At first glance, Lilly Urbat’s Instagram profile awakens a primordial human instinct: curiosity. Laced with enigmatic portraits – most notably, one where she is holding a grown man in blue boxers – and complex visuals, Urbat’s Instagram is a testament to her artistic versatility, with a robust repertoire of photography, graphic design, visuals and instillations; each work of art catering to a theme. We talk to Urbat about the artistic process and how she cultivates her ideas into reality.

How long have you been doing art professionally?
I co-founded an art space in 2014. The space was, or still is, very leftist and subculture. We named it “Edel Extra” (“noble extra”). In our programme we were mimicking institutionalized art and the market, in a funny, grotesque way. I really think, professionalizing your work eats into your creativity. The monopoly-vibes at Edel Extra allowed us to breathe. Five years later, it flipped back, and we were honored with a federal prize for our work there. I kinda unwillingly entered it in 2014.

What kind of work do you do? How would you describe your work?
Interdisciplinary, conceptual art. Docu-fiction, staged photography, video installations. It’s humorous, loud, rigid, close, direct, dense but it’s not unbreakable and hopefully not forever.

On your website, there’s work displayed in graphics and videos, and your Instagram is obviously a lot of photos. How do you narrow your focus in your art? In other words, how do you survive all the work ADHD?
Media is like gender: the more, the better. Honestly, I work a lot and learn knew stuff all the time. Performances teach me about editing, graphic design about accessibility. Working interdisciplinary is the only way for me to understand things. I feel like if I want to get better, I gotta go through this.

Do you just get any idea and act on it? What would you say to artists that are hesitant about their ideas? What advice would you give?
DM me! Or Claudia Holzinger. Seriously, I mean it. Get yourself a mentor or a good friend and ask them for feedback and pushes. Advice from somebody you look up to and have respect is worth a thousand times more than listening to affirmation podcasts all day.

What themes does your art explore?
Good versus bad, Reality, Pride

What is your favorite work that you’ve done so far and why?
Uh, I love my work. The series where I lift the men ist the most recognized. Actually, for me, it’s not the works, it’s the shows! Some shows will turn out excellent and some alright. The work is the same but context matters, vibes matter.