Peckham-based illustrator Andrew Khosravani conjures up new lands and creatures  with free-flowing psychedelic lines.

Inspired by science fiction, dead civilisations and jungles it is easy to see how these areas come into play in his creations, which often include tikki-gods combined with writhing plant life or un-quenchable seas. Alternatively Andrew loves drawing blues musicians in response to their music. With commissions from Dazed and Confused, Little White Lies and MTV under his belt things are looking good. Nonetheless he feels his involvement in the Wu Tang Exhibition, opening on the 6th of March, might just be his peak, but we don’t believe him.

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What made you get into drawing?

I only really started to push it after I saw my friend George‘s work. We were probably 14 at the time and he was always drawing these hilarious little cartoons that were so much more advanced than anything I had done.

What do you love about it?

Drawing is great because you can spend days labouring away on one drawing and then you look up at the guy next to you, who spent 5 minutes on something and it looks way better than your thing. This sounds like a negative thing but I love it because it reminds me how many different possibilities are out there in making an image and to constantly try new things. I also love animation, which is even more depressingly time consuming, but I like making shit move.

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Tell us about a place which inspires you?

I recently got back from Sao Paulo in Brazil, and that place is mental. My Mum is from there so I was out there visiting family but it’s by far the craziest city I have ever been too. Its so big and dense it makes London look like the Shire but its also so colourful it almost hurts your eyes.

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Other interests and inspirations?

When I was younger I read J.G Ballard’s ‘The Atrocity Exhibition’, which really inspired me. He writes like a surgeon and this book is full of surreal and visceral imagery. It’s a really bizarre book because if you were to ask what it’s about, I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you, but the imagery he conjures up is incredible. I also skate which manages to distract me more than anything, but it’s a source of constant inspiration. Last night I went to Jacob Ovgren’s exhibition who does a lot of the graphics for Polar Skateboards. It’s a rad show, with really great work.

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Is there a narrative or specific concept behind your work?

It depends on the project, sometimes there is a clear narrative that I’m using to link images together and sometimes it just a bit of fun and it can make less sense. I have always been interested in interlinking images and creating fluidity in my work so I almost always have a reasoning behind everything (even if I’m the only one that understands the reason).

Tell us about what you’ve been working on recently and any upcoming projects.

I have been working on a couple of animations with a couple of very talented illustrator/animators. One with Maciek Janicki and another with Cristina Florit Gomila I’m really looking forward to them being finished hopefully by summer time. I also did some board graphics for Slam City Skates, which I’m excited about.

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https://andrewkhosravani.com/

https://wutangisforthechildren.co.uk