ABOUT ME

I am Mique (aka Michel Cubillos, b. 1981, Santiago de Chile), a mixed-media Latin American artist based in Margate and living in Thanet since 2011. My practice is centred primarily on the creation of mosaic-style collage and Papier-mâché figures.

For my mosaics I use cuts of coloured magazine paper instead of paint to create images through the processes of drawing, selecting, cutting, and layering paper from upcycled magazines, resulting in bold works that are both visually striking and purposeful.

This slow, attentive process is both meditative and expressive, allowing meaning to emerge through colour, texture, and accumulation. Portraiture, homoeroticism, and subjects such as landmarks and animals form the core of my work so far. Alongside my two-dimensional collage practice, I also create papier-mâché figures depicting plants, animals, and imagined creatures.

My creative process explores freedom of expression in queer identity, subverting self-censorship while examining relationships between people, nature, and shared spaces. The layering of different coloured cut-outs mimics an impressionistic, painterly style. I often document the creation of my artwork in time-lapse videos to share an additional dimension and reveal the evolution of each finished piece.

My practice has evolved from simply using technical skill to create visually appealing works, into using collage as a way to “cut out” my own boundaries. I explore homoeroticism as a theme that brings my authentic self into focus, expressing my sexuality while marking a break from self-censorship, shame, and judgement.