The Quick Q & A editorial in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine is a much loved regular feature, in which we ask 6 artists the same 4 questions. In the March Issue 52, these were the Quick Q & A questions:
- Do you consider your work a mirror of your inner life, or a mask?
- What ‘mistake’ in your career, turned into your most valuable lesson?
- When do you feel most emotionally vulnerable in your practice?
- What non-visual influences (music, philosophy, dreams, etc.) shape your artistic voice, & how?
We feel that the artists’ responses provide such a valuable insight for our community of artists that we wanted to share one Quick Q & A response from each issue with you, going forward. The March Issue 52 print is sold out but you can still download the digital magazine via our webstore to read more. To ensure you never miss an issue again, you can also subscribe to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, and have each issue sent straight to your door each quarter.
Excerpt from Issue 52 // March 2026 Quick Q & A editorial: Clémentine Bal, Michael Kennedy, Creature Creature, Vanessa Michiels, Abi Castillo, and Yi-Sheng Huang all respond to the below Quick Q & A:
Do you consider your work a mirror of your inner life, or a mask?
“I definitely see my work as a mirror of my inner life. I’ve always struggled to articulate feelings clearly, often needing long reflection before making choices. Painting has become the place where those internal struggles unfold more naturally.The fractured, layered aspects of my pieces reflect how I process memories – shifting, never completely whole. I once read that when we remember some-
thing, we’re recalling the last time we remembered it, not the original moment.
This idea stuck with me, especially since I struggle with memory. It pushed me to explore how memories change over time. Each hue, line, and fragment in my paintings represents a different interpretation of an experience, and together they assemble into an image that evolves each time I return to it.”
“I consider my work a direct reflection of my inner life. Each illustration and each ceramic piece is born from an intimate dialogue with my emotions and with my way of understanding femininity, nature, and the connections between the two. The sculptures I create, accompanied by insects, butterflies, and flowers with faces, represent aspects of my sensitivity, my memories, and my desire to explore the organic from a symbolic perspective.
The large eyes express my need to attentively observe what usually remains hidden. The vivid colours and pastel tones balance the dreamlike with the luminous. More than a mask, my work functions as a bridge that openly and sincerely reveals my emotional universe, always deeply connected to who I am.”
“I would say my artwork is mainly a reflection of my inner self. Truly expressions of my inner voice, quirks and all. Although my creatures are what I call manifestations of my imagination, they are in part a reaction, shaped by my perspective to the outside world. Whether they are in begrudgingly symbiotic relationships, or downright macabre and perilous situations – there is always a sense of silliness and of not taking oneself too seriously.
Humour is a potent ingredient in my work and dealing with life. The characters I create inhabit this “wonderfully weird” world, a place where they can find solitude and comfort in their weirdness; an antithesis to this world I sometimes find myself in.”
“A mirror. We see our art as a representation of our unity, it tells the story of us, our relationship, and our collaboration. We try to have a way of life and state of mind in accordance with the same principles as our art: balance, harmony, duality. The yin-yang is a particular symbol that speaks to us, displaying two forces that interconnect, each containing a seed of the other.
You will see this in our work, where there is calm and serenity there are also slight states of tension or an opposing element. This is our point of view when existing in the world, following the philosophy of nature, of balance in thought. We hope our practice of this mindfulness is reflected in our art.”
“My creative practice has undergone a significant shift regarding
this question. Initially, my sculptures were a true reflection of my inner life, a diary of my emotions and my vulnerability. However, this closeness became difficult. I ended up hating these pieces because they reminded me of what I disliked about myself. I then consciously, and gradually, decided to change direction.
Now, I use creation as something more inspiring for myself. My characters and figures are increasingly less subdued. This can move toward humour, assertiveness, anger, or joy, they are more present and affirmed. Perhaps now, I need less to project things onto them; it comes more naturally.”
“I see my work as a reflection of my observations of society – a projection of the issues, events, and news that has shaped me from the past to the present. I paint what I care about and what draws my attention, so in many ways my art becomes a mirror of my inner emotional landscape. Through these visual languages, I express what I want to say. Sometimes the themes may carry a sense of sadness or contemplation, but I still want viewers to enter the work with a sense of ease.
That’s why I use humour and gentle, comforting colours to wrap the imagery, inviting the audience to later discover the little stories hidden within.”
