10 Questions with Nikki Gal

Nikki Gal is an American-born digital artist based in Boston, Massachusetts. Gal expresses the importance of mental health awareness throughout her pieces, giving those a meaningful yet strong take-away. Her latest series, STATE OF A WOMAN, is a series of digital pieces that construct a firm image of different mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, dissociative disorders, as well as bipolar disorders within women. Gal's mission is to not only make mental health a topic of conversation but a topic of conversation through creativity.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

Let's understand each other.

The power of creativity has been flowing through my veins for as long as I can remember. But within that creative passion, there needs to be a solid purpose. A purpose in which there is a story, a memory, a thought, a place. An enhancement for the eye but, simultaneously, an enhancement for the brain. Art that makes you think. Art that makes you wonder. Art that educates. I have been fighting for the raw conversation and topics surrounding mental health, including the notorious and harmful stigmata within our world. I speak through my art. Producing art pieces that capture the raw emotions of mental disorders we cope with in our everyday lives as women are what is real to me. This vision was not created only to inspire those who don't have a voice but to inspire those to GAIN a voice. When you see an image you can relate to, it is a full circle moment. You don't feel so alone. You engage, you dissect, you feel, and you visualize. We have to stand up for ourselves, stand up for each other, and stand up for the raw and real surroundings of mental health.

Let's understand each other.

Happy, digital painting_, 36x48 in, 2020 © Nikki Gal

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. Who are you, and how did you start experimenting with images?

My name is Nikki Gal. I am a creator, a mental health advocate, as well as a multimedia digital artist producing illustrations, paintings, and realism designs. Within the various mediums, I share a focus for, I have strongly gravitated toward the process and enamor of representational portraits. The portraits I produce represent not only an artistic flow of expression but an expression of mental health equality through pivotal reflective thinking. It’s not about where you start but rather what you become. I’ve discovered along my journey that artistic adventure in coherent to spreading mental health awareness is my main destination.

How would you define yourself as an artist?

Innovative. The action of innovation guides me as an artist yet also defines myself and my pieces. Within our world, the art industry and the ideas of mental health are transforming every day. This motivates me within the process of creative direction to ensure both branches become prominently noticed throughout all of my works. From an innovative standpoint, the key concepts of my artistry are to grab, think, and repeat. I hope that outsiders looking at my pieces will practice and approach the same process.

Flotation, digital painting, 30x36 in, 2021 © Nikki Gal

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your artistic routine when working?

The process of creating is inevitable. You never know what will run through artistic flow or what will become.
The process behind my work is visual yet cogitative. Engaging and exploring technique while navigating a deep intellectual transference is a mindset I consistently follow. My own energy is sacred to me- it is key to having a set and steady space while mentally and physically creating. Never being afraid to let creativity derive from a place of in-the-moment has helped me obtain the essence and understanding of my pieces.

How much planning goes into each work?

Each of my pieces constructs a clear image of a dedicated theme surrounding various mental health disorders. Although I plan out what colors, shapes, and production will conclude the pieces, I do not limit my mind in the process. You just have to go with it, and that is what I strive for. You can never underestimate the expression of creativity, nor can you limit it.

Your work deals primarily with mental health, and you analyze different states and disorders. How did you come up with this concept?

Mental health is an ongoing topic whether you live with mental health disorders on a daily, live adjacently to mental health disorders, or have little to no experience with mental health disorders. Mental health is a groundbreaking topic that we can not avoid in our 21st century. Being able to produce pieces that are eye-catching to the visual yet simultaneously construct a deeper path of thinking for the person looking in is what matters to me. Art that gains meaning, a purpose, and a light for education. Within this series, each piece is dedicated to a different state and/or branch of mental health. This concept was created on my end to educate within various branches of disorders in hopes of inspiring others to gain a better understanding of the realities of mental health.

Never stop, digital painting, 16x16 in, 2022 © Nikki Gal

Speak, digital painting, 16x16 in, 2021 © Nikki Gal

You work with portraits, and emotions shown through facial expressions seem to have a focal point in your production. Why do you use this visual language? And how has it evolved over the years?

Never be afraid to show emotion. I make it prominent in all of my pieces that an emotional flare is resonated because that is reality. Art that you can feel and therefore share emotions with. Within the focus of mental health, I have learned that the action of producing tears is not a weakness among us but rather a strength. I wanted that strength to be recognized and to be heard. I started painting my pieces with white paint, creating transparent yet realistic tears, but throughout the years, I began to notice I didn’t want that curated image of normalized emotion. I hoped for something more, color. It was a think-outside-the-box realization for me. Color to project that authentic emotion behind the eyes of the incredible undefined. In addition, I recently began incorporating hidden messages throughout my productions to give viewers more of a thought process. In the piece “Twice”, I wanted my subject’s eyes to depict the reality of bipolar disorders. This creative process and thinking resulted in me showcasing one pupil depicting a smiling face and the other pupil depicting a frowning face. Making this decision for the construction of this piece was subtle yet powerful. I continue to practice this subtle power.

What do you hope that the public takes away from your work?

I hope the public engages in a strong takeaway among my pieces. I want others to stop in their tracks and feel their surroundings for a minute. The raw feelings of correlation but also the actuality of mental health awareness. I strive for my pieces to inspire others to express their emotions unapologetically and also not feel alone within diagnosis, disorders, or recovery.Do you have any artists or role models that influence and inspire your work?

Artist and icon Andy Warhol has been a never-ending creative influence on my work and my life. I still remember, at 14 years old, becoming infatuated with his work while studying his life in school, and I never stopped. To this day at 24 years old, I still admire him for his creative ventures and unstoppable movements within our world.

Twice, digital painting, 16x16 in, 2021 © Nikki Gal

Do you find that the shift to digital exhibitions and art fairs has helped you promote your work?

I believe the digital world as a whole has helped my work grow immensely throughout the years. My work would not progress the same without the access and acknowledgment from the digital media, and I am endlessly grateful for those opportunities.

Finally, any projects you are looking forward to for this year?

I’m looking forward to producing more pieces dedicated to the advocacy of mental health. Creativity with purpose is never-ending, and it is certainly contagious. I will never stop creating and spreading the significant message of mental health throughout our world. We need more of that.

“Don’t think about making art, just get it done.” - Andy Warhol

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