If one day
somebody told me that a lad makes illustrations, manga's derivative and
some cybernetic stuffs next to the GIGER's world , I would have send him
back , but it proves to be that it's true since Akirao is an imperfect
stuffed of talents and knowledge notably in illustration .He's a real
good connoisseur in manga, dark art as much as in industrial metal, by
the way he can mention all characters and other star wars' trilogies planets,
a guy ready to astonish you as Ovidi's (French porn star) anus hole made
by donkeys' Roco Sifredi do. So, here is this super man's interview who
is able to amaze more than a person .No Akirao is not Japanese but altogether
Algerian, from Blida exactly: a city to 50km of Algiers, read and then
you'll see.
To begin
are you able to present your self briefly?
Akirao-amine the 20th graphic self-educated profession, because while
being young I was fed by manga and videos games from Sega and Nintendo.
I experiment quite a lot of things, that goes from drawings while passing
by the 3d.
How will you define your style?
I define the kind of drawings I do as cyber manga ones, a mixture between
the Giger's dark, futurist cybernetic side and manga's gore side and fantasizes.
Where have u brought this H.R.Giger and mangas' fascination from?
As I told you previously, I have been rocked by mangas since my younger
age. I've discovered some masterpieces such as: Akira, Ghost in the shell,
and other 80's die-hard violent series as "Ken le survivant",
"Les chevaliers de l'éternel", as well as comedies such
as: X-men or J.J.R comics Dc, I've discovered them thanks to "Alien"
and "Predator 2" films, I was spellbound by those creatures.
While searching for their creator, I discovered that they come out of
his imagination, but unfortunately he left us years ago. I made research
about what has Giger done. I'm still entranced by him because of his fascination
to woman and machines and he knew how to return homage to them. He has
created his own black cybernetic world and influenced a lot of people,
notably me (laughs).
You have never studied graphics or drawing lessons but the thing fascinating
me in you is that your drawings are pretty good, for example: Aki or Gorgort
are worthy works, how have you reached that high level?
Thanks for what you said that's just work and experiment of several domains,
especially experience because since 2 or 3 years I've evolved, and I've
begun since the age of 15 years. But the key is research, documentation
and above all this work and persistence.
Most of your drawings are organic, a fusion between the human body and
other creatures, even animals for the case of "Ra", all that
in a dark approach nearly morbid. I don't know if it's my own vision or
do you share the same opinion?
Sincerely, neither I can't contradict you nor share completely your opinion.
The fact that I use organic elements is true but I don't do it consciously
and don't forget the drawings' mechanic and cybernetic side. The emotion
transmitted to you is more devastating than dark and that's what I really
want to transport, because we're leaving in a changing world, where millions
of people die of hunger, notably in non developed countries while developed
countries take comfortably advantage of the situation. Notably, the World
Company, internationalization, wars, conflicts for tips of land or oil
wells. And from another part, man changes and perhaps undergoes this change.
I prefer that countries like Great Britain and U.S.A invest money to fight
famine and not to increase the military budget or encourage the laboratories
to advance in stupidities such as human clone.
So you're against all form of evolution, isn't it paradoxical! You're
fascinated by everything cybernetic and at the same time versus technology
and progress?
No, I'm not against it, but I think that man has to think sometimes about
his dying brother and not only about himself. That's what I want to express
in Aki, it's a sort of a vision about a harmful future, when we'll kill
each other for stupidities. As well as for another drawing representing
a man and a beast, those are idiocies such as human clone, because man
needs to change his nature but he doesn't know that mother nature can
penalize him by rejecting him or creating another race (smile) but I don't
think that I would be until then even living.
A question that I often ask, what's your process of creation? How much
time do you take to make a drawing like Aki?
You know it comes from a mere nothing, perhaps a humble vision of anything,
sometimes from a nightmare that I found myself drawing it in the night
(laughs) or an illustration, a fictional character. It always starts like
this then I scan everything and what's funny is that I never make retouching
but everybody reproach it to me, may be I reverse colors but never more
because I'm maniac and too faithful to the black and white; they project
well what I need to send, the vibrations I need to reflect from my drawings.
The time that it takes to me varies immensely from a drawing to another.
I sometimes do 4 or 5 copies, for example for Aki I've repeated it 6 times
to access to the concrete image. I'm a determined person; Aki took me
2 weeks of work.
I noticed that music is a consecrated for you, you can't work without
it; as we speak about it what are your favorite bands, can you explain
why? And tell us about what do they offer you?
It's
especially band's or song's music and lyrics because it bids you to taste
a strange feeling that we've already knew, or the simple fact that it
remembers me real scenes I lived. Music is my creations' gas, I like Godflesh
Justin Broadrick, an ex Napalm Death a pretty good thrashing, Scorn a
Mick Harris band an ex N-D too, Whitehouse with their s.m side a real
fillip, Brighter Death Now true nihilists, Blood Axis by their Industrial/Pagan,
Merzbow Masami Akita a new air genius, it's intense I find myself in osmosis,
trance.
You like enough industrial metal?
YESSSSSSS, industrial metal is special and unique for me, don't know what
to tell you but I'm not saying that all other styles aren't important
for me, I've already listened some Iron Maiden, Sepultura, but I was illuminated
when I discovered industrial metal. May be mechanic runs in my veins.
Which illustrators interesting you particularly these days?
I like Mahiro Maeda products, Atsushi Morikawa too, Shinchiro Watanabe,
Yoshiaki Kawjiki, Takeshi Koike, Koji Morimoto, Yoshikazu Fukutome and
Mamouru Oshi an important realization master too, he has conceived "Avalon"
that is surrealist enough according to me.
Can you access to the animation and the Japanese illustration (Nippon)?
No, not really. Trevor Brown is an honorable artist and his works contain
Nippon because he's Japanese. He got famous, but over that he forger a
particular style in Japan, I can also mention the Crow James O'Brain father
who has unfortunately sold his comic strip to fashion and business.
Would you like to speak about the neo-room?
Unfortunately, neo-room doesn't exist anymore or has almost disappeared.
Now it's a virtual stuff because 4 longtime friends have created the neo-room,
a sort of a collective where everyone had a special gap, I worked on illustration
and 3d, Vega (Mhamed) 3d too and the video installation, Bliss (Walid)
3d and graphics and Shin (Sofiane) occupied the artwork and video. Neo-room
to the basis is project which got concretized because we have worked some
for individuals and communication companies but our wish was to work with
underground metal bands either Algerian or foreign. First, we wanted to
work with communication companies to buy some new equipment and to look
for new premises, because we worked during Vega's cyber café breaks
and that wasn't easy anymore. So after a year we couldn't appease our
old fantasizes because of Vega's bankruptcy added to problems with some
silly persons from communication companies. That was a great adventure,
we were sleeping few hours a day and have realized great things, our last
baby was 3 videos (blips) and an animated court metrage which hasn't succeeded
because nobody believed us and because of a lack of money to buy the equipment.
We've buried the neo-room 2 months ago. It doesn't matter but here in
Algeria nobody gives a shit to animation they prefer brothels' investments
and rai woman who sucks dicks all the day and sings for rich soldiers
or they give money to drawers for animation as they have lately done the
result was beyond the miserable.
You said that it was just a goodbye, so you haven't finished with it?
The phoenix is a bird that is born again from its ashes, the neo room
shares the same strategy.
Can you speak about the blips you've done? If I can allow myself, a
blip is a sort of a short clip that lasts less than 2mn, but you've realized
much longer than a blip?
It seemsas
a clip, but for a clip we need much more money. The stuffs we've done
are just manga's installation with metal music background.
Are there some projects for the future?
Yes, may be a long stay in Spain where some friends are waiting for me.
I'll work on concrete projects with real means and it's been a long time
that I haven't taken holidays, so I'll benefit of them.
Well, thank you Amine for your sympathy, let you end the interview?
Thanks for the great stuffs you're realizing and bravo for your webzine
and long life !!!The famous last word will be: FUCK THE SYSTEM.
Interview
by +Ben+ Translated
in english by Fallen Angel
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