Are you happy?

Kieron Kirkland, mentalist and magician
Kieron Kirkland, mentalist and magician
Kieron Kirkland, mentalist and magician. Photograph: Claire Lim Claire Lim/Claire Lim

I've always been interested in psychology and how people perceive events. Does magic exist? Well, it does in someone's mind. You rely on props when you start as a magician and you're unsure. As your confidence grows, your skills with people grow. With each new person are a host of deductions - elements of body language that can tell you about their life, their past, their memories.

I've always been a people watcher. I can see someone's state of mind and make assumptions from their body language. If I bring someone up on stage, I ask them to think of a happy memory. I perform psychological illusion and mind-reading, and draw out emotional experiences because they're more meaningful, more demonstrative, and a good reminder of the memories we hold on to.

We're terrible with our memories, always thinking about the bad. Mind-reading gives value to people's prominent memories and becomes a testament to the strength of them. It makes people feel better knowing these memories are still strong.

I'm happy when I'm doing magic. Magic's an obsessive thing for me. My girlfriend is used to the fact I can't watch a film or be on a bus without a pack of cards in my hand. She's heard, 'I'm working on something - can I try it out on you?' a million times. I'm learning hypnotism, but she can't take it seriously - yet.