On this episode, Caren Sullivan talks to visual artist Alexa Müen in 2023.

Alexa Müen is a synesthetic European conceptual artist and curator, She is based between Spain and the UK. Her art is a junction of interconnecting layers of emotion, spirituality, materiality, technology and traditional craft.

Traditionally trained in Andalucía and Florence, Alexa was called to the materiality oil painting. "I loved how oil paint could be applied in transparent or opaque layers, in particular how glazing and colour interacted with light, how a poppy oil glaze could reflect light so strongly you couldn't see the colour it was glazing, hiding the truth under a veil of reflected light”.

Moving from oil painting to light based work in 2017/18 was a natural progression, mixing both the craft of oil painting with programable LED lights and projection .

The choice of materials add conceptual layers to the pieces, conveying a tension implicit in the interconnection of technology and nature, which is key in modern life.

Her multimedia techniques and materials, range from painting in inks, encaustic wax, oil or acrylic paint,. Tapestry using organic hand woven wool yarn from a Welsh women's cooperative, referencing the historical hidden female artist who worked in embroidery on jute sacking cloth or linen canvas..

In contrast she also uses contemporary technological and industrial materials such as, acrylic panels, clear vinyl, aluminium, copper, insulation materials, motors, bike batteries, projectors, and the key material, the programmable colour changeable LED lights, which also have variable intensity of emission.

Her installations are based around anthropological questions, delving into the psychology of personal relations versus society, what was valued, when and how, what is reviled or worshipped, what is hidden or revealed, rather then exploration of a particular medium.

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For more information, follow Alexa Müen on Instagram @elegantpunk

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