Get to know Heather Benjamin, "Lazygawd" and Melchior Tersen
Last Thursday, we celebrated the opening of our very first exhibition at OBEY Art Space in Paris. We are proud of the talented artists involved and want to take a moment to introduce them more personally. In a short interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with Heather Benjamin, Christopher "Lazygawd" Green, and Melchior Tersen. You can visit the exhibition, which will be on display until October 31st.
Can you tell us who you are and where you are?
My name is Melchior. I'm 37 and come from the Paris suburbs. I started making art 20 years ago.
What's the most random or bizarre hobby you've taken up recently?
Cooking, shopping for food and trying to eat better. And enjoying it. It may sound strange, but it's something new in my life. Learning to take care of myself.
If you listen to music while working, what genre or who?
I go from electro to black metal, hip-hop, classical music or dance or ambient music or chanson. I like what makes me vibrate and gives me sensations. This can be through words, intonation, orchestration or musical production. I like melody, variation and repetition, violence and dancing, melancholy and galvanising, exciting and soothing.
What emotion or message do you hope people will feel when they look at your work?
It depends on which proposition. I try to let each person experience and see things in their own way. Over the last few years, my artistic approach has changed a lot and what I propose is quite full of personal upheaval. If this can help some people find answers to their inner questions, that would be great. Everyone's struggling.
What advice would you give to an emerging artist who might be inspired by you?
First of all, I'd say that the inspiration phase is only the introduction to artistic development. That you have to learn to believe in yourself, accept change and trust yourself. And that being an artist is a total process that involves jumping into water where you have no foothold. I'm discovering this myself as the years go by.
Can you tell us who you are and where you are?
My name is Heather Benjamin, I'm an artist based in Brooklyn, New York.
If your art could talk, what do you think it would say about you as the creator?
They'd probably spill something embarrassing, like how much I talk to myself in the studio while I'm alone.
What’s the most random or weird hobby you’ve picked up recently?
Obsessively cleaning my house late at night right before going to bed. I don't know if it's that weird of a thing to do, but it's weird in the trajectory of my life, because I used to be an extremely messy person, and it feels like this came out of nowhere.
If you could collaborate with any artist (any genre) living or dead, who would it be and what would you create together?
I would assemble a dream team to collaborate with on an animated TV series or film using my girls - maybe like, Naoko Takeuchi, Paul Reubens, Christy Karacas, Charlie Kaufman.. I'm a huge fan of them all; in my insane fantasy, all these people would care about collaborating around my artwork, haha.
What’s the one emotion or message you hope people feel when they look at your work?
There isn't one emotion or message I'm aiming to make people feel. I'm actually not aiming to make anyone feel anything through making my work, it's much more for myself. But of course it makes me happy when people do feel moved by it, in pretty much any direction, even if people are totally disgusted.
What advice would you share with any other emerging artist that might be inspired by you?
Just keep making the work, and don't get caught up in how anyone tells you things should be done.
If you listen to music while working, which kind or who?
This always varies and I'm all over the place, it depends on the day and what I'm working on. But recently I have been listening to a lot of Omar Souleyman.
Can you tell us who you are and where you are?
My name is Christopher, I live in Paris and always did, genuinely be a fan of pop culture and counter culture in a large way, specially comic books/ mangas and cartoons, they had the most impact in my creativity and guided my imagination since my childhood so that’s it.
If you could collaborate with any artist (any genre) living or dead, who would it be and what would you create together?
I would have collaborate with Akira Toriyama of course, Fredo Santana and would still love to meet Tyler the Creator, Todd Mc Farlane and Mylène Farmer for music or clip videos I don’t know what would put us together.
If you listen to music while working, which kind or who?
For a decade (15 years) I been on underground US rap from Memphis/Miami/Atlanta for exemple or Death metal, hardcore punk mostly a lot of cinematic orchestrals like Danny Elfman or Hans Zimmer and the Dungeon Synth lore I discovered in the Black Metal scene.
What’s the one emotion or message you hope people feel when they look at your work?
Melancholia is the emotion that drives me the most not always on a sad way though.
What advice would you share with any other emerging artist that might be inspired by you?
My advice to people is be stubborn. If you really (want to) know yourself and what you want to achieve, be respectful and listen/ ask advices it’s as much important, but do you.
