CH.89: If you were to categorize or describe the style of your artwork, what would it be and why?
DM: I would not associate myself with a particular style but with several. My work is a mixture of illustration, contemporary figuration, surrealism, minimalism, symbolism, realism. It is surely in this regard that I would describe my approach as contemporary.
CH.89: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
DM: I believe that I find my inspiration in my personal emotional experience and in everything that has a link with a fake and prefabricated enchantment (the romantic ideal, amusement parks, the Disneyland universe, fairy tales…)
CH.89: Can you talk a little bit about what your creative thought process is like when starting a new project/ piece of artwork?
DM: Often, it starts with a specific theme that I want to explore. For example, for the past few days, I have been dying to draw a shopping area with a fast food restaurant. So I’m going to find out how to shift this universe. Maybe I’ll introduce a fairy character who has nothing to do with it, or maybe I’ll just be using an incongruous range of colors.
CH.89: Is there anything in particular that you would want people to take from your artwork?
DM: Yes, I want my drawings to invite reflection, for everyone to find a unique resonance with their personal experience.
CH.89: Can you talk a little bit about your lifestyle as an artist and what that is like?
DM: My routine is work. In my daily life, I alternate between drawing lessons that I give at home to students, sending art print orders from my online shop, communicating about my work, and, the time I have left, thinking about new drawings, realizing some of them, and sending them to the print lab.
CH.89: When starting out an artistic task, do you think it is better to have a particular direction/set plan guiding your way? Or, is it better to act on impulse and go from there?
DM: It really depends on one artist to another. For me, as I was saying, the basic elements of inspiration are imposed on me, I do not need to go and get them. But, very quickly, I need to structure things, to organize them, to classify them. I often proceed by declension.
CH.89: What is one major lesson you’ve learned as an artist thus far?
DM: That artists show us what is there but that we can not see without them.
CH.89: Do you regard personal style & taste to be of highest importance?
DM: As an artist, in my practice, yes I believe it. I have inclinations that are my own and that are the basis of the singularity of my work.
CH.89: What do you consider to be the hardest thing about being an artist?
DM: Certainly the precariousness and financial uncertainty.
CH.89: What is one thing you love about being an artist?
DM: I feel like I’m free, doing what I have to do.
CH.89: Is there anyone in particular, any artist’s that inspire you in any way?
DM: I am fascinated by the work of Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith, Frida Khalo. All three have the ability to tell their sensitive experiences in a cruel and poetic way.
CH.89: What do you think of technology in terms of being a useful tool for artists today?
DM: For me, it’s a tool like any other. And I don’t think there’s anything derogatory about that. I have been using vector drawing for a few years, because it is the technique that best suits the effect I am looking for. A form of neutrality in the line, which is opposed to sensitive and personal content. A way to simplify without styling, that I appreciate.
CH.89: Do you think being an artist allows you to view the world differently from those who don’t follow creative paths?
DM: Perhaps we are more interested in things that may seem insignificant to most people.
CH.89: Do you enjoy traveling? If so, do you have a favorite city?
DM: I used to live in Brussel and I miss that city a lot.
CH.89: Do you have a favorite author or book?
DM: Madame Bovary is my favorite novel. I am also very interested in contemporary comics and authors like Chris Ware, Jochen Gerner, Brecht Evens, Jon Mc Naught, who question the limits of this medium.
CH.89: Any future goals or plans for your artwork?
DM: I would like to exhibit my work in new places, print large formats, and continue to explore new ways of saying the same thing over and over again.
CH.89: What does being an artist mean to you?
DM: For me, this is the continuity of happiness that I had to assemble, transform, imagine myself when I was a child. For me, being an artist means continuing to play.
CH.89: What’s the last song you listened to?
DM: Playground love, Air.
CH.89: Any last words on the aesthetic of your artwork?
DM: I think one important thing about my work is its harmless appearance in both the soft textures and the pastel colors that I use. My images flirt between naive illustration and finished painting. Despite this apparent naivety , they refuse to idealize their subject, and present doubtful, hesitant and uncomfortable characters.
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