Meet MIDABI | Artist | Philosopher | Interventionist

We had the good fortune of connecting with MIDABI and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi MIDABI, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk is the interaction between intuition and the unknown; a foundational process of discovery. The choice is not to approach or avoid risk, but how deep and at what point to enter it. The modern world often looks to historical patterns or potential returns in order to make this choice. But in the expansive world of knowledge, risk is a razor thin doorway through which we pass in order to shave away the fears, desires, and ignorance that bloat our otherwise clear perception. Creativity, and indeed creation, is a supreme form of discovery. Nothing is to be discovered or created without risk.

Risk invites my ambition and my flair for the dramatic. It has disproportionately shaped my life since I was a teenager, when I took my first big risk. It continues to fuel the types of projects I seek out, and the scale and complexity of their execution. The risk of collapse somehow causes me to build myself into something stronger, although often the process is excruciating and demoralizing, in the end I am hardened against the temptations of fear and self doubt, which ultimately enhance my work as an artist.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work is the result of exploration and information I’ve been gathering since I was 15 years old. At the time I made a commitment to looking past the obvious paths, in search of a fundamental underpinning; The being of reality, and the reality of being. I wanted to know what the f*ck was really going on. I was desperate to discover this information and I took drastic measures. And so now after many years I’m taking my findings, my data, and sharing them. I use impactful language, design, and often scale. I choose public art because it provides the greatest opportunity for meeting the widest audience, especially those who might not otherwise come across such ideas. It is at its core a philosophical public intervention. I am hopefully instigating a radically new discussion around and within these subjects on a large scale.

I believe my ideas are novel and precious, and that they themselves set me apart from the good work that others are doing and have done.

I am most proud of my resiliency. The pursuit of this work has, for many years until more recently, come at a great cost. I have endured humiliation, ridicule, doubt, fear, and a general sense of impending doom, as a result of the tenuous nature of the business. My work, like mini municipal construction projects have come with enormous challenges that could have crushed me, and for moments in time did. I have done this essentially all alone. Everything from developing the project opportunities from scratch, raising private capital, project managing, and everything after and in-between. Public art is not for the faint of heart and I am encouraged to see a positive trend emerging in my ambitions from what seemed a nearly impossible mission.

I have learned that love is the only thing that will truly carry the weight of these tasks. All of my opportunities have come through love and relationships. Love is the only thing that will open the hearts, minds, and doors that you will need in order to grow and prevail. Love is the juice that powers the whole operation. And frankly without love it’s not worth doing.

I want the world to know that my work is an integral part of accomplishing the change to humanity’s development that is so needed. That many of us are hoping for and working towards. And that I will continue to fast-track this effort for as long as I have breath.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
By far, the number one most impressive thing in Miami to me is a place that I cannot tell you about directly for fear of ruining it. So I can’t name it. But, in Miami there is a weekly open house event in a warehouse where the local art kid scene comes together to hang, make art, and just support one another. It is the coolest thing like this that I have witnessed anywhere really. There are places like Non-Plus-Ultra in Los Angeles or Secret Project Robot in Brooklyn that I think capture some of this, but not as unpretentiously and utterly natural as this thing. It makes me think of something underground that would only be possible in a bygone era or in another country.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to recognize the artist Cristopher Cichocki, a visual and sound artist based in the Coachella Valley, CA. Through his kindness, patience, and generosity of spirit, I was able to find my footing as a professional artist and carry on with just enough confidence to overcome a plethora of obstacles. Cris gave me my first break and has gently mentored me over the past seven years. Without his belief in the validity of my work I would likely have not progressed as quickly as I have, or may have given up entirely. I am indebted to this fellow artist and friend.

Website: www.midabi.art 

Instagram: midabi

Twitter: midabi

Other: Discord – https://discord.gg/PG3WbDZh