Misirlou Peeka

About the Artist:

Misirlou Peeka was first instructed by her mother Marlena Lupica, a gifted artist and teacher. She went on to study art and design for 8 years in college and has spent decades experimenting with different methods. She has wandered far and wide in search of inspiration and formative experiences. The artist was shaped by life in northern Ohio, Atlanta, Newcastle and Montreal before she finally settled in Long Beach.

About the Art:

After moving from Atlanta to Montreal in 2014, Misirlou received a message from the universe to begin making collages out of assorted bricolage from Montreal trash piles and her collected hoard of music and pop culture memorabilia. She has been at it ever since, with over 30 handmade wood-mounted collage pieces completed to date. The artist is eager to show as far and wide as possible and has continued to build upon the body of work since moving to California. She showed twice with the Victory of the Surreal art collective in Los Angeles and recently joined the Ex-Corpse collective as well. She would love to get involved with showing her art at festivals.

Misirlou Peeka is very attached to tangible experience, color and texture as essential elements of art. She is partial to non-digital handmaking and techniques which seem to have been rendered impractical in the face of digital art technology. She attempts to challenge the notion that old ways are completely invalid by remaining dedicated to their practice and craft. For Misirlou, art is an escape from technology. Digital art takes up no physical space. It exists in a dimension we cannot physically interact with. While the artist sees the infinite value in the exploration of this potential by those who feel compelled to do so, this is not where her curiosity lies.

The artist wishes to immortalize that which has generally been considered disposable. The paper and particle board which make up these collages come from the flesh of trees, yet much of this material was found in trash piles. Two recent pieces were mounted on broken electronic devices. Each element was mass produced to some degree, only to be dismantled and reassembled into something one of a kind. The intention is to turn deep frustration and confusion into something absurdly beautiful, and to inspire a meditative chaotic trance state in the viewer as they process the connections between the images they are presented with. The art is an illustration of the interconnectedness of all things. It is a tribute to all we consider obsolete, and a commentary on the wasteful nature of obsolescence itself. Each piece of work represents the eternal struggle between fucking up and fixing it, which is a repeating pattern throughout the artist’s life and creative process. Everything is presented with no apology for its various flaws, which would not exist if the work were digitally produced.