Portrait Universal

Mikha Dominguez

Interview by L. Valena
May 4, 2024

Can you start by describing the prompt that you responded to?

The prompt I responded to was a very abstract self-portrait of a person. I really liked it. It had a lot of whites, greens, a little bit of purple, and blues.

What were your first thoughts and feelings about that?

It gave me a kind of eerie feeling. It was giving me movement, so that's where I went with it. Something that would give you the idea of movement.

Where did you go from there?

I started by gathering mirrors; that way it will always be a self-portrait no matter who is in front of the piece. Every time someone stands in front of the piece, it becomes a new piece. I'm all about found materials, so I wanted to do something that involved mirrors and glass, so that it would also show delicacy and fragility.

Tell me more about the materials you used.

I used beads, glass, acrylic resin, silicone caulking, hot glue, E6000 glue. Resin casts, squares of glass. It was just about finding the colors and getting the materials together. I have these materials, and I have these feelings, let's get to work. It's all about the process and experimentation.

Tell me more about the feelings you were working with.

The feeling I got from the prompt was otherworldly. Eerie and mysterious. It was something that you really have to take the time to look at. I wanted to make a piece where the viewer wouldn't immediately find their reflection; they would have to do a little bit of work to find themselves in the piece. It also gave me a sense of calm and peace, I really enjoyed it.

I love that idea of forcing the viewer to find themselves in the piece. There's something kind of performative about that. Is that something you explore in your other work?

Yes, for me it's very important to create a conversation. No matter what we're going to talk about, it's all about creating a conversation. My pieces are often super interactive – I always want people to have the extreme desire to touch them. Depending on what the materials are, sometimes you say yes, and sometimes you say no. This piece is very touchable. It has a lot of glass, but I took the time to cover all the parts that could really hurt people.

That's amazing. I feel like so many artists worry about the viewer hurting their work by touching it, but it sounds like you're more concerned with the viewer being hurt by touching your work. You're more concerned for their safety than for the safety of the art, which is very refreshing.

For me, it's an experience. It's a moment that the viewer is going to have with the piece, no matter what it is.

How does this piece relate to the rest of your work?

I am a found material, multi-disciplinary, mixed media artist. I try to keep the viewer busy. I want people to want to look at my work for a while to try to figure it out. Something I really enjoy is using, for example, a bottle cap in a piece, and people don't really know that it's really a bottle cap. In the era we're living in, we can't get married to one practice or one style. Create diversity within the work and outside the work.

Sometimes I want to use one material, but the universe sends me something different. So that's what I end up using. I'm of the opinion that I don't find these things, they find me. That's something I really enjoy about the work.

How do you go about finding your materials?

I'm always going around. Once a month, I go alley hunting, or I go to the Goodwill outlet. Minneapolis is very arts and crafts focused. There is a place called ArtScraps, where you get a paper bag full of whatever you want for five dollars. If you go to those places, you'll find all sorts of things. Whatever is trash for other people is treasure for artists like me. I attend the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and we have a free shelf that is always full of stuff that other students don't need anymore.

I also do photography, and once I was literally driving and I found a praying booth in the middle of the road. It's one of my favorite things because my photography is very religious. Sometimes people ask me if my inspiration comes from the materials or from another place. And it happens both ways. It's a conversation. Sometimes I have the idea but I don't have the materials, so I don't know how to go about it until the materials come to me.

And then it kind of clicks into place?

Exactly. Putting the things where they're supposed to be.

Is there anything about this piece, or about your process, that we haven't talked about yet, that you want to talk about?

In making this piece, I really enjoyed the timeframe. I am a person who never believes that a work is done, so if you tell me to go back, I'll keep modifying. Things are never done, and can keep evolving. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to have a deadline. The gathering of the materials. I tried to stick to a particular color palette with this piece, which was a really fun experience.

Is there a question that you wish people would ask you about your art?

The thing about my art is I just make it. We have to be a little bit selfish with our art, and we have to make art that makes us happy. Then we put it out in order to get connection and communication. I'm always there ready to have conversations, whether people like it or not. It always leads you somewhere. So I don't have a question that I want people to ask me, because every single question is important to me, makes me better as an artist and helps me understand my people. Who is following my art, and why are they following my art?

Do you have any advice for another artist approaching this project for the first time?

Delusionality is good. Be a little bit delusional. Believe in yourself. Fake it until you make it. There is nothing more important than silencing those sabotaging voices with delusion. As artists, we are often our worst enemies. We are our worst critics, our worst viewers. We make something, say to ourselves, "I hate it," and then it's the favorite piece of absolutely everyone else who sees it. Believe in what you do, and when you don't believe it, lie to yourself.

That is awesome. I think I need to get that tattooed on my forehead.

It is very important to me. One of the hardest things as an artist, and as a person in general, is when your experience of whatever is happening doesn't really match with what you feel. So it's good to lie a little bit to yourself, and be a little delusional today.

Call Number: R96VA | R97VA.doPo

Mikha Dominguez is a Queer non-binary Latinx Venezuelan visual artist, photographer, and sculptor based in Minneapolis. With a background in theater and television production, Mikha has shaped their creative vision to explore themes of gender, migration, and the reinterpretation of reality. They are dedicated to community engagement, evident through initiatives like "Mikhamik House Of Arts" and the summer series of events, Art in the Backyard. Mikha's commitment to marginalized narratives and innovative artistic practices drives their goal of creating inclusive spaces for artistic expression and exploration.