The paintings of Campbell River based artist, Lukas Mouka, are charged with an unsettling energy, vibrancy and otherworldliness, not unlike that of an intense psychedelic trip…Intrigued to know more about the person producing these gripping and surreal visions, we recently chatted with Mouka ahead of his solo show at the Xchanges Gallery in Victoria (April 1-17, 2022; artist talk on Saturday, April 2nd at 3:15pm).

Working with oil paint is no joke. What is it about this medium that first compelled you to it and what keeps you loyal to the oil painting process?

My first set of paints that my parents bought me were oils, and all the art they would take me to see in galleries were done in oil paint. Once you’re used to using oils, and especially quality oils, it’s very hard to go back. The feel of the medium, how it handles, and how the colour maintains once it’s dry keeps me loyal.

What is your relationship with technology? Do you ever feel the pressure to engage more with new creative technology in your art practice?

Not really. If there’s a piece of technology (like Photoshop or a projector) that will help me or create a certain effect, then I won’t hesitate to use it. However, I don’t see myself losing interest in the tried and true techniques of painting when there’s infinite space to explore new subject matter and how it’s perceived, without involving gimmicky techniques or new technology.

How about nature? Where does that fit in, and how important is your Campbell River location to your artwork and practice?

The term “nature” is an interesting one for me. People tend to talk about it as if it’s something outside of us, but we are nature, therefore the concrete jungle is also an extension of nature, in a way. But I know what you mean – I like spending time outdoors and I’ve always been pretty active that way. I don’t think the outdoors plays a huge part in my painting. I just do more plein air painting when I live somewhere with more access to it.

Your paintings have a very dream-like or hallucinogenic quality to them, that immediately drew me in and got me interested. Where does this penchant for the bizarre, or warped sense of reality, come from?

Thank you – that can be a difficult thing to put into words. I think it’s my interest in showing more than a faithful visual depiction of things. You can’t just paint what things look like, you need to paint how they feel. I’m also interested in trying to capture time in images in certain ways, so that can lead to warping and distortions. I’m often using imagery to express the subjects, and/or my own psychology, and distortions seem to come naturally from that point of view. There’s also something very moving about taking an image of say, a face, and blurring and smearing it with paint – it just makes me excited!

If you had to describe your artwork in just three words, what would they be?

Distorted inner perspectives.

From what I’ve read, you use your paintings to address some very heavy, complicated and pertinent subject matter. What is currently on your mind? How do you engage with current issues and keep your subject matter relevant without becoming frustrated/overwhelmed/anxious? (Or is that even a feasible possibility?)

I remember the mantra to not stress the things that are out of my control. I have a sort of irrational belief that human life is meant to continue on this planet, like there is some sense of destiny behind all of this, so I suppose that also helps. Even though everything is sort of doom and gloom right now, I still find satisfaction in trying to express some of the heavy issues going on today. So much art is about pandering to the audience and conveying pleasant things, but when I think of the struggle of life, especially as an artist, I feel like it’s dishonest to paint too far outside of that. So I suppose that finding beauty in the struggle is what is currently on my mind.

From astronauts to wild animals, and circus rings to forest scenes – your subject matter has so far run quite the spectrum. What can we expect from your upcoming show, Contours, opening at the Xchanges Gallery next month?

Well, a little of everything of course! I have some newer dark paintings that I’m excited to show. There’s probably more play with technical experimentation in some of them, and there will be plenty of distorted and warped subject matter. I plan to have some older examples as well as the newest paintings on display.

In the current cultural landscape, where images are everywhere on social media and artists from around the world are so easily accessible online, why is it still important to you to show your work in a physical gallery space?

That’s a great question! For me, there’s no comparison between an original painting and a digital image of it. Of course I’m grateful for the digital access there is if I can’t see the original in-person. Without the latter, though, I’d argue that you’re only seeing the art but not experiencing it. Standing in front of a real painting that was once in the physical hands of the artist and that absorbed the energy, the dust and the sweat that went into its creation is incomparable to a digital experience.

All images courtesy of the artist.