An interview with Sebastian Mueller-Soppart by Hey Baé be

Name?

Sebastian Mueller-Soppart

Background? Where are you from?

Born in Germany, educated in France and lived most my life in North & South America

What kind of art do you create?

I save other artists' work from becoming landfill by way of "upcycling".

What is the overall message of your art? What are you trying to say?

I am not a fan of our out-of-control consumerism and the impact it has on the environment. My art is recycled and often deals with the disappearance of natural habitats. Or I just fuck off and do whatever comes to mind.

How did you get into art? What made you an artist?

As a child and student, art was the only thing I was interested in and therefore somewhat good at. I became an advertising creative director, but eventually was missing the craft to start and finish something myself. I had the idea of using someone else's work to express myself back in 2011.

How did you learn your technique? Self taught?

I'm still learning how to get better at spraying paint and to use all different kinds of tapes. Everything I do is intentional, so there's no room to mess up.

What would you tell someone who wants to be an artist?

WTF are you waiting for? The nice thing about developing your artistic skills, you can start at any age with a minimal time investment. The key is to get going. To entirely live from the arts is another story. It's like playing in a band. Money is hard to come by and unfortunately being outgoing, driven to self-promote, etc. is a big part of the game.

What’s your goal as an artist?

I like to hunt down the right pieces, the moment of creation, but also taking the photograph when finished. It's important that I keep enjoying that process. And intellectually speaking, I do want to explore and evolve in ways that my work keeps having purpose.

Who are your influences?

I only recently started to look at what others do, but must say it's really a trap for me. There's a sense of discouragement when others have already done what could have come out of your own brain. So, I'd like to stay focused within my own mind. But then again, I've met really nice fellow artists online and that sense of community is great.

Bonus ?’s

A) What would you tell your 10 year old self?

Damn, your audience is young. But ok ;) here we go: "You're about to discover the power of money. Don't make its pursuit a priority. Develop a passion instead, become good and go from there."

B) If you had a time machine what would u do differently ? Or would u stay in the present and toughen it out?

Maybe cliché, but I don't look back. Decisions are good, even the bad ones. They keep you moving forward.