Features

What was it like when you first went from group exhibitions to solo shows?

I haven’t really consciously stopped doing group shows or started doing solo shows.. I did a solo show in 2007 because i felt unusually happy and motivated at the time and it worked out great, but for numerous reasons I haven’t done any group shows since then. I’ve been spending a long time lazily thinking about what I want to do for my next show and figuring out all the pieces that should go into it. So I guess to answer your question, 'good'. It was just a natural progression and I’m happy about it.

What’s your favourite story from the Rancho Notorious days?

No specific memories really come to mind, there were plenty of fun times but more importantly I met some great friends/artists like Hiro (twoone) and monkey and some people who would later become very important in my life.

What video games were you playing as a kid that have lasted as an influence on your work?

There were numerous games on the Commodore Amiga and the Sega Mastersystem and Megadrive that really fuelled my imagination and are still a great source of inspiration to me today. Such as Sonic The Hedgehog, Wonderboy, Putty, Shadow of the Beast, Turrican, Golvelius and the Valley of Doom, Knightmare. I became a big fan of 2D beat-em ups when i was a teenager. Aside from the obvious Streetfighter 2, there were a bunch of SNK titles that really intrigued me. The Samurai Shodown series had mad character designs. 

Do you still play video games? If so, which ones?

Yes of course. From time to time I will play the aforementioned games, emulated on my PC, but there are plenty of recent games which i am very fond of such as Katamari Damacy, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, Killer 7, the Metal Gear Solid Series, Castlevania: Symphony of the night.

Over the last year I have been really interested in the indie game movement/scene.  There is a lot of interesting stuff being produced by very small development teams (sometimes solo developers), who have a tendency to value unique ideas and approaches towards game play and graphical styles. In this way I think that these games are becoming more expressive, it’s all very interesting.

How do you go from concept to a finished illustration?

It varies every time and there seems to be no rhyme of reason to it, sometimes it starts with scribbled shapes with an intention of drawing a landscape around them, sometimes I have a specific concept or character in mind and I try to figure out a perfect composition for the idea, sometimes I come up with a name for a piece of artwork before anything else, usually a reference to an obscure game or piece of music. When it comes to 'subject matter', such matter must prevail at one or more of the 3 tests. I think to myself, if I wouldn’t want to be the thing, slay the thing, or eat the thing I’m drawing, then i really shouldn’t be drawing it... errr... yeah.

Have you ever worked in an industry that wasn’t art-based? If so, what did you do?

Not really. 

What do you do when you’re not drawing?

I like to play video games, watch movies, listen to music, nothing too out of the ordinary. Lately I’ve been working on my own music a lot. It’s something I keep coming back to and would love to finish some music off one day. It’s usually melodic down tempo electro dubstep with 8-bit arpeggio effects and stuff.

Have your family always been supportive of your work?

Yes, very.

How would you describe your style?

It’s hard to say really because I don’t stick with exactly the same style with every image. When it comes to ideas and concepts then I think its best described as contemporary fantasy art with strong references and influences from old school videogames, classic sci-fi and fantasy movies and Japanese cartoons. I think the technique appears to change and hop around from piece to piece, but that is due to the fact my main medium is computer.  If mediums were brutal warriors, Adobe Photoshop would be a chameleonic assassin.

What’s your favourite piece (of your own) and why?

I really can’t say, most of the time looking back at old work brings me down. Usually I only get excited about images in my head and the prospect of illustrating them. At the moment I'm just excited about making alot of new landscapes. I've been trying to master a style that allows for imagery to fluctuate between three dimensional depth and realism and flat, two dimensional videogamey landscapes, and I think the key to the final dungeon is within my grasp.

What other artists do you look up to, and why?

There is no point just listing a bunch of names so ill mention only a few in more detail. Katsuhiro Otomo who I think is an amazing artist. Someone who can write a story like Akira and illustrate the comics as magnificently as he did and go on to adapt that story into a brilliant screenplay AND then direct the feature length film is surely worthy of the highest praise imaginable.

Yoshitaka Amano is one of the greatest and most imaginative painters alive today.  I’ve never been as mesmerised by anyone’s work as much as his. I believe he will be loved and appreciated for centuries to come on the same level as Gustav Klimt and Dali.

There are so many more, but I really don’t know where I would begin describing them all and why I love their work.

What’s coming up next?

My two main focuses at the moment are my next exhibition and a 2D platform adventure game for the PC. Trying to organise some big things for the opening night like a playable demo of the game, some good music & maybe a performance art piece where I dress up in a fat suit and play a glutinous emperor with a golden scepter that shoots chocolate. I will enter the gallery on a solid gold palanquin carried by ninja swimsuit models dressed as Dragonball Z's Ginyu force.

For more on Jagi and his work visit his website, jagiart.com.