Lisa Mukhina Interview
What feels more real to you, a dream, a memory, or an image?
I think the question of reality itself is somewhat absurd. I don’t divide things into real and unreal. Most of my work exists in my head long before it becomes material.
What inspires you?
An elbow, a hole in the ground, a bite mark on skin — many different things.
Is there an artistic image or motive that you are afraid of?
There are images I cannot capture. Their absence frustrates me more than it frightens me. In art, I fear only dishonesty.
Do you create art, or do you discover it as something that already exists?
I think I’m like a child by the sea, collecting beautiful stones — my photographs.
What is the most absurd idea that you consider absolutely true?
Humans are dogs.
Where is the boundary between your public image and your real self?
These two notions are so intertwined within me that I no longer know how to separate them.
What challenges do you face with your work?
Explaining to people why my work takes so much time.
What do you enjoy most about your art?
I experience my art the same way I experience my arm or my leg — something that, thankfully, still belongs to me.
How do you describe your style?
I don’t think I have a style. Yet people always recognize my photographs.
When do you know a work is finished?
When I stop thinking about it.
Which of your works do you value the most?
The Evil Eye.