Mick has a residency in the Theatre of Het Bos in July and will show new work during Vruchtbare Grond on September 27.
Do your other interests influence your art?
Ever since I was little, I’ve always been really amazed by fantasy: Mythology, movies, video games, fairy tales, fables… anything that would take me away from the daily world. I like to get lost into fantasies and the idea that this world could be something more exciting than what we see.
As a kid you could always find me in my room playing with my toys. I would bring dinosaurs, a Power Ranger, a My Little Pony and a piece of string that looked like a dragon (to me) into the same universe that I created all by myself. Nowadays you can still find me playing video games in my room. I feel like gaming is a hobby that is often looked down upon, and because of that I felt like it had no place in the serious and professional art world. But lately I’ve been trying to allow these fantasies into my practice.
Although some video games have more meaningful or tragic stories than Greek tragedies, with more nuanced characters (and cooler weapons!!), I also feel they often miss theatricality, so now I am searching for a middle ground.
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
I remember being 14 and sitting in a snackbar with my dad, and there was a Kate Bush music video playing on the tv. I was absolutely mesmerized by it, and remember secretly watching it again at night, hoping nobody would find out I was watching these weird videos. For me it felt like the first time I came into contact with something bigger. She allows magic and myth into her work while still recognizing who we are as humans with simple emotions and behaviors. She chooses her words wisely, and creates a world that’s completely her own. And other times she just likes to tell very literal stories, like a fairytale.
In the meantime a lot of others have joined my list, but I’m pretty sure she was my first artistic influence.