Mural, Mural On The Wall

Where are you from, and what do you do for work?
I was born in Croatia, but I grew up in France, and here in Singapore, I work in advertising as a creative director, but I also do illustrations and paintings on my own.

How long have you been doing paintings and illustrations?
Oh wow, I guess since I was a kid. But professionally, probably 10 years now? Something like that. I mean, I’m still bad at painting (laughs) but it’s okay.

Where do you get inspiration from for your personal artworks?
Most of the time, it’s from people, and from going out and traveling, which is super clichéd, but it’s actually quite true.

Hanging out with interesting people like artists, musicians, or just creative people is always such a good thing when you’re in this field, because you see what other people do and how they work. These life experiences are always better for me, more than just going to exhibitions, because you get to see the process as opposed to just the final piece. It’s super crazy because you can end up with the same results, but the way you get there and that whole route towards the end can be completely different.

I hang out with a lot of graffiti artists here, and as you know, it’s not allowed, so doing that for a living is insane. Like just the fact that they chose the hard path with all of its struggles is also quite inspiring to me. Because there’re not a lot of artists here to begin with, and the ones that are here struggle so much that they would go even further to bring their art to the public, so I actually think it’s quite cool.

What do you like most about Singapore?
There’s also a lot of cool parts of Singapore, for example, not the CBD (laughs). But if you go outside of this area, there are amazing places and amazing people, and it’s just a shame that some people don’t see it. I know it might sound a bit clichéd, but I really love Haji Lane. Mostly because I have a lot of friends who hang out there. Kembangan is also a super cool place—it’s quite chill, and people are nice. Bishan and Clementi as well. Joo Chiat is actually really cool, but it’s just a shame that now it’s getting more and more gentrified.

But I guess the good part about Singapore is that most of the time, you can do whatever you want at whatever hour you want. It’s always kind of okay, everything is open, and you can eat at anytime, so that’s quite convenient.

What do you miss most about your home in France?
Two things: spontaneity, and this is going to sound super French, but cheap wine.

What I mean by spontaneity is like being able to just not plan anything. You could be going out, and then all of a sudden, you’re at someone’s place just shit talking (laughs) and drinking and smoking all night long. This is not as available here. You can still find it, but not that easily.

But you know, that’s it. There’re not a lot of things that I miss, to be honest, because what you miss in your home country, you find something else in where you live. Like here, for example, when I went back to Paris to visit my family earlier in May, even if it was only for two weeks, the first thing that came to my mind was pratas (laughs). I was like, “Shit, I miss that!” The weather as well. I’m not a big fan of the heat, but still, it’s quite enjoyable. The people and the fact that there’s a lot of diversity is also something that I quite enjoy.