Hossein Borojeni

Hossein Borojeni The Canonisation of Beauty Through Drawing.

When did you first get into drawing? I have always drawn, probably like every kid. The only difference: both my parents are artists, so I was quite free, even encouraged to draw. They didn’t bind me when I started to draw on the walls but they repainted the whole apartment a few years later because all the walls were drawn up to 90cm.

Later when I was 11, I began to study more seriously the drawing by copying the Renaissance masters and trying to learn anatomy bases... because I saw a drawing of Picasso when he was a kid, and he was much better than me !

Why did you choose to make fashion part of your inspiration? I think the todays fashion aesthetics are in a way the heir to the antique art and its canonisation of the beauty; Kate Moss is the new Venus of Milo. the Greek antique art and later the Italian Renaissance. Abandoned by the official art today, fashion has made the body its main concern and controversies.

What is your particular working day as a creative? A particular working evening would be more appropriate as I am not an early bird. I begin everyday by losing a lot of time reading my emails and other uninteresting endless staffs. Then when it’s too late I only begin the creative work.

More seriously, I take often more time to analyse and do researches for finding inspirations than the time I need to execute it.

What tools do you use when creating your images? I use mostly ink and watercolour but also digital tools like Ipad pen and of course Photoshop.

Of course my father and Leonardo Da Vinci when I was a kid.

Actually the first fashion illustration I saw was in the 90s, when I was 15 years old. It was a huge poster in the front of Les Galéries Lafayette in Paris. Recently I learned that it was drawn by Mats Gustafson.

Many years later, about 10 years ago, I saw a gift card at Printemps Haussamann, the other Parisian Grand Magasin! It was beautifully illustrated with a mysterious woman silhouette. It was a revelation. The drawing was by Aurore de la Morinerie.

What advice do you have for younger artists looking to be part of this industry? Keep another job beside while starting because it’s really hard to start living only by art. Produce a lot, then choose. Practice drawing and learn classics, even if your style will not be classic. What are you drawing today? Music are you listening to? Books that your are reading? I didn’t draw today but I am going to go tomorrow to a life drawing session. It’s the best way to keep practicing drawing and anatomy.

I listen to the Italian music that my wife, Bahar, is listening beside me while working. She is also illustrator, much more talented than me. Don’t miss her work: @ baharillu

I never read books, only look at the illustrations inside ;-)

Favourite artist/designer at the moment? Banksy