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Nike Dunk High “Wu-Tang”
Nike Dunk High “Wu-Tang”
Release Date: 9 November 2024
Nike Air Jordan 4 Fear
Nike Air Jordan 4 Fear
Release Date: 15 November 2024
JumpMan Jack “Dark Mocha”
JumpMan Jack “Dark Mocha”
Release Date: 19 November 2024

Features

Sneakerism – Draft 

Paleologism, Sneakerism, and Futurism are intriguing concepts—can you explain how these ideas converged in your work?

It all comes back to my dad and how fond of fossils he was. I grew up with my dad showing them to me all the time. I was always intrigued by the air units of Nike Sneakers, the Air Max bubbles I think because they’re like fossils. They’re invisible technology, and nobody sees these bubbles because they’re inbedded in the sole. When you remove them, I feel like an archaeologist peeling the foam away to reveal a secret. I clean them with varnish remover, and in this way, it’s like paleontology. I’ve always been fascinated by cinema and science fiction, which you can see reflected in my paintings. In my art, I try to connect all these fields – architecture, cinema, fossils, and photography. I think they’re all linked in a unique way.

How did the idea of Aircheology, specifically using Nike Air sneaker bubbles, come about? What drew you to this unique medium?

Yeah, the idea came to me because I’ve always been fascinated with the air unit. As an artist, I like to showcase something that nobody has done before. I thought it would be cool to actually build an air unit since nobody had done that yet. It’s kind of a homage to this technology because I grew up with Air Max and TNs. It’s a part of me and my identity.

I think this also resonates with people in a specific way. While not everyone may care about it they know about it , sneakerheads and those in the sneaker industry want to see our passion shared in a unique way. I worked on multiple ideas but this felt like the right way to present it and now build an archive over time. It’s a lengthy process, it takes me about a 12hrs to remove and clean each piece. The whole process is delicate and very time-consuming.

Brussels has a rich art scene, how has the city influenced your creativity? 

Oh, Brussels is amazing, bro. It really is! But I want to move now because it’s been maybe eight years since I arrived here. It’s a great city for creativity; Brussels has always been a place with a lot of visitors and people from across Europe. Its full of artists, and there are strong connections between artists, music, painting, fashion and just about everything creative.

While it’s not as big as Paris, Berlin, or London, it’s interesting in its own way. For me, it’s cool because the people here, the Belgians, are very open-minded. I’m French, and honestly, I don’t really vibe withe the French people, they can be quite narrow-minded. But when I came to Brussels, I found that everyone was so open and had this free spirit that I find very inspiring.

This is why I’ve stayed here for now; it’s a great place, and I have my life and work established here. However, I’m looking forward to possibly working or living in Amsterdam. I don’t know if you’ve heard of Hagel Studio; it’s an experimental footwear studio, and I would love to work with them. I think in the next year or a few years, I will move—maybe to Amsterdam or maybe even Berlin.

Can you walk us through your process for creating one of your pieces of art? 

It depends. I’m not a DJ or a producer, but I’m still very influenced by music. Here in Brussels, we have Kursk Radio, which is a big station that plays all genres, it’s amazing. I’m also part of a music collective called “All We Need Is Acid”, which focuses on acid music, including acid house, acid techno, and acid jazz. Most of the time, I’m inspired by tracks I find or the rhythm more than by the sneakers im working on themselves. A sneaker has no soul. But when you’re creating, you think, “Okay, I feel this sneakers and these colours.”

For the TNs, I’m very influenced by their shape. This pair resonates because the designer was inspired by a sunset and palm trees, and you can feel that in the design. It’s not old-fashioned; it’s over 20 years old and still feels fresh. I guess sometimes I can be inspired by the pair itself, but it’s more about what I want to show and how I want people to feel when they see the painting or art.

I draw inspiration from everything-architecture, design. I can have an idea while working in the streets, just listening to the noise of cars and other sounds. For example, with the Salomon project, I was inspired by the box design that features the mountain of Mont Blanc. I thought, “It would be a good idea to link the sneaker with the story of Mont Blanc” because of the architecture and aesthetic. It fits very well, and I also wanted to incorporate colours that have an acid vibe, like the music I’m listening to.

Creating a painting feels like cooking to me; sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. I have maybe three or four canvases that I didn’t finish because I started and then realised something wasn’t right. It’s the same for any artist—you start something, take your time, but the ingredients might not be appropriate, or something is missing. So, it stays as an experiment but isn’t finished.

It’s part of the creative process. Sometimes you start something, and it doesn’t work out due to a lack of time, ideas, or inspiration. But I don’t see it as a failure because you are always learning, and I believe the best learning comes from failure.

I can also find inspiration in flowers. In my art, I like to incorporate mainstream elements, like sneakers with flowers, because I enjoy flowers. If I want to paint flowers, I paint them. However, sometimes I want to push deeper. The art pieces that endure over time usually have a meaning. So, I might want to create something fun, but at other times, I aim for deeper work with a message. It all depends on my mood and the context.

How has your relationship with Nike and the retailers evolved, and how do you find them supporting your creative vision?

So for now, things haven’t worked out because I was asked by Nike this year to work with them in Paris. As you know, they hosted the Olympic Games there, and Nike put on a huge exhibition at the Pompidou. A guy from Nike reached out to me on Instagram and said, “Oh Martin, I like your work with the Air Max unit. We have to do something together.” I was like, “Okay, I’m in!” They paid me well, which was good, but they didn’t want to credit me in the project.

I told them, “Even if the money is good, I just want one thing: to be mentioned. That’s the minimum respect for an artist.” We had several calls, but it didn’t work out. They wanted me to work for them, not as an artist but in some other capacity. I was frustrated because they initially said it would be a private event, so they claimed they couldn’t mention me. But later, I found out it was public, which felt misleading. It wasn’t fun or cool for this time. I said that if there’s a public event next time, I’d be open to it, but given the conditions and terms, it’s not possible for now.

I was also supposed to have another exhibition at BSTN this year, but Nike canceled that at the last moment. In March, for Air Max Day, Nike released the Air Max DN, and BSTN thought it would be great to have a big shot of the DN. I said, “No worries, just send me a pair, and I can open it.” But Nike didn’t want to give me a pair before the release, so that got canceled too.

So, for now, working with Nike is a bit complicated. I’m very open-minded, though. I prefer to wait for the right time and have a better exhibition or connection rather than doing something that isn’t fun or beneficial for either of us. I’m not sure when that will happen, but I believe that when the conditions are right, there will be an opportunity, and we’ll see what comes next.

Have you worked with any other sneaker artists or brands to expand the idea of airchaeology? Who would be your dream collaborator?

Not yet, as an artist, I often feel very alone. I have my own ideas, and I think I’m too specific to easily collaborate with others. I know Jonas Cosen well; he also lives in Belgium, and I’ve seen him occasionally. I’ve thought we could do something with the Air Max Or TNs, maybe one day. I’m open to it, but for now, I only have time to focus on my own projects.

I’m currently working on a new project with my sewing machine so when thats done I might explore a collaboration with artists, maybe a crossover project. However, for the paintings and the Air Max unit, I don’t think it was the right medium to share with someone else. I have thousands of ideas, and I’d love to collaborate with big artists, but we’ll have to wait for the right time and opportunity to arise. We’ll just see how it goes.

In a world where technology is accelerating, how do you see your role as an artist documenting sneakers in our time?

There’s a lot of discussion about technology, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence in art. I mean, it’s just a tool. As humans, we need to work with it and accept it, because we’re the ones who created it. We rely on this technology to create and to work every day. As an artist, it depends on how you see it, but from my point of view, I’m not overly concerned in using it. Yes, of course, it can be dangerous, but that depends on how you use it. A knife can be dangerous too, but if you’re using it to cut a mushroom, it’s not harmful. Technology is very useful and I enjoy experimenting, we just need to find the right way to use it.

What do you hope people take away when they look at your work?

As a creative, I find it incredible how Instagram provides visibility, especially for artists. It’s an amazing platform! What I want people to feel when they see my work is that creating is entirely possible. Don’t feel shame or shyness—show your work! Show your work! Even if some people don’t like it, others will.

When an artwork isn’t shared, you miss out on the possibilities it could bring. So, if I have one message, it’s this: be creative! Don’t stop; keep moving forward. You’ll face setbacks and encounter thousands of obstacles in your life, but just keep trying. Be creative and break the rules as often as you can!

Looking ahead, what other projects do you have in line, and is there anything else you’d like to share with the audience?

I have thousands of projects and only one life, which makes me feel super sensitive because ideas are constantly flowing. I have to prioritise, though, since I’m painting, learning how to sew, and building the air unit archive, all of which require a lot of time. Painting takes time, cleaning bubbles is a lengthy process, and learning to sew is no different. So, I have to make choices in my art. It’s not easy, but I know I won’t be bored, even when I’m 50 or 60. As long as I have a pencil or a brush, I can keep creating.

As an artist, my biggest desire is simply to live long enough to finish all the ideas I have in mind.

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