Looking into the mind of Jan Hakon Erichsen

Marnie Moody creates art that leads you into staring. The longer you stare the more gripped you become, leaving the viewer with a ‘Where’s Wally’ sense of visual stimulus. Her creativity is illustrated throughout each of these graphic-heavy pieces with a distinct style and theme crossing the borders of each piece. Marnie spilled some ink on what it’s like being a talented artist in this current climate and how she got to where she is now.

From growing up in Watford and studying fine art at college, followed by moving to Leeds and continuing her studies at a higher level, Marnie’s passion for art only strengthened. “I have been interested in art for as long as I can remember. I’ve still got some portraits that I did when I was like six. I was only really interested in music & art; the more ‘academic’ studies really didn’t interest me. I decided to pursue what I was passionate about and hoped that got me somewhere.” 

Marnie dives into those moments that are often left unobserved or without awareness of our surroundings. This focus on the interactions of people and their personal moments are the themes that drive Marnie’s work, from a calm ride on the tube to a poolside moment of contemplation.

“People having moments of reflection, without sounding too cheesy, is what I try to capture. Not focusing on any particular person, it’s more a feeling or moment within someone’s life. It’s definitely more about the atmosphere or mood within a place;  a situation opposed to the physical appearance of a person.” The pieces beg for multiple takes to really appreciate the entirety of the artwork. You are drawn into the person’s facial expressions and body language, helping to echo the wider interpretations of the piece.

“The process behind creating a piece with both personal and commission work is I first try and get as much detail as possible about what the piece is going to be or trying to be. After that, I will collect as many photos and pictures as possible for reference. Because I won’t base my art on one image, it’s multiple that all feed into it, I think this is the most challenging thing. Early on you have things like light or shadow to be thinking of. So I’ll make up a composition with all these sources beforehand and from there add bits of detail on the computer. It’s a lot of planning and editing even beforehand.”

 Marnie’s style was not always like this, developing in her second year at Uni. Until this point, she would only create hand-drawn pieces. Feeling a bit lost for direction with work, as any great artist finds themselves at some point, she began to create more block colour silhouette drawings. With a bit of advice from her lecturer at the time mentioning that these drawings would translate well with more digital graphic art; Marnie’s new style was birthed. “I kind of thought about this but didn’t really act on it until I started getting cover commissions. In my first few I would draw them out, scan them in, and put them into an app on my phone to colour over them ahah. It wasn’t until I began to get a few more covers that I thought maybe I should start to learn on (adobe) illustrator. From then on I have just used Illustrator for my work.”

With social media now being the dominant way for many creatives to get their names out there, it has become crucial for reaching out to clients and securing commissions. Sites such as Instagram are (whether we like it or not) pivotal in doing this, with the ability to share an instant portfolio with the world. “All commissions I make are from other artists sharing my work. A lot of musicians will see that and a handful of them will reach out to me. So yeah, if it weren’t for social media then I definitely wouldn’t have as many, if any, commissions coming in. Through digital word of mouth, Marnie has reached out to plenty of artists and has been recognised by many. This relatively new form of free advertisement allows anyone and everyone to rub noses with each other no matter how experienced, talented or big belly’d.

For Marnie and many other artists working today, there is an incredible amount of resources for showcasing work to the general public and potential benefactors. This transcends to all forms of the arts but with this ability comes the chance of being buried in the endless abyss of the online stratosphere. It is shown in artists like Marnie who keep working and creating, that they are on a journey towards the recognition they want and deserve.  

Art says things without speaking and can be heard in all languages, although some things may differ in translation. It is a more personal experience than music, film or fashion as it broadens a persons conceptual ability for interpretation and understanding. Whilst art can take many forms that aren’t simply confined to beginning with a blank white canvas, Jan Hakon Erichsen has begun to undertake a weird and wonderful form of art that I was yet to discover. He takes household objects and merges them with himself and other ordinary objects to create an art of destruction, danger and beauty, a master of the oddly satisfying desires that lay deep in our hearts. He now capitalises on the opportunities that comes with the media, sharing his work with hundreds of thousands of people each day. The abstract art that can be found on Jan's Instagram page is constantly pushing the boundaries of its predecessors, evolving to become a more empowered form of visual art each day, with frequent content to keep fans engaged Jan does not show signs of slowing down or going back to a different style of art anytime soon.