How does the nature of a specific wall affect what you choose to paint on it It’s the cornerstone of any mural. Some artists design in the workshop and then go “hunt” the wall that best suits the design. That has pros and cons and I actually do the opposite. I find a wall and it tells me what I should paint. It’s not just about shape and texture, but the surrounding environment, and how people pass by it. I examine everything from access routes to the number of cars passing, before starting to imagine what would work on it. What layout would work best, what would interact best and what would arrest the most.
How do realism and surrealism interact in your work I use surrealism as a concept and represent it with hyper realist technique to try and give the impression that ‘it’ really might exist. Most of my compositions incorporate a scaled human figure which guides the overall scale of the piece and somehow that is the magic touch. I like to incorporate many elements of everyday life taken out of their traditional context and inserted into new ones. I also try to avoid suspending it in a separate plane of reality where it is a fully immersive individual space, but try to make it interact with the ‘reality’ beyond its edges. I look for ways to suggest that the scene in the mural could be happening in real life.
How do you approach the balance between 2 and 3 dimensions
By creating a surreal atmosphere that is somehow unreal while avoiding metaphysical or dreamlike compositions. Combining elements that exist and are part of everyday life, but decontextualizing or oversizing without neglecting their essence That leads to very interesting dynamics that seem to come alive and detach from the wall.
How much is unzipping reality in El Mago a metaphor for life This is the shortest answer of this interview. I could write two whole pages but to do so would totally betray why I paint. If I really wanted to explain how I felt or what I meant, I would, instead of painting. The reason I do this is to see how other people interpret the painting I put up. They are only cards in a deck. How do you want to play with them?
Is consciousness a physical dimension We perceive the physical world through our five senses. That creates a reality through the organised abstract thoughts in our heads that combine with the feelings aroused by the physical world to determine our personality, our deeds and the way we move through the world. All this generates consciousness that leads us down the path of our true self - the judge that measures our actions. Consciousness exists on another plane but interferes with the physical world. As does painting. An artist materializes what happens inside, he modifies the world around him and interferes in the rest. Changing consciousnesses.