Drinking, play, drifting, drugs

What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
Lately I’ve been working on a series that comes out of occasions where things feel briefly good and well. Drinking, play, drifting, drugs. It’s about pleasure and its proximity to self-destruction. I’m less interested in clear narratives and more interested in creating an atmospheric illusion of life as it’s actually lived, messy and unresolved, mundane yet surreal.

What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on them?
I learned that meaning doesn’t need to be imposed on experience. By paying attention to what I was instinctively drawn toward—certain moods, spaces, and gestures—, the work revealed its own coherence. I also learned that restraint can be a form of strength: that not explaining or resolving images allows them to remain alive, unfinished, and open to interpretation.

What words, ideas or emotions were going through your head?
Mostly it was a mix of relief and restlessness. Feeling good for a moment, seeking climax, knowing it won’t last. Wanting more, always wanting more and more. I wasn’t chasing specific ideas so much as trying to hold onto a feeling I know is fleeting.

Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
I’ve always been drawn to authors like Bukowski, Céline, Houellebecq, Kerouac. I find they have the most influence on me and my work. Authors who highlight the defeated dirty condition and fundamental vein striving of the modern era, but who still find a form of redemption through attention and style. They don’t redeem life morally; they redeem it aesthetically.

What's been the most difficult thing you've faced recently in your creative process?
The thing that always stifles my creative process is dreaming about the appearances of success. Seeking validation from others rather than listening to the little man that pulls the strings and levers in my head.

What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
¡The Golden Pig! Try the scallops.

If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
If my life this past month was a movie it’d be called My eyes glaze over, and it’d be scored by Harry Nillson.

Recommend one or more artists you follow who inspire you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
Lately I’ve really loved the work of Stefan Ruitenbeek of KIRAC. I think he’s really good at taking you places you don’t want to go. His videos and movies are beautiful.