69. MAXSHO: A SPACE BETWEEN CREATION AND COMMUNICATION.
MAXSHO, No Dey Squeeze Face (Dont Worry), 2023.
‘I’m not creating to create - I am creating to communicate’ M.
The first time I saw your work and was really knocked out was the multi-colored swathes of rhythmic sound in a film - I remember being hypnotized by that piece… (Life is Colour, 2020).
I am fascinated with the prospect of creating tangible renderings of the intangible sound vibrations that pervade our surroundings. Using digital programming, I employ sound as a medium to give form to abstract concepts. In essence, I utilise sound waves like the strokes of a brush, painting diverse landscapes and exhibiting its prominence in our daily lives. I relish in using sound as a conduit to traverse distinct epochs, emotions, and dimensions.
Your connection to music seems cellular, can you express when you started to play with this medium and how you use it in your life?
Music and sound have been consistent elements in my life since my formative years, shaping my understanding of the world and serving as my unique vocal signature amidst the ambient cacophony. My work with sound involves recycling musical fragments to create dreamlike visualisations. I aim to uncover and harness the potential of sound as a design language - the emotions evoked by a song or the ideas sparked by a seemingly disparate sound, if carefully interrogated, hold immense creative potential.
You iterate so much, so many tests for thoughts, like digital sketches, can you expand upon your creative process and how you develop your ideas?
Every day starts with a simple question - what can I create today? This compels me into a labyrinth of exploration, studying diverse artists and creators. The artistic milieu is teeming with intricate, provocative works that consistently pique my curiosity. A perpetual thirst for deeper visual and spiritual experiences propels my creative endeavors. My approach involves perpetual mental manoeuvres, akin to a decorator rearranging a living space. I continuously redefine and reimagine elements within the virtual reality of my mind.
There seems to be increasing levels of fear circulating within digital media, so much mistrust, and yet the landscape is changing constantly - offering up extraordinary works that reflect a sense of flux, how do you feel about working as a digital artist within this time?
The key is to continuously acknowledge the expansive potential of this relatively nascent medium. As artists, we have just begun to scratch the surface. Guided by Nina Simone's famous quote - "An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times," it is incumbent upon us as artists to elucidate both the bright potential and the negative threats posed by this technology to society.
What fundamentally have you learned so far, since graduating?
Since graduation, my biggest realisation is that the work I create is part of a lifetime odyssey, which began at birth. I posit that the moment a newborn cries out in this world, they leave a lasting imprint, making an audibly important statement. An understanding of this notion elucidates the fact that our subsequent journey, albeit fraught with economic challenges, forms the larger narrative of our lives. The most important task at hand, therefore, is to remain faithful to our unique 'sound.'
Above: MAXSHO, Life is Colour, 2020.