An Interview with Existential Visual Artist SiiGii
SiiGii is a visual artist based between Barcelona and New York City whose unconventional work has gained international recognition. Identifiable for their unique intertwining of different forms and expressions of the body, their work often confronts the limits of humanity and the endlessness of energy.
Through tangible creation, SiiGii has come to decipher themes such as healing and escapism and hops between the delible lines of sculpture, fashion and art. They told GLITCH about their innate need to create as a secondary function of existing, and how often their work is at first inspired by lexical expression.
GLITCH had the pleasure of speaking with SiiGii and understanding more about their intention to create from a blank and mediative mind, whilst unpicking the intricacies of human consciousness through art.
How did you first become inspired to work in the creative industries?
It started as a necessity to create, to express and release emotion. Becoming part of the industry was a necessary but secondary function for myself. Everything I’ve done was driven by my need to express.
Do you have a significant early memory of being fascinated by art and sculpture?
I’ve always been fascinated by materials. As a little kid I saw creation potential in everything around me, like sheets, plastics, or pretty lace panties. At home, the sheet closet and my mom’s underwear drawer were my fabric stores. I also remember having a fascination with cutting tools. I once cut the telephone cord at home or would add texture to furniture by making cutting marks.
What was your first creation or artistic endeavor?
My sister tells me I made a dress out of a plastic bag from the grocery store when I was 2, just by opening the bottom and using the handles as straps. As an adult I actually had to work a lot on my self-esteem and other toxic mental patterns until I was able to fully create out of honesty and only minding my own lane and spirit.
What is the ideation process when it comes to bringing your artwork into physical form?
At times, the process begins with a lot of writing about something I am going through and later finding the visual representation of that. Other times I get a complete vision of a piece, directly from my subconscious, about a topic that has yet to be processed, that I get to understand and decode as I develop the art piece.
A lot of your work confronts themes of shape, humanity and the body, but through a surrealist lens. Can you explain the background of this? Is there a deliberate continued story you are telling through your work?
All of my works are capsules of self understanding and healing. Concentrated moments that visually capture a foggy conception of my current reality, mixed with dreams, subconsciousness and future projections. The constant realization of having a body and my relationship with it is a theme that returns in most everything I create.
Tell us about walking for the Balenciaga pre-fall show – how did that come about!
I was invited to the Balenciaga casting in NYC. I was in the line waiting next to so many iconic models and I thought “I probably won’t get the job, but I am going to enjoy the hell out of the process!”. Two more meetings and a fitting in Paris later, all of the sudden I was flying to Los Angeles to walk the show.
Do you have a favorite piece you have created?
I push my limits so much with every piece I create, that all of them hold a very important part of my heart. I make everything myself, by hand from start to finish, so there is a lot of growth and literal sweat, blood and tears during the process.
Do you have any particular icons, or do you look to any iconic moment to help shape your inspiration and creative work?
My goal is for my works to be as honest and personal as possible, so I always create from a “blank mind” — a meditative state, where the inspiration is pure inner-world.
Do you view yourself as an industry disruptor? How so?
To be honest I’m not even sure how the industry works, so I don’t know if I am disrupting it.
What is the state of art in 2025? What can we be excited for?
Hopefully more funding in the arts, and more support for artists creating soulful work.
Interviewed by Hebe Street from GLITCH Magazine
Words by SiiGii
