I never liked my real name. Its sound is completely unlike my personality. I am a musical person, sound matters to me. It’s not a bad name, but it has nothing to do with who I am so I can’t stand it. To everybody, I will be either Kim or Medicine Madison.

 

Kim is a name I use throughout my life in non artistic contexts and with people I know personally. I don’t think my real name has any relevance in terms of describing who I am. It’s just too ordinary for my taste.

 

I will explain here the meaning of my name as an artist.

 

First, I’m going to talk about “Medicine”. I call myself Medicine because I believe artists – not priests – are the doctors of the spirit.

 

I have had numerous issues throughout my life, therefore, I had to go to hospitals many times, and this, too, has certainly contributed to my name. I don’t know how many surgeries I have undergone in my life, however, there were more than 25. Medicine is a part of me, because my life experience has influenced me a lot. Medicine sometimes alters moods, and that’s happening to people while viewing my work.

 

Next, I’m discussing “Madison”. “Madison” had to be my last name, because the first three letters form the word “Mad”.

 

I consider that madness has a special place in my work, and I’m talking about the fact that I would risk a lot for art, especially in my self portraits. While shooting self portraits, I enter some sort of trance – It’s a magical experience, some sort of ritual, in which I unveil, one by one, the infinity of characters that shape my personality. My madness manifests itself through my art alone. I am a very balanced person.

 

There is absolutely no relation between my last name and the common American name. It is written and pronounced the same way, however, its meaning and purpose is completely different. I had to ask many people to stop calling me Madison – Medicine is my first name, and that is how I prefer to be called.

 

As a bonus, my name contains the word cinema: MediCINE MAdison. Indeed, my life is like a movie.

 

And then, there’s the letter M. Some of you may know that sometimes I simply call myself “M“. That’s how I sign my paintings. M is the 13th letter of the alphabet. This name is like a subtle premonition. In 2013, I discovered my purpose as a person and as an artist. But that’s a story for another day.

 

After you live certain experiences, and I’m talking about rough ones, you automatically change your vision about life. And this is what happened to me. Maybe my real name was okay for me when I was in early school, but now it’s completely wrong: it’s simply not my name. 

Yours,
Medicine Madison