Will Sweeney doesn’t need to be introduced.
He is one of the most talented artist of his generation and in the occasion of the opening of Expo ‘the Doorz’ at Wok I had a quick chat with him...
1\You have collaborated with many apparel brands, Levi’s, Stussy etc..and Silas and Maria, where you worked with Jarvis, Purcell, etc..
How was that experience?
Working with Silas was a really good experience, I admired the brand and the artists that worked for them before I knew them but many people at Silas became close friends of mine, it was also one of the best clients I ever worked with in terms of creative freedom.
2\ Do you have some masters references?
I mean present\ past (future) people who you admire for their works...
Too many to mention, I’m very inspired by friends and people I work with - James Jarvis, who I share my studio with, is a big influence - even though our work is very different.
My friend Susumu is also an influence, we share many similar inspirations - mediavel monsters, lost tribes and strange costumes, I’m also inspired by my friend Jason Evans (http://www.jasonevans.info/index.html) who is a fashion photographer/record cover designer/artist and collector of strange objects - he has a unique way of looking at life.
Some of my favourite artists include, Paul Noble, Otto Dix, James Ensor, Barney Bubbles, Fletcher Hanks and Gary Panter....
3\ What are your main sources of inspirations ?
Natural history - I have many books on animals of all kinds - I particularly like insects, lizards and undersea creatures...
Costumes & masks, especially ‘primitive’ or tribal costume, I refernce National Geographic magazine a lot and have many copies in my studio.
Music often inspires me, sometimes I like to listen to heavy space rock like Hawkwind or Amon Düul 2 while I work..
Going out for walks around London also inspires me - good to think and look at architecture etc.
4\ How did you meet Matt Furie?How did you conceive the concept of the Doorz?
Matt & I were in contact by email for a while before we met, we finally met in Tokyo when we both had exhibitions there - we found we got on well otgether straight away, we have a compatible sense of humour and a shared love of nerdy fantasy!
The idea for The Doorz came about through talking on Skype, we both liked images of portals and entrances and decided that it was an accesible way to collaborate.
5\ How does the idea for Tales from the green fuzz?(I love it, that’s one really of my favourite comics)
I originally drew the character of Helmut The Hot Dog Man for a flyer design and he stuck...I was offered the chance to make a toy by James & Russell from Amos, but I needed to come up with a story to put the character in, so I came up with TFG...
6\ You are also part of Zongamin, a music project with Susumu Makai, who is a illustrator as well.
how was your approach to music?
I know that you love playing the guitar..
Since I was about 14 and I heard The Sex Pistols I’ve played guitar and been in bands...I gave up for a few years when I went to Liverpool to study, but when I moved down to London I met Susumu and I was quite inspired by his aproach to music - very relaxed. I started playing again and in a few years I joined a few different bands and played a lot of shows, after a while Susumu asked me to join Zongamin. It’s been a great experience, we’ve played in Japan, Rome, Ibiza, Glasgow...it’s very nice to have the opportunity to tour with the band and I love Susumu’s music.
7\ How was to work on the motion graphic video ‘Paruchute ending’ for Birdy Nam Nam?
Did you colloborate with other motion graphics works?
It was good but very hard work. I had worked on animations before, but never as the main creative person, with the BNN video I was responsible for the entire look of it, which was a bit scary at first but very rewarding. I just recently started working on another animated music video which is pretty exciting and a bit scary too as I’m even more responsible for this one!
8\ In which field do you want to apply your talent in the future?
I definetly want to make more animations, and I still feel that I want to write and draw many more comics - I havn’t done very much in this format yet and it’s such a fantastic medium for me...even though it takes much more work and doesn’t earn very much money (unless you sell the film rights).
9\ Have you got an unrealized dream?
I’d love to make a Giallo film!
Will will be to party with us this Friday the 14th Jan, all starts at 7 pm at Wok.
Big thanks to Vickie\Jaguarshoes, Fede and Andrea.
Interviewed by SC