Can you share as much as possible about the piece and how you conceived of it?
Few months ago there was an Infectious competition for apple laptop cutout design. I downloaded the template and started thinking about it. All other participants made it as an apple on the branch or something like that. It came to my mind, “what if it is not an apple at all? What if there is something more to it than just a stylized apple?” And than it came to me that it appeared to be like PacMan from the 80’s. Maybe on the same day, another artist uploaded a PacMan design just like that! So, I realized that I would have to look beyond that.
There is a psychological phenomenon called Pareidolia. It is a brain function that finds patterns where there are none, like seeing faces in the clouds or a head on the surface of Mars. Very similiar to when people see a religious image in a stain on the wall, it is always because of Pareidolia. Thus I saw a womans face in the apple cutout.
My hard drive broke down so I lost this idea and design. I never applied for the Apple Cut competition that Infectious hosted.
Now, months after this, I have found the time to make it all over again. When piece was almost finished my wife was looking at me working and said ”Are you still working on that Eve?” There is an half eaten apple and a woman there, she certainly is the first of her kind, so thus she became Eve.
Would you share three unique things in your workspace that inspire you?
I am inspired mostly by so called lowbrow art, street art and works by Shepard Fairey. Animated movies inspire me the most, Samurai Jack by Genndy Tartakovsky is my favorite.
What’s the best compliment/most extreme reaction you’ve ever received in response to your work?
The best compliment that I received so far was when my translator to Japanese announced that she will sue me for involving her in my Akamaru Monogatari project. It is my animated film about Japanese warfare.
What would be on your quintessential mixtape?
The Misfits, Balzac, The Damned, NOFX…
If your art was music, what would it sound like?
It will sound like Balzac, Japanese horror punk band.
What do you have as your desktop wallpaper?
My desktop wallpaper is always black, but there is a screen saver that I like, the HAL9000 emulator screen saver. I am a big fan of Stanley Kubrick. I even have a part of his private Odyssey: 2001 tape.
What are your vices/guilty pleasures?
I am addicted to UFO literature. I like how it stands between science and fiction.
What’s the first picture you can remember drawing as a child?
I remember one drawing from kindergarten. My parents showed me how to draw human legs properly, like the letter W. I was so little that when I tried to draw that in kindergarten, it didn’t look that good. So the teacher contatced my mother and told her that they should work more on my drawing skills.
If you were a dinosaur, what kind would you be and why?
The small one, I guess… But still a hunter.
What was your last memorable dream?
I’m not sure why, but I always dream I am roaming around the streets of some urban decayed city.
If you had to change careers, what would be next?
I am always researching new stuff so I guess I would be an investigator or historian of some sort.
What’s your motto?
Fight for yours!
