Interview with Merle Luhaäär

Merle Luhaäär is an internationally exhibiting experimental mixed media artist. She has graduated from Royal College of Art (2019, London, UK) with MA in fine arts and received her BA in fine arts at Kingston University London. Her art practice is underpinned by an interest in relationship between individual and society, micro- and macrocosm and relativity of reality. Themes are explored through variety of mixed mediums of painting, print, photography, installation, sculpture and moving image.
For more info: www.merleluhaaar.com

Your journey has taken you through various countries and cultures. How have these diverse experiences influenced the evolution of your artistic style, particularly in your transition to pop-surrealism”?

There are many ways to travel and physical relocation is just one of them. I think I’ve always been a traveller, even when I was little. I loved travelling into people’s minds, trying to reimagine myself in there. Experiencing various countries and cultures has helped me to dissemble my personality into parts to understand where I am coming from: what is in the core of my “me” and what has my “me" learnt from the context it has been surrounded with. I have understood that - at the first glance - we all seem so different from each other, but actually we are all the same. My art is venturing on the wave of sameness and pop-surrealism is the universal language I’m speaking.

You’ve explored multiple mediums – from painting to moving image. Which medium do you find most challenging and why? How do you decide which medium best fits a particular concept or theme in your work?

Most challenging for me is the medium I don’t have access to. Whilst travelling, for example, I can’t always find a printmaking workshop to execute my spontaneous ideas or don’t have the quick access to my oil paints and canvases. But then I’ll come up with an alternative technique that I can use. I believe everything is energy and I go with the flow. If I’d wait till I’m at the workshop or art studio I’d loose the right moment and it wouldn’t be the same message. Often the artwork I create is yearning for an additional vessel to be poured into. I listen to my gut feeling. Later on I understand why.

Your major solo show 'Somnum Exterreri' in Tallinn was a significant milestone. Can you share the inspiration behind this exhibition and the experience of merging it with launching Estonia's first NFT of a physical artwork?

I graduated with Fine Art MA at Royal College of Art (London, UK)  in 2019 and was ready to burst into flames. Suddenly evil (COVID) got loose and life as such stalled for two years. My solo show happened during summer of 2021, when people started to come out of their refuge, and hopefully gave the courage to stand up and fight. Somnum Exterreri - that means “Nightmare” in translation  - took place in ARS Project Space, which is a - not easy to fill - huge 200 square meter exhibition hall. For me the size was not scary though, because I had so much unseen work to show. When I saw the space … the airiness of it wanted the sculptures, so I created my monster headed mannequins to wear my artworks. At the time, I met people who wanted to launch Estonia’s first NFT of a physical artwork and - as usual - I went with the flow. The Nightmare was out there in sunny exhibition hall and over for good.

In your collection 'The Boutique', presented at World Art Dubai, what message or theme were you aiming to convey? How was the reception of this collection different from your previous works?

Dubai is a luxury destination. It’s a boutique lifestyle filled with brands and beauty. Then there is the nature - arabian desert in all of its glory. The man made is walking hand in hand with what was always there. Inspired by this duality I created a series of paintings I called ‘The Boutique’. It was different from my previous works, because I painted all the works in UAE for this very show.

You’ve described your work as metaphorical stories of everyday life, dreams, fears, and desires, rooted in pop culture. Can you give an example of how you have translated a contemporary issue or trend into your art?

My mixed media installation ‘I Will Always Love You’ with two skeletons on the thrones quasi nature morte depicts a trend of ‘prosecco-on-tap mentality’ - as I call it, in suicidal contemporary society, wherein drugs, alcohol and overworking becomes a dangerous game. A flower holding skeleton is a metaphor for the world, where more is never enough and shortcuts via chemical stimulants towards providing unlimited energy to remain in a continuous present tense called ‘always’ is merely borrowing time that leads to an overdose and over saturation of the core values that make us human.

Your piece 'Last Smile' has been showcased both as a moving image and digital art. Could you tell me what the story is behind this work, and how the presentation was different in each format?

I’m fascinated by stillness and movement. Sometimes there is more movement (meaning and energy) in stillness than there is in the movement itself. I often create whilst listening to music. When I was working on Last Smile I was listening to ‘We've Only Just Begun’ by Carpenters: We’ve only just begun to live …White lace and promises…So many roads to choose … We’ll start out walkin' and learn to run … (And yes, we've just begun) …And when the evening comes, we smile … And yes, we've just begun. The digital collage of the black roses and a smiling skull with a red/ yellow/ blue etc. rose growing out of the eye is symbolising the movement in stillness. Even when it’s over there is a new beginning. There is a beginning in the end. And that is beautiful. With moving image the endlessness of the beginning is shown in the form of a loop. I’m watching it myself sometimes as I am hypnotised by it. I guess in a way I am - by realising over and over again that there is no end. This endlessness makes me smile.

Your art often reflects on the relationship between the individual and society. In your view, what is the artist's role in today's society, especially in the context of rapidly changing social and political landscapes?

Artist is a visual philosopher. There are so many languages we don’t speak, so many words we don’t understand, so many books we haven’t read… But we all understand visual image or music … colors, lightness, darkness, happiness, fear etc. with our gut feeling. We know what the image means without (consciously) knowing it. Recognising something (re)assures us that the reality exists outside of our brain and we are no more lost.

Transitioning from fine arts to product design with your line 'by ML', what challenges did you face in this crossover? How do you maintain the integrity of your artistic vision while designing commercial products?

I strongly believe that the white cube of exhibition hall is not enough. I have something important to say and there is very little point saying it to myself (or to a small group of art circle). I want to talk to everybody who wants to hear. I want a dialogue. And I believe into people. It’s amazing to see a kid in a hoodie with my painting on - it’s like we have a secret pact and are part of the same gang. The opposition ‘commercial design versus high gallery art’ simply does not exist any longer.

Having studied both Fine Arts and Art History and Visual Culture, how have these academic experiences influenced your practical approach to art-making?

I might have lost some naiveness as an artist. I know for certain that the bicycle has already been invented. But it definitely gives me this multilayered vision - like wearing infrared glasses at night. I know whilst creating an artwork where in contemporary art scene it’s going to sit. It’s a curse and a blessing in one. Luckily I’m very spontaneous and in good contact with my emotional side, so when I am creating I tend to listen to my gut feeling, forget about the theory and think mythologically. Logic comes into play afterwards.

Looking forward, are there any new themes or mediums you are eager to explore in your upcoming projects? What is your ultimate aspiration as an artist?

I want to explore more artist moving image and sound. I’m a big admirer of visual language of David Lynch. When I am watching his films the plot almost disappears, it becomes lesser than visual presentation. As an artist, my ultimate aspiration is very simple - to be seen.