Miles Tsang loves a “loaded symbol,” which leaves crowns and wire right up his alley. Miles explains the deeper motivations behind his 72 Seasons series piece and how his own early path shaped the artist he has become.

BACKGROUND & CREATION OF THIS ART

I went through the list of song titles, and “Crown of Barbed Wire” just stuck out because it’s very “imagistic” and sounds so brutal. I have a thing with royalty, crowns, and these types of elevated figures. I like to draw monsters, pretty ladies, weird people, and skeletons – along with royalty and crowns – often surrounded by weird light. So, it just seemed like something I could attach my style to pretty readily. I like loaded symbols. I like it when things mean something; if there’s an avenue where I can dive into it from that angle, then I find that attractive. Practically, as an illustrator, I had to draw “this thing,” and immediately, it stirred some imagery. I ended up creating this royal, rotten figure and just going crazy with that.

The piece feels masochistic to me. I tend to think of it as a person examining themselves or reflecting on things. “Where did life go wrong?” “Look at all these things that I’ve done!” …Maybe the fact that I was raised Catholic has something to do with both this and the fact I’m obsessed with figurative art, such as angels. Looking at this image right now, it has an almost anime-level intensity, and it’s an illustration bent to reflect feelings of masochism, self-examination, a type of nihilism, too. But there’s still a grin on the protagonist because, even though it’s about something dark and dour, I do still want the average metalhead or music fan to be able to feel it’s also fun. Because at the end of the day, as dark as Metallica and their sound can be, it’s always fun. It’s always awesome. And I think that always has to be there. If I make something that doesn’t feel that way, then I have to change an element to make sure it is in there after all.



MILES’ “72 SEASONS”

My first eighteen years, or “72 seasons,” weren’t the happiest of times. I wasn’t really sure of myself or who I was, but I had one guiding light, which was art. It’s always been my special interest; it’s always been something that’s connected me to the world. It’s the lens through which I view a lot of things. My immediate family are creatives, and both my parents are from Hong Kong. My mom is a former illustrator and fashion designer. My dad used to do motion graphics design; he does industrial design. And they run their own business. So, I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit plus the normalizing of creativity, which I think is pretty unique. It means I’ve always had those anchors, while the rest of my life in those first years was unsure and confusing. I retreated into myself and just liked to really lose myself in my interests, such as art and music. With art, it was as a participant, and with music, it was more as an audience member. So that’s where my “72 seasons” took me, and I feel that what I gravitated towards makes a lot of sense.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2024

As for 2024, it’s shaping up to be a great year. There’s a lot of stuff going on workwise that’s very, very encouraging. At the beginning of every year, it’s always stressful because from December – sometimes into February – it’s just dead; no one’s calling, no one’s emailing, and if they are, it’s very preliminary. But now, everybody touring in spring and summer needs stuff in the next two to three months, so that’s all good. And personally, I am very much trying to do that mythical “work/life balance” thing, you know? I think that this is just life, and you work in life. But you’ve got to find the balance. I’m very dedicated to the concept; last year was the beginning of that for me. Prior to last year, I felt like I hadn’t really socially recovered from [the pandemic], but since last year, there seems to have been a more social rejuvenation, for me at least. So, with that balance being such an essential part of me these days, I’m pretty excited about everything right now.