WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN 4BYSIX INVITED YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROJECT?

I was honestly really happy. I always love being part of initiatives that have a strong purpose behind them. If there’s a good cause involved, I’m in. This project felt meaningful from the start.

YOU’RE SELF-TAUGHT AND STARTED YOUR PRACTICE AFTER SEEING A POP ART EXHIBITION. WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THAT MOMENT THAT PUSHED YOU TO BEGIN CREATING ART?

I was already attending an art high school at the time, and my school took us to a Pop Art exhibition in my hometown. As part of the show, they screened documentaries in the evenings, and it was there that I saw the Basquiat documentary and Exit Through the Gift Shop by Banksy for the first time. Those films lit a fire in me. I left thinking, This is it. I want to do this too.

YOUR FIGURES OFTEN SHARE THE SAME FIXED, UNREADABLE SMILE. WHAT DOES THAT UNIFORMITY REPRESENT TO YOU?

That smile comes from real experiences. Moments where people smiled at me, pretending everything was fine, only for me to later discover they were hiding pain or sadness. That disconnect stuck with me, the smile as a kind of mask. You can’t always tell what’s behind it. Is it honest? Is it hiding something?

At the same time, my roots are in graffiti, where repetition writing your name again and again was the essence. That instinct to repeat naturally carried over into the repeated faces in my work. It’s the same expression, again and again, echoing both disguise and identity.

WHAT DREW YOU TO THE FOREST AS A SETTING FOR THIS WORK - WAS IT A PLACE OF PEACE, MYSTERY, OR PERHAPS A METAPHOR FOR SOMETHING INTERNAL?

For me being in a forest always gives me a sense of peace and calmness. Its the best getaway to refresh my mind and thoughts and usually the place where I get the best ideas.

From the other side, since I left life of the big cities and living now close to the nature, I guess I get inspired by it as well and its part of my work way more than it used to be

THE PALETTE BLENDS SOFT PEACH TONES WITH DEEP NIGHT BLUES - HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON THESE COLOURS? DO THEY REFLECT A MOOD, A MEMORY, OR A SYMBOLIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS?

I was just trying out some new colors and approaches. I rarely paint motifs of night and darkness so from this point it's also a pretty unique work. 

I never used violet before and thought I could get a pleasant feeling at night. I did a similar drawing on two pieces of paper that got me inspired to paint this on the two panels. 

The colors definitely represent a good mood and warm feelings of the night.

YOUR STYLE HERE FEELS BOTH RAW AND DREAMLIKE - IS THIS A NEW DIRECTION IN YOUR WORK? HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM YOUR EARLIER PIECES, AND WHAT INSPIRED THIS EVOLUTION?

I was in the phase of complete experimentation in the last year where I was trying all sorts of things and approaches to work. 

I wanted to include my imagination part and mix it together with my figures. I felt that it's the best way to escape from reality and create your own world/universe that way.

From clean one color backgrounds and focus just on the figure I wanted to dive into the background as well now and not have focus just on the figure.

THERE’S A STRONG CONTRAST BETWEEN THE HUMAN-LIKE FIGURE AND THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE - HOW DO THESE TWO ELEMENTS CONNECT? ARE THEY SEPARATE WORLDS, OR TWO SIDES OF THE SAME STORY?

To me these two parts create one unique piece. They are so different from some points but at the same time they create one piece. They are two different separate worlds but at the same time so connected. I think we as humans just lose this connection with nature some time and in my opinion I think everyone should have it.

DO YOU SPEND MUCH TIME IN NATURE OR FORESTS YOURSELF? HOW DOES BEING OUTDOORS INFLUENCE YOUR PERSPECTIVE OR THE EMOTIONAL TONE OF YOUR PAINTINGS?

I spend a lot of time in nature. Already playing golf in my local course which is located in the middle of the hills where only forest surrounds it and mountains in the background gives me this inner peace and calmness.

But in general I often go for a walk in the forest with my dogs or just go to the mountains to stay in nature.

This always gives me so much inspiration, clears my mind and gets me ready for the studio.