#surrealistic

The door to the unusual surrealism: interview with Alice Lin

Beijing based illustrator, Alice Lin, opens doors for us and invites everyone to discover her dark, creative and surrealistic world of art. You can recognize her works by identifying the connection between art, animals, and nature. Alice always manages to build an emotional bridge between viewer and subject. Her colors are like that of illustrations and drawings and are usually calmingly soft. Every single one of her photos has its own story. Alice brings darkness to her works and combines it with fairytales, childhood’s memories and perceptions. So what is Alice Lin like? And how does she come up with such ideas? I asked her about these things in our short chat.  

At what age did you started illustrating and how did it happen?
I started drawing at 5 years old. At that age I was a very naughty little girl but drawing kept me quiet. My mom liked to let me draw so that she could take care of me easier.

How long does it take for you to finish one artwork?
It takes different amounts of time with every piece of work. Sometimes I get a new idea in a moment, sometimes it can take a long time. If I get a good idea, to draw it will take me about half a month.

Illustrations and paintings always seemed to me as a quite diligent thing to do. Do you think patience and thoroughness are the characteristics that artist need to have for creating such art?
Yes, having enough patience and thoroughness in art is necessary and indispensable.

I always ask this question: who or what inspires you?
So many things give me inspiration: fairy tales, music, pictures, movies, dreams, etc. From when I was a kid I liked to draw my imagined world, a place where the things that don’t exist in this world can be.

Your art can be perceived as dark and full of emotions. What kind of emotions and feelings are you trying to reflect?
Life. I have seen the birth of life and death. I am always aware that life is great and fragile. However one day we will all disappear. I always ask a question to myself : Are we real? Do we exist? Are we just illusive?

Animals are a big part of your artworks as well. Why is that?
Animals and plants are my favorite subjects because I love this world and I hope the animals, plants, and humans can exist in harmony in this world forever. No death, no war, without the pain of sickness. But the truth is everything has its end and we must comply with the laws of nature.

If you have to describe yourself in three words, what they would be and why?
SENSITIVE (my emotions are too rich). ELEGANCE (I like poetic expression). GENEROUS (I like to share)

Do you have any other hobbies besides illustrations and drawings?
Yes, besides drawing I was working for 3D art company Maya VFX and MEL (Maya Embed lauguage) scripting. I enjoy this work but it’s very different from drawing. These two work fields let my brain alternate between logic and emotion.

A small man in the big world: interview with Achraf Baznani

When Jonathan Swift published his world famous novel “Gulliver’s Travels” in 1726 he probably didn’t know that someday it would become a reality… Well, at least in the  photographic world. Achraf Baznani, based in Morocco, is a self-taught photographer who creates surrealistic self-portraits. As a small person in his artwork, he can walk on dining tables, and discover and interact with unusually large everyday items such as books and tea cups. Achraf first started creating short documentaries like “On”, “The Forgotten”, and “Immigrant” which earned him several national and international awards. Now, he is also the photographer who shows the world from a surrealistic angle. I have chosen to reflect one side of his portfolio: his minimalistic self-portraits. I hope you enjoy it!  

I’m personally a big fan of surrealistic artworks. When did you find yourself in the realm surrealism and its art? 
Photography has more than one source of learning, which ones are looked at depends on the person himself. Personally, I am a big fan of the Hungarian photographer “Robert Capa” and his immortal work, “The falling solder ”. This shot is one of the most important images of war in the twentieth century.  That’s exactly what made me experiment with surreal and fantasy art, and creating images that the human mind doesn’t accept.

Why do you think we need surrealism in this world?
I think because we need a break from reality. Surrealism takes us from the real world to a dreaming one. We can recreate and share our dreams or surrealist ideas in real life through photography.

How was your idea to take your personal portraits in such a creative way conceived? 
For my works there are a variety of ways a concept falls into place. Most often it starts with a spark of inspiration and grows from there; whether it is a person, design, story that needs to be told… regardless, it all starts with a single point. From there it becomes simple problem solving. I don’t spend very much time looking at what other people are doing. I like to stay aware and connected to what others are doing by following sites such as Flickr but beyond that, I spend the rest of my time meeting people, creating, and really just living life. I think the best way to be inspired is not to just try to emulate others, but to find what inspires you in life and trying to capture and share it. 

You use a lot of items from your home to create your small world and put yourself in it. Is it hard for you to be inspired by the same things and environment? 
I can easily find ideas and use the same objects to design my work. Using the same objects across multiple works is not appreciated by everyone and that’s why I like it; it is the sense of creativity.

Are you going to try anything different in terms of photography? 
I love macro photography. What I love most about macro photography is the surprise elements that always pop out. Those surprises are fine details that can’t be seen with the naked eye, but which emerge clearly when the photo is enlarged. What is so tempting about macro photography and photographing insects that the photographer can spend hours behind a small creature to get an impossible shot. It’s the beautiful patterns, or I should say the designs, that the insects are gifted with and we are not.

What is your biggest dream related to art? 
Ever since I started photography, it has always been a dream to have my photographs printed up large and posted on the wall. Exhibiting my artwork is my biggest dream.

What would be your advice to beginners who would like to experiment with surrealism through photography? 
It’s never easy to succeed and sustain going pro and freelance in the beginning. I know people who can take anywhere between 6 months to countless years… it will take dedication and luck, but hard work and perseverance is the key. Never give up, no matter how hard it is. Nothing is impossible.

Text edited by Melissa Searle

The Face of Another (1966)
dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara / dop. Hiroshi Segawa

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