Interview with Tarik Mikou

q)Let’s start with the basics; what's your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?

a)Tarik Mikou, 32, Montréal, Canada

q) Do you have any formal training?

a)I train my dog to love our family.

q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?

a)Montreal inspires me a whole lot. You can find the worst and the best of anything at the same street corner. Very NY without the circus acts. Though I love the circus show once in awhile.

q) How do you come up with your concepts?

a)Most of my work begins from a simple moment in my mind. A lot of things inspire me while creating. Though, you could mostly link my work process mostly to improvisation. I rarely know where i'm going but go along with it. It usually brings me to a better place.

q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?

a)no one has the same view of art - i don't call it anything.

i think to me, it's probably fragments of moments i can't always explain.

it's nice having a color palette to convey one's emotion.

q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?

a)I started video creation - 5 sec here, 5 sec there.

We're all surrounded with stories, beauty and movement to explore.

I't a slow process but it's coming nicely.

q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?

a)When the mood strikes, i sometimes go on for hours without stopping. I don't even realize i'm working. It feels like a robot like mechanism linked to the emotion side.

I think those are the best moments, when you lose yourself into your work.

I love creating at night.

q) What are your artistic influences?...and …generally who or what influences you the most?

a)fanfan, la musique, strange dreams, forests n' mountains, noises, fairy tales, horses n' creatures, movie endings...

q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?

a)Jeff Buckley - Fred Astaire - Gustave Doré - Egon Schiele - Billy Wilder - Amelia Earhart - Wieslaw Walkuski - Max Ernst (Une semaine de bonté - La femme 100 têtes) - Henry Darger - Philippe Petit - Zbigniew Preisner - Erwin Blumenfeld - Helmut Newton - Annie Leibovitz - Steven Klein

q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?

a)sleep

q)What are your plans for the future?

a)zoom in on collaborations

q)What sort of music do you listen to?

a)jeff buckley
nina simone
nick drake
tom waits
leonard cohen

glenn gould
erik satie
zbigniew preisner

the xx

q)Do you collect anything?If so what?

a)memories and goodtimes and/or sad...

good keeping them in the basements of us where its dark.

brings back innocence when we come back up from it again...

you know?

q)What do you do for fun?

a)my music project called robotasakid

making music is my favorite way to disconnect

q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?

a)do at least one piece every week or day or month continously...

it'll grow, in your mind, on paper or sound - to eventually become closer to your visions and by not stopping it to manifest, it'll bring you closer to where you want to be. simple passion or even more in depth visibility.

q)Your contacts…

a)www.tarikmikou.com

www.rougemachine.com