Tigersapp

September 7, 2015 Andy Miao

An artwork in honour of Szymon Borzestowski
Purchase Szymon's posthumous album Tigersapp here

Let's talk about art.

Art is a form of expression. Art encompasses everything we see, breathe, hear, and smell. To create something is to make art. Through art, anything can be achieved.
Art helped me get back on track big time. I remember a time when nobody understood the emotional turmoil I was going through (in retrospect, if I had gathered the courage to ask, this might be a completely different story). The only thing that kept me going day in and day out was my unhealthy addiction to creation; in that period of my life it was skateboarding photography.
As you know, making things is my job; I am a photographer by day, amateur-ish painter by night. About a month before this post published, I was reminded about why art is so much more than a job for me through Szymon's album Tigersapp.

Szymon's family and I agreed to make this artwork in honour of Szymon and to raise awareness for depression.
One in four young Australians currently have a mental health condition; that's an equivalent of 750,000 people today. Every year suicide kills more young Australians than car accidents. In many cases suicides are preventable.
If you are suffering from depression, don't give up. If there's no path, create one. I encourage you to find an escape through art, just like I did when I was a socially awkward 15 year old. If you know someone who is suffering from depression, take a minute to have chat with them. Sometimes a simple gesture can mean a lot. You could have just saved someones life.

Thank you Szymon for filling me with so much inspiration. Your music is one of a kind.

Please seek help if you are feeling depressed.

Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

Lifeline 13 11 14

If you just need someone to chat with, you can always pop me a message.

New York

August 26, 2015 Andy Miao

Originally an unfinished artwork consisting wholly of paint
Currently a mixed medium artwork I plan to leave unrefined
Excited to share this with my American friends soon!

For the record, I'd just preface this post by saying - yes, I am still a photographer, no I will not limit my creative pursuits to a single medium. I think this would be a great opportunity to shed some light on my artworks and the processes involved creating them.
All of my artworks originate from my still photographs. I still go out and take photos with a camera; I do not enjoy putting my subjects through the pain of sitting motionless for hours on end like a traditional painter will.
My objective for each of my artworks has is to enhance the emotions of the subject and add further depth to my work, something that is hard to achieve with photography alone. I have been experimenting the correct use of this concept for a while now. The processes involved behind my artworks are quite different; some would say silly and unconventional. I have experimented with many mediums, both digital and traditional and I have a strong respect for artists who practise either discipline, however, I do not believe in strictly adhering to a single medium.

I start each artwork off by defining the project parameters - the medium, color palette and subject. This process often takes weeks and I find that the less I stress about it, the easier it comes to me. Once I have set parameters, I will proceed to explaining my vision to my model, in this case, the beautiful Alexandra (go book the fuck out of her). Once we are on the same page, we will plan to go somewhere cool and take a bunch of photos, just like a photographer would; A persons body language can be highly reflective of their surroundings, which is why I chose to shoot on a rooftop in Sydney CBD.
Post shoot work involves film dev and scanning, after which I get the opportunity to select a group of key images to base of my artwork off. Creating the actual artwork can take anywhere from a day to a month depending on how much I like the project. I envisioned this artwork to reflect the feeling of travelling to a foreign city, but whatever artistic explanation filled with long adjectives you can conjure up yourself will work just as well for me too.

Model
Alexdandra