We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marisa Mu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marisa below.

Marisa, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of the most meaningful projects I produce is with my Co-Founder for our platform Tits & Co. This is foremost an online community and platform that recognises, supports and celebrates female and gender non-conforming artists from all over the world.

We have started doing in person art fairs where I have curated and produced here in Melbourne as a way to bridge the gap between the under-representation of female and gender non conforming artists within the commercial art world. We aim to give these communities a voice and give them the opportunity to network, connect and build their arts practice with the support and resources that Tits & Co. offer.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I always wanted to be an artist when I was a little kid in preschool and I followed multiple creative pursuits whilst studying at the College of Fine Arts, exploring my love for textiles and surface design to painting and poetry. My practice is very integrated, however, the biggest catalyst for change and redirection within my life came when my mother passed away when I was 19.

I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney, a place called Blacktown which was a lower socio economic place but full of culture and grit. My parents were refugees from their war torn country of East Timor and they fled to Australia in the 70s and 80s to have a better life. I was born in 1991 and had a very fortunate childhood where I spent most of the time outdoors, enjoying bike riding with my big brother and spending time in the vegetable and fruit garden with my mum. My mum was a stay-at-home mother and my fondest memories of her include sitting next to her everyday after school to help pick colours of yarn for her as she hand-knitted and crocheted blankets and textiles art. My mum was the youngest of 7 and she arrived in Australia when she was 16 and she went straight into high school in Cabramatta where she didn’t know a single word of English, she couldn’t write or read and I often think back and reflect on her resilience and strength in the face of adversity in order to birth an opportunity for growth.
Watching my mum use her hands, whether it be gardening and harvesting from our garden, to crocheting, floristry and to painting still-life oil paintings, there was a calmness that enveloped her and a sense of wonderment that ensued when I sat with her and watched her make something beautiful out of her hands and with her eye for detail and art – this all heavily contributed to my desire to be an artist and form the woman I am today.
She unfortunately got diagnosed with a rare case of skin cancer when I was in my final years of high school and it was a surreal blur, I threw myself into my art classes where I subconsciously found my voice and culture through my arts practice. I see how that it was a form of coping and healing whilst navigating hardship, especially as a young person.

I will never forget the last moments I got to speak with her and she told me that she was proud of me and wanted me to go on to do what I wanted in this lifetime, to not be afraid of wanting more and seeing the world on my own terms.
As you can imagine being a teenager, it felt like a nightmare that you wanted to end but it was actually your reality, it was my reality that I lost the light of my life and I was losing myself simultaneously.
I went onto do a Bachelor of Design at The College of Fine Arts and graduated in 2014. I majored in textiles and jewellery design, despite wanting to be a fashion designer, I found myself falling in love with the enduring and tactile quality of artisanal leather goods. I started my own design studio producing printed leather bags that I manufactured myself in my home studio whilst also working a full-time job in retail management to make ends meet. I did this for 6 years before I found my spark again, I didn’t pick up the paintbrush for many years after my mother’s passing as it hurt me, it reminded me of her and I had this very debilitating narrative in my mind that whatever I painted, it would not be good enough for her (my mum). But that was not true, this was a story I convinced myself of for years and the calling to paint was making my body tight in my own skin, the urge to paint was huge and I couldn’t ignore it any longer.

I had a major campaign launch for my leather goods studio and decided it would be a great opportunity to paint a small series of artworks to compliment my show. It was 2 weeks out and I hadn’t painted anything yet, and then one morning, I woke and heard my mothers voice whisper behind my ear ‘Marisa, I think today is the day you try to paint’. And I was afraid but I knew that it was the right moment for me to lean into my power and to not only honour myself, but my mother, she wanted me to paint because she knew it was in me.
I was shaking as I set out her old paints in the backyard and I was shaking as I went to put the brush to paper and I do not know what possessed me in this moment but I started intuitively painting naked women dancing. I burst into tears and was laughing at the same time because of the overwhelming sense of relief and happiness I was feeling. I realised in that moment that it wasn’t about what I would be painting, but fact that I was painting , the fact that I was doing what my soul wanted which was to paint. I painted a series of small artworks and I showcased them at my campaign launch and they all sold that night. It was a complete surprise – I painted as a form of healing and connection with my mother and to know that people resonated with them in such a deep way made my heart sing. This period of my life changed direction completely – I consolidated my design studio and quit my retail job a year onwards as my art was gaining s much organic traction that I couldn’t ignore the alignment that was unfolding. I wanted to be an artist. An artist that was living the life she wanted by platforming for female, BIPOC and queer peoples – my heart is with community and that is deeply connected with my mother and her legacy.

I have showcased my work all over Australia and in LA and NYC, all these milestones have been a testament to my commitment to my arts practice and my mission statement to support and empower minority groups to lean into the power of art as a vehicle for story-telling, connection and empowerment.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have been dealt many obstacles that could’ve consumed and defined me, but that is not the person my parents brought me up to be – being a daughter of refugee parents built a sense of resilience and grit within me that it would take a lot to stop me from getting back up and Showing Up. I have always gotten back up.

An example of resilience within my young career comes in the form of me choosing to do 2 back to back major shows in 2022. I had a major show in Melbourne and as soon as that finished on Sunday, I had to fly to NYC the day after as I had a major show opening on the Thursday in Brooklyn. I arrived in NYC and had no time for jet lag, I found out the day after I landed that my shipment of large scale artworks were not going to make it in time for the show as they were being held in Customs in Cincinnati, my heart was breaking and I felt incredibly disheartened and shocked that my 6-9 months of hard work was not going to be shown in NYC. I felt isolated and very alone, it was a definitive moment when I did the self talk and realised that the most important element was in NYC – and that was me. I had dreamt so long to be back in NYC post pandemic to showcase my art and I was finally back in the Big Apple. I was going to show up, exhibit my small paintings and do my best to connect and show up for myself and my art.

The universe had my back as I connected with so many wonderful people that despite not having my large artworks present at the show, I was able to still secure major acquisitions of my work valued up to 25k and multiple commissions that I then worked on whilst in NYC. It was an absolute turnaround of events for me and a big affirmation that I did the right thing by me by continuing to back myself and show up. People show up when you show up. And I am always going to show up!!!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect is when you get the opportunity to connect with others over the power of art. I live for Opening nights and getting to see the fruits of your labour, donning on your favourite outfit and engaging with people who also value creativity and art in all its forms is the absolute best.

I have been lucky enough to be able to travel all over the world for my career and have made friends and connections with people that resonate with my arts practice. I have shared many tears and hugs with people who felt a deep resonance with my work and that speaks volumes. To have such an emotional response to art is what makes my world spin and to have cultivated the career and community I have over the past 5 years has been nothing short of wonder and fulfillment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marisamu.com
• Instagram: @marisa.mu

Image Credits
Photography: Lukas White