Mike Okay

Mike Okay's work proposes an introspective journey through time in which he explores the relationships between personal memories, collective history, and artistic expression. Each piece acts as a chapter in a visual diary reflecting the complexity of his identity and experiences. Drawing inspiration from his childhood in socialist East Germany in the 1980s and his youth in reunified Germany in the 1990s, Mike Okay explores the link between individual memory and social change in his imagery.

The exhibition "Turbo Diary" presents a selection of works that reflect the dynamism and vitality of his artistic practice. By combining personal memories, cultural references, and contemporary imagery, Mike creates a narrative landscape that invites viewers to delve into past experiences and the transformative power of memory. With this series, Mike initiates a dialogue that allows for an exploration of the complexity of individual experience within the context of social developments and a reflection on the connection between past, present, and future.

His work focuses on nostalgic moments and references from his generation's childhood and youth. He draws inspiration from children's drawings, the unskilled hand, the imperfections in representation, the errors. Seriousness, correctness, and perfectionism contradict his modern vision of childhood and thus are less interesting to him. He aims to be arrogant and vulgar. In his works, there is a childlike anarchy that doesn't hurt but makes you smile and invites you to allow the absurd, letting your imagination soar. All pictorial elements are keys or rather emotional triggers of memories. Many of these objects exist in his private collection and are part of his "wonder room" or personal collection. However, they are more than mere reminders. Through abstraction and new interaction on the canvas, they lose their original context, change like memories, and open up a new narrative perspective.

After a brief stint in architecture studies at HTWK Leipzig from 2001 to 2002, Mike Okay (Halle, 1980) decided to embark on another transformative path by studying design at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle from 2003 to 2010. He co-founded the renowned artistic collective KLUB7 in 1998. His commitment to artistic excellence was recognized in 2017 when he received the prestigious Artist Grant from Kunststiftung Sachsen-Anhalt and Kloster Bergesche Stiftung (Saxony-Anhalt Art Foundation and Kloster Berge Foundation). In 2019, he was welcomed as a member of the Art Directors Club Germany, further solidifying his influence in the creative sphere. In 2021, he co-founded the innovative artistic space Galaxie Neuer Künste and, in 2022, became a member of the Hallescher Kunstverein, cementing his presence in the esteemed Halle Art Association.