Guest of this issue: Martin (New Zealand)

Alternative artist, installation robot hand author, photographer, illustrator, singer, drummer, flower arm old fresh meat

Hey! Martin, tell the story you created.

I don't know where my ideas and my ideas for creating these things came from. Every time I think about this problem, I always feel that these have been deeply rooted in my body. It only took a long time to realize that this is what I should have done, at least 40 years ago. However, I only started doing this ten years ago.



I am not a mainstream art lover. I have always been interested in some unusual art forms, which I call "alternative art". I thought it was cool to create sculpture a long time ago! When I was in the UK 20 years ago, I went to a music festival. There were many alternative musicians and artists. I saw a huge statue created with scrap metal, very sci-fi space style. Wow, this is amazing!



When I was a student, I was not a good student at all, but I was very sensitive to art since I was a child. My favorite subject was mechanical drawing, because I was fascinated by machinery and design. I often go to some waste recycling stations, which are full of "scrap copper and rotten iron" in people's eyes, but I feel very excited and get a lot of inspiration from them to create some small things. Especially the discarded car parts are the main material for my creation. I even used some parts to make a saxophone and a full-size humanoid statue. From the direction, I always seem to like to do "three-dimensional puzzles".

Can you tell your story? Where do you come from? Why did you choose to settle in New Zealand? What are you doing after you come here? What are your hobbies?

I was born and raised in Wales until my family moved to New Zealand 20 years ago. My father is a car lover, especially like old cars. I definitely inherited his hobbies. My mother is a singer and an alternative performance artist. I am very lucky to have inherited the genes of both parents. But I feel that I am more influenced by my grandfather. My grandfather is a shoemaker. I remember he often makes shoes intently in his shop. When I was very young, I was fascinated by all kinds of tools in his shop. This may be why my studio is very similar to the furnishings of my grandfather's shoemaker's shop.

My hands-on ability has always been strong. I often do some gadgets, little ones that are of no use. (Chersome: This is art!)

When I was in school, I liked painting very much. I drew in any class, whether it was art or not. Draw motorcycles, cartoon characters or mechanical bugs on math textbooks. So hobbies like painting and appreciating alternative art have been maintained.

What have you been doing since you moved to New Zealand?

I gave up a very dangerous hobby (skydiving) because I broke my leg once. I think my life seems more important than continuing this hobby, haha.



I have also played in a Brazilian AK Samba for ten years. I love this orchestra very much, and it let me release my talent for acting. At the same time, our orchestra also embraces novel and creative things, which can be reflected in a variety of our own costumes.

In the last two years, I have also formed a small band (DURTY MURDUR), which is fixed in the bar. What is very special is that we use homemade musical instruments to perform. Continue my alternative journey, continue to be active outside the mainstream art, and continue to be in areas that make me feel comfortable.

Let's talk about your robot!

I have been creating robot works for ten years, starting with an accident, a passive accident. I have spelled some mechanical bugs. An art museum likes those works very much. It has been exhibited and sold some. At that time, I was very excited and pleasantly surprised. I thought it was just a little fun that I did out of my hobby. Some art museums liked it, and some people were willing to spend money to buy it.

The museum also encouraged me to do more for the second year to exhibit again. After much deliberation, I decided to be some "robots". Everyone likes robots, and so do I. So in the next nine months, I was very focused on making more than 30 robots. The effect of that exhibition was very, very good. During the week of the exhibition, almost all of my robots were bought, so I was invited by this art museum to do more works.

Pay close attention to WeChat public number [some rooms] and explore the possibility of making home beautiful and interesting together.

Talk about your home! Your home is full of your art and collectibles! There are many styles of home, including Nordic style, Bohe style, industrial style (Industrial)... How do you define the decorative style of your home?

I'm not sure, collection type? It seems that it is not a specific type. My home is very "decorative style", but it is not the kind of decoration that women pursue. I also like to put my collection in order according to my thinking, sometimes even a little OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). On the whole, it looks a bit like Retro mixed POP mixed industrial Industrial.

I am often inspired by the people around me. Who have inspired you?

It seems that there is no special person, but I have had a lot of inspiration in my travel and experience. Like the music festival mentioned earlier. I was also inspired by Gaudi's architectural works seen in Barcelona. There are also some illustrators whose works have some influence on me, especially a British illustrator whose works are cartoon-style mechanical illustrations, not hard metal, but metal style with a sense of humor.

Keep your curiosity. I am the kind of person who will walk in when a door is open. I believe that is the message sent to me by the universe. I need to find the answer.

I don't watch TV very much. There are more than 40 channels that interest me. I prefer to review my photography or draw illustrations when I have time.

You can learn some new skills, which can be watercolor painting, go to painting class, and meet some friends who have the same hobbies as you. I'm not sure everyone can become an artist by learning art, but it's important to know how to understand art so that art can enlighten you.