How did you get into art?

I guess all kids draw when they're little and most of them quit one day ... I just never did . I really liked comics when I was young and when ever I really like something I try to do it myself and better ... And then it just became an obsession ! I thought and still think it's one of the most beautiful mediums ! Telling stories and drawing them ! And then later I started to notice people doing actual paintings with comic carracters and just your basic pop low brow stuff and that was it !! I had finally found a world with endless possibilities that I could create all my crazy shit in and never run out of ways to do it...

How do you get inspiration for the pieces you produce?

Everywhere ! I guess I'm one of them visual guys ... I just look around !! Our world is filled with interesting shapes and forms of all kinds ... From an old building's decorative sculpting to a new ones dynamic lines , from a new gadget's design to a weird looking photo on a poster ...etc . But once again comic books , I guess , inspire me the most ... Layout , technique , and of course the illustration!

What has been your best creation to date?

My next one!

How much do you think hype affects the public perception of what good art is?

I guess I might seem to be a tad bit pessimistic , I mean I don't really think I am but these comments might seem to be. I think most people can't really see what can be nice or not... I mean every body has their own definition of what they like or not but very few have a " trained " eye , art lovers who can judge a piece for it's actual value , at least enough to be able to see something they would really not like personally but would still be able to say it's a really good piece anyways... I do believe that there are very few of these people out there and there for to be a popular artist and to sell a lot of pieces you have to rely mostly on people that really have no idea what you're doing and just go with it cause everyone else seems to.

Last CD you bought/downloaded/shoplifted?

Just finished ripping the few last missing pieces of my Man or astro-man collection!!

How did you feel when you realised that art could make you some money?

I felt bad! I mean I had found the ultimate flaw in the system , I could do what I loved best at my own pace with no rules attached and make a living out of it!!! I mean wow, I started wondering how so few could have gotten in on this sweet deal and then found out that you couldn't actually make that much money out of it unless you made it big ( see answer 4 )... But still went with it...

Why do so many people spend money on music yet so few buy art?

Music is easy... Not to make but to appreciate... You like or you don't and most people judging your tastes are your friends that are usually as much amateurs as you are... I think it should be the same for art but visual arts usually have this horrible superior medium etiquette where many snobs and self proclaimed connoisseurs  prevail in snobbing amateurs... I guess art hasn't yet completely made it in the mainstream world of pop culture and still wrongfully holds this " for chosen few " tag...

How is your local art scene?

Sweet! I mean there isn't that much going on in Copenhagen but enough to have something to go check out once every few days! Lot's of students do some cool shit for a year or two but then get swallowed into advertisement or some abstract form of corporate communication where they become production zombies... ( bitterness )... The good thing about living in Europe though is that I am very close to almost endless amounts of cultural centers, from Berlin at the top to virtually every other city on the continent!!

What makes you happy?

Discovering new , innovative , original , productive artists!!

What makes you sad?

Famous artists ( in whatever medium ) who either indulge in endless, boring repetition or more importantly who could not draw their way out of a phone booth!

Sex, drugs or rock n roll?

A BJ, 4 double expressos, 1 and a half packs of Lucky strikes, 1 or 2 pints of Guinness with a dry ounce of Wild turkey at the end of the day and of course what ever music I'm in to at the moment is a pretty sure bet at a good day.

Last book you read?

Waiting for the barbarians by J.M.Coetzee.

What's your favourite soup?

Frittatensuppe! Some Austrian specialty!

Tell us a secret?

My first time was with a hooker...

Quote us your favourite song lyric?

I've been every where man ... J.Cash
or
Non rien de rien ... Non je ne regrette rien ... E.Piaf

Is there a downside to being so talented?

I can't think of one except maybe that everywhere you go everybody always wants you to draw them something... That and all the paparazzis!

What time did you get up?

1pm.

Ask yourself (and answer) a question?

Do you think there are people, living among us, walking around us that are actually robots disguised as humans?
Yes! I do think we have the technology yet and in fact I think there are more of them then there are of us!

What's your worst habit?

Girls.

Any close encounters with the law?

A few very close ones... But that's to expect when working illegally everywhere!

What else do like other than art?

Getting lost in foreign, far away places, good movies, driving a scooter in Shanghai, coffee and cigarettes, girls, not doing my national service ( army ), stoner metal, industrialization, giant robots and other mechanical war machines from beyond, space monkeys,  a good pint of Guinness at my pub, having money, long sleeve weather, going through any country's customs like they didn't exist, empty streets, meeting a tattoo artist that doesn't do koi fish pieces, scoring, getting up before 1 pm, a taxi drive to an airport, people that aren't trying to be someone else and being asked what I like!

Any regrets?

Not yet... 

Final thoughts?

I used to be told that whatever you put your mind to and fight for will happen, so much, and from people who didn't actually believe it, that I always thought that that was crap but it's actually not!!!

The road is bumpy and how long you can last on it is how you judge the passion you have for something... No matter where you go, the way is full of crap you have to deal with and then some!

But eventually you get what you want if you fight for it! Thats how it is! And the harder it was to get there, the more you have the right to brag about it when you do get there!!

Interview - Mr. Burrows 05/03/07