discovery

AKIRAO

Artist Name : Amine
Nickname : AKIRAO
Location : Blida, Algeria
Style : Cyber Manga

INTERVIEW

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

CONTACT :
Email : urban_guerillas@hotmail.com

 

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