learned from him that in order to get most people to engage with an idea, it has to be packaged properly, and as a conceptual artist, delivery is everything. But what also resonated with me is the idea of just how many people consumed that show, not understanding what they’re laughing at, why they’re laughing, or why they shouldn’t be. Finally Uncle Iroh, a patriarchal character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, represents the wise old man trope, but with a degree of tenderness, care and patience that some might to be considered “motherly”. I watched this video on his character and its representation of positive masculinity, talking about how good masculinity is a blend of both “masculine” and “feminine” traits, and how those aren’t supposed to be mutually exclusive things. His character always seems to know the right thing to say, which I look up to, having the wisdom for every moment, and especially having the wisdom to know when you don’t have the answer. The most potent part being that his wisdom was hard fought for over the course of his whole life, starting as a literal war lord, then becoming a soft, tea loving old man.
In your aesthetics, there’s harmonious coherence among diverse elements (art, installation, music, texts, etc.). Can you update us on your current projects, or share a specific project you aim to complete and have set as a goal?
I mean that’s a bit hard to speak to since there’s so many projects right now which are yet to be confirmed, which as an artist that’s something I’ve come to accept, but the goal is just get more weird and ambitious with my work, I have some stuff that I am holding onto, it’s just a matter of finding the right avenue to execute on the concepts. But also I do have plans to start releasing music properly this year, my music practice is something that I’ve kind of kept to myself as a hobby for a long time, but now I’m ready to share.