Meet Infinipi

We had the good fortune of connecting with Infinipi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Infinipi, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I don’t think that this question really has an answer that is specific. I think a lot of it has to do with the phase that one is at in life. When I was a kid, I enjoyed drawing… as I grew up in my teens, it became building stuff with my hands and whatever parts I could get. In my very early 20s there was a lot of acrylic paint. Then I went into hibernation for many years. I did a lot of stuff digitally in Photoshop, it was a time that pre-dated iPhones and although it was artistic, I never necessarily considered it art. Art, in my mind, needed to be tactile – the ephemeral nature of the digital world would bring me to very dark places mentally and I didn’t like it. I started entertaining the idea about developing my art skills about six or seven years ago. Instagram was exploding with all sorts of “making of” art content and I was definitely enslaved to the algorithm – concrete, wood, resin videos and very creative uses of resin and mosaics, and that also coincided with working with one of my favorite contemporary French artists; “Invader” as part of a team that repaired his pieces that had been stolen around the world.

Back to your original question… when I was a kid, the “why” was a grade in my teachers grade book. As a teen the “why” was curiosity of how things worked at an engineering level. I took it to a level where I had built an actual metal lab in my bedroom to which my parents had to run a dedicated electrical circuit to avoid setting the place on fire. In my early 20s a close friend of mine committed suicide and it was, I guess, a way to process emotions that I didn’t really know how to deal with. It was a sort of escapism that was selfless. I was deep in depression and would paint for other people. I would paint essentially fictitious posters, usually made up Absolut Vodka ads, which were all the rage at the time. I always enjoyed the challenge of finding a creative way of integrating the iconic bottle shape into the design.
Later in life, the “why” has morphed significantly. I use art as a tool. I use it as a tool for my mental health. I use it as a tool to help spread positive ideas. I use it as a tool to meditate. I’ve learned that I do the art for myself, not necessarily for other people. It does however resonate with other people, which makes me feel validated because ultimately my art isn’t usually very commercial- some of it is more street art and then some resin projects and pen and paper drawings, I vary it. I enjoy the liberty of playing with different materials. And ultimately, the more I let go of trying to control that process the more it seems to resonate and the more my art seems to grow.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As I mentioned earlier, I know my art is not for everyone. It really depends on what you hone in on when you see a piece. I’d say that more than 90% of the art I’ve put out there is probably some form of mosaic but there are also lots of pieces that have nothing to do with tiles. Some people enjoy the stickers I make, others like my ink on paper drawings… To me, it’s the process that I enjoy. Some pieces take hundreds of hours to put together. It’s not something that I really pay attention to when I work on the pieces…. I value the piece by the satisfaction that I get of putting it out there- by seeing the reactions on peoples faces, and that to me is definitely the icing on top of the cake!
My art obviously has a lot to do with my life- with things that I deal with or rather it’s a vehicle for me too process what I’m going through- not necessarily visually, but mentally . That may sound weird, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that the fact that I’m creating something puts me in a flow state where I’m meditating. That’s where I process ideas not related to what I’m working on but other stuff that’s in my head.
My pieces are full of symbolism which sthem from my childhood growing in Asia, from habits, from math- as geeky as it sounds my degree is in mathematics. The Koi fish in my designs are all about overcoming obstacles in life. That’s why they usually turn 180°. It’s a visual representation of taking a chance and making a change. It takes courage not to give up! It takes courange to make a change! The rest is varied based on the materials that I’m using, and whatever inspires me at that moment, but back to the mosaics, the bulk of them are pi symbols and infinity symbols. My name as an artist is Infinipi, which is that merging of infinity and pi except I don’t pronounce it like apple pie. I pronounce it like the letter P. Infini-P. That said almost all my pieces have an infinity and or a pi symbol in them. Sometimes its obvious, others it isnt… but that’s something that I picked up in my 20’s when working on the Abolut posters- always pay attention to the details!
The reasoning behind that symbology stems back to a couple things, but primarily the fact that Pi(π) is an infinite prime number. If you were to take the decimal portion of pi and create any algorithm that would convert those digits to letters then those letters eventually would start creating words … and those words eventually would start creating sentences… within those sentences, you would have every single thing that you will say in your life. Every thought that you’ve had or the name of every person that you’ve ever met and will ever meet! all included within those digits of pi. And because it’s prime, and because it’s infinite it’s valid for you, it’s valid for me, and it’s valid for every other person who is going to be reading this. Some people have asked me what if the algorithm doesn’t return everything or what if the algorithm is for English and I’m Norwegian? well… that’s the beauty of it you can always change the algorithm and make it work for you! That is why when I’m in the streets putting up pieces, I’m not writing out my name. I’m putting up a π symbol because I’m saying everything all at once. Graffiti artists tag their name everywhere, muralists cover walls with paint, I say it all by simply using nine tiles stuck together with glue in the shape of TT.

I really don’t know what sets me apart from others, but that’s not for me to decide. I feel that if someone is looking at my art it’s for them to feel what it makes them feel and if that energy is better or stronger than what someone else has done then I am happy to have impacted them in such a positive way. I’ve had the opportunity to place some very large pieces in public schools (the mathematical innuendos in my pieces is hard to ignore so schools tend to lap it up) I don’t mean that with any negative connotation but I have to say that it’s definitely increased my exposure and when I’ve presented the pieces to administrators or students the reactions I’ve had have been short of incredible. Students and parents alike have come up to me and say I know the first 150 digits of pi or I know that pi makes circles…. I also won’t say how many times people have showed me their infinity tattoos hahahah I’m kidding. Again, those people who come up to me and share their thoughts both good and bad are what keep me going. I don’t look at it from an ego point of view, but rather of “how am I contributing to the society around me and is it a positive impact?” point of view. As you can see, it sometimes isn’t easy to explain the reasoning behind my pieces because it is long-winded but again, there are those who see the energy behind the pieces and to me that’s what counts is that some people get it and others don’t in the meantime, you’ll know that next time you see a pi symbol and made you think about it twice hahahah.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In Denver? RiNo! I am biased because that’s where a lot of my fellow Miami artists have placed murals hahaha. Truth be told I couldnt specify a particular place other than the neighborhood itself. You should be outside looking at the art, not inside hahaha! If you do, then reach out to @denvergraffititours she’s incredible and has a wealth of knowledge of most of the art in the area!
In Boulder I am partial to Jungle – in fact, if you walk outside around the corner you will very likely see a piece of mine!
In Miami Wynwood for the art, but the Grove for the laid back feeling. Only problem is everything has become completely absurdly overpriced!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Sounds cliche but my parents. They allowed me to tinker and experiment – they let me use and buy all sorts of tools that most kids did not have or particularly care for. I remember when I first moved to the states some 30+ years ago getting my hand on a printed Home Depot catalog and seeing the opportunity of all the stuff that could be built with what was in there. Nothing felt like it was out of reach or “undoable”. That’s the foundation. Then it evolves as time goes by and that very definition of success itself becomes very personal to each and every one of us… what is success? My success is having the ability to have the luxury of time to dedicate to making art. It is “me” time. Now, the shoutout extends to the editors, bloggers, interviewers (including you), gallery owners, and fellow artists that have helped promote my work and help grow my reach! Thank you!

Website: https://www.infinipiart.com

Instagram: infinipi

Image Credits
infinipi