We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kylie McLaughlin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kylie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

For most of my life, my father was an addict. He was both absent and present in my life. I watched him repeatedly choose drugs and alcohol over family. During the times he was present I would try keeping him afloat by bailing water out of his sinking ship, always to be followed by him pouring more back in. This was my role for 24 years, which is the age I realized my efforts would always be futile. 4 years later he lost his battle. Life seemed to halt as I saw every detailed emotion I’d ever felt towards him; the love, the disappointment, the hope of him changing. Though I had this personal clarity, I still struggled to vocalize my grief. The week following his death I took a series of self portraits. I painted my face, threw on a wig, and proceeded to spend 2 hours alone in a room taking selfies. The series is called ‘Sad Alien Clown’. The process of embodying a clown entailed painting on the emotions I wasn’t able to articulate with words. Colorful contradictions; Sad Clowns tend to their sorrows with smiles and laughter. A beautiful paradox I related with during a time I felt unrelatable. To integrate this feeling of isolation, I included alien imagery throughout the pieces as well.
These self portraits brought me a sense of comfort, not only because of the natural high that comes from creating, but because I was able to illustrate the feelings I’d been holding inside. It’s been almost one year since his death and beyond calming me in my immediate healing, this series now stands as a reflection of how I overcame a particularly hard time in my life by turning it into something meaningful. My hope is that my art can inspire others to express themselves through their own hardships.

Accompanying the series is a poem I wrote –

A long battle with addiction, lost.

A defeat not mine, now who’s paying the cost.

Still a child when my calls, you wouldn’t take.

A relationship I strived for, resulting with heart break.

Meant to be my protector, but the parent I became.

Making every effort to be proud of your last name.

I searched and found my warmth from mother.

Any praise I gave her you knew how to smother.

Introducing me to things like Spielberg and Star Trek.

Even more, you would teach me how to watch a train wreck.

The little girl who just wanted to love you the most.

And you now had to go and {overdose}.

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

I’m Kylie McLaughlin, creator of Kid K Media. I’m known for producing live and narrative music videos that incorporate color, motion graphics and animation. Broadly defined, I’m a multimedia visual artist. Originating in DFW, I got my start by picking up the Sony Supershot that Santa (mom) had gifted me and from there, my love for the lens grew strong. Following this interest into adulthood I attended film school at UNT where I got to share my passion with like minded creatives and found my groove with the spark that got me started, making music videos. Music videos gave me the power to combine my love of music and creative problem solving. On this path I’ve worked with artists such as Pearl Earl, Roxy Roca, Reno Nevada, and Lorelei K. I relocated Kid K Media to Austin towards the end of 2019 for a more collaborative environment and to better suit my long term goals. Shortly after moving, a whole pandemic popped into frame and rudely blockaded business for a couple of years. But our community is back and unmasked and my eagerness to create and connect never left. Kid K is about working with clients to create unique video and digital art for their viewers. Telling stories through a polychromatic lens, I distinguish visions by use of retro-modern surrealism. It’s 2022 and I’m back better equipped to make media for you.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

Let me say now — I have yet to make an NFT and am not trying to sell you anything. Innovation and technology within the art world is exciting as hell to engage in so, let’s. When my brother first explained what an NFT was to me years ago, it was one of the first of his many tech rants I felt engaged in. Hearing my brother excitedly go on about the blockchain but not yet fully grasping what it was, I finally had a reason to explore what our digital future looks like. As an artist, the thought of artwork being protected against plagiarism was an enchanting idea. Before I ever heard the encrypted entities talked about in the public, my opinion started off optimistically because it was explained to me in a way my brother knew I’d see its value in. NFTs can be a way for artists to have true ownership over their work which gives agency to reach broader markets, capitalize on their craft, and feel secure knowing that even on a digital plane, their art is safe. In reality, NFTs have an extremely broad scale of capabilities that have since led to many, sometimes nefarious, uses and outlets. Being a versatile tool newly introduced to the wider public, of course highlights the shortcomings and growing pains while we learn how best to incorporate them into our digital language. Despite the drawbacks, I feel NFTs have the potential to revolutionize how emerging artists can enter and thrive in an increasingly digital world.

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

Part of following a dream is not settling for anyone else’s idea of what a career should look like. It’s challenging to routinely reject the well-intentioned advice from worried loved ones who offer their ideas on stability vs. risk. Through it all, I’ve never lost sight of who I am or what I want and that’s a deeper reward than any external accolade can give. There’s no greater gratification than seeing my personal fingerprint on the final cut of a music video or in the blended colors on a canvas. Above all, is the warmth I feel from others genuinely loving a product I’ve put my heart and vision into.

Contact Info:

• Website: Kidk.media
• Instagram: @kylie.the.kid
• Youtube: kidfilmingkid

Image Credits
Kylie McLaughlin