Read into Marcos Milewski's motives for the international art exhibition with the theme 'Solidarity'

Today we had a very special chance to chat with the main artist of this years Island Show Exhibition by the theme of ''Solidarity''.

Read below the story and motives behind this very well known artist on Madeira Island.

Designed by Kristijan Trifunovski

When we asked him what does solidarity mean to him, he gave as a very heartfelt answer:

Marcos:I think that, first of all, any solidarity action is born out of empathy: we ask ourselves in the depths of ourselves what it would be like to live in the circumstances of another human being who is in an extreme situation of survival. And if it was someone in our family or a friend who is experiencing that disgrace, what would we do? It is important to answer this question because deep down every human being is our family member and our friend.

Secondly, we are in solidarity because humanity, as a whole, works like a mega organism, where the illness of one part jeopardizes the health of the whole. For this reason, in critical periods, marked by war, the pandemic, the political-economic crisis or a natural disaster, solidarity is paramount for the well-being of our species as a whole and quite possibly for its own survival. But our objective must be to achieve solidarity that is not limited to these critical periods, but seeks the well-being of people at any time. Only then can we say that humanity is on the way to being a healthy entity.

For us the theme ''Solidarity'' represents the current help the world needs in order to end the war, in that contest he said:

Marcos: My parents, of Polish origin, lived through the Second World War and I listened to their experiences since I was a child. Also during my military service, in my native Argentina, an absurd conflict between my country and Chile arose over some uninhabited islands in Tierra de Fuego. Fortunately, the conflict was resolved diplomatically. But I felt closely what it's like to be a top in a dictator's chess. I know that dictators are not concerned with turning the youth of their countries into cannon fodder simply to strengthen their power. I know that I was very close to feeling the icy wind of those Patagonian Islands. A few years later, the islands Malvinas war broke out, with all its absurdity and cruelty. Argentina also had its internal wars, but this is a very accomplished story to report here. All these personal experiences shaped my thinking as an absolutely pacifist character.

For me, artistic work is closely linked to reflection on what has happened and is happening around us. I don't believe in the artist isolated in his ivory tower. The throbbing life that surrounds us is my primary inspiration. In this context, the war could not fail to be present in some of my works. But war is like a tree with rhizomes that connect it underground with the surrounding forest. Capturing these subterranean connections is paramount to understanding how war affects all spheres of human activity

When it comes to the art itself we asked him if he had started with creating the paintings he plans on showing on the exhibition and his advice for young artists who want to participate.

Marcos:I've thought of several ideas, now I'm working on the concept that I find most interesting. But the whole artistic process is an adventure that can still give you surprises.

My first piece of advice to a new artist is to have a clear goal in your mind and heart filled with deep passion. This emotion is the real source of energy to overcome obstacles.

My second piece of advice is to dedicate a lot of daily study and training time to artistic activity and not measure the effort invested. In the artistic field, as in any other area of human activity, constant activity is the only way to achieve a good result and to succeed.

One of the biggest problems artists come across is burnout, we asked Marcos for his toughts on it and how he deals through a burnout.

Marcos: What makes a musician train on his instrument 6 or 8 hours a day for decades? What drives an athlete to run a certain number of kilometers every morning from adolescence to old age? I think it is the same impulse that moves a visual artist to follow in his Art day after day, year after year, throughout his life, the artist is moved by a goal loaded with deep emotion. It is this emotion, which is felt in our guts, it is our vital impulse and our true source of energy.

We as well incourage young talented artist to apply for the exhibition on Madeira Island, Starting on 24 of February.

Apply HERE

Interview and publishing by Kristijan Trifunovski