

Photo courtesy
Kilo Kish is set to heat up the winter. After dropping her latest single “Nice Out” from her forth coming EP _Redux_, her sound continues to build on her collaborative work with producer Ray Brady as she embraces an aggressive production, are you ready for the “Locket“ musician to get punk on your ass? With this new EP, the multidisciplinary artist is also about to present her second solo show at HVW8 Art + Design Gallery. The show _BLESSED ASSURANCE_: _a dream that i had,_ is an immersive exhibition critiquing the interactivity between spiritual and creative spaces. At its core the sacrificial nature of the artist’s way is explored. We caught up with the wunderkind to talk about her multidisciplinary creative practices.
**Why do you feel now is the time in your career to explore this head space of spiritualism and religious place?**
I explore whatever interests me. I initially had a completely different show planned, more centered around my music, but I had a dream where I saw this show layout and I decided to make it physical.
That's the blessing that comes with being a maker. That's what the show is about, being open enough to allow new ideas to flow, having enough belief and faith that you will discover what you need in time. The idea of faith is inherently religious.
For me, creativity comes from an unknown place and drops into me. My hands are working, but everything places itself. It's a lot of searching for direction, research, and study. But when it comes down to it, It's intuitive what fits and what doesn't, its a feeling to know when something is complete. The first room of the show is meant to be that searching room of the mind. Feeling around for what is right. It’s my job to do the work, but so much of it feels guided. It was interesting to hear so many others feel the same.
**How did you come about incorporating the group of creatives for the films?**
I interviewed a couple of friends, but I found the conversations with strangers to be a little more enlightening because I had nothing to go on. I wasn't making impressions about them through their work. The conversations felt clean. Creating can be deeply personal, so it is rare to have these conversations aloud; admitting your faith, even in yourself, is hard to do. I asked questions like, what does a spark of inspiration feel like? Do you feel called to do this? Where do ideas come from? I was surprised how universal some of the responses were. How infectious, obsessive, and ritualistic creating can be for each person. They were following a path through trials and tribulations like mythological heroes or apostles, some without money, places to stay, or people who believed. I found it inspiring, so I made them the centerpiece of the show.
There are a lot of fears that come with choosing art. They expressed those to me, I saw myself. I saw all the pitfalls that I couldn't warn myself were coming. Things I can't warn them about. So I wanted to build something for them, to bless them and to keep them. I made an altar or a church to their belief, which is the only thing that will keep them going as they continue their journey. A prayer that they get where they're trying to go.
**How does the new EP interact with this body of work, Do you feel the performance lives as part of the work or is it a distillation of it?**
Well, redux was a back to basics for me and probably the basis for me asking these kinds of questions. I'm at the end of my twenties, and I'm wondering what I learned. What do I want to keep? What will I give away? Who is this work for? Why do I need to do it? I'm finding the parts I want to keep are the reasons why I began. I'm remembering the ability to make things with your hands, enjoying humble materials that bring you joy (cardboard, glitter, glue), and feeling more connected to myself and what's meant to come solely through me. I think if you spend a long enough time in this industry, you can become jaded, or your mind can become warped with what others find relevant, like polish and aesthetic. That's never the point.


**Your music especially in recent works with Ray Brady seems to be hitting a more aggressive tone drawn from the heavier electronic element what has guided you in that direction, is it something you see your visual work veering to as well?**
I'm aggressive. I think pop music can sometimes be boring, so I try not to be. We chose musical palettes to reflect my mood at the time; redux is equal parts excitement and frustration. Visually, no, I try to see everything as its own place for learning and exploration, so I try not to box the visual ideas into my music concepts anymore. Although sometimes they overlap, which always feels affirming, they all inform the next project.
I began working with humble materials doing the artwork for redux, using copiers, stamps, and cutouts to create the artwork. From there, I continued with the bite me video working in cardboard and glitter, had I not done these processes I don't believe I would be utilizing these materials in sculpture. 5 years from now it will make more sense to me as it always does, I just have to do the work I've been given.


Kilo Kish _BLESSED ASSURANCE_: _a dream that I had_ opens at HVW8 November 15 | 661 N. Spaulding Ave