Haris Rashid is a full time artist who does painting, gallery work, murals and art installations. Occasionally, he also does some commercial work that is within the confine of his art style. He has a background in Illustration and graduated from The One Academy. After graduation, he opted to pursue his career as a full time artist and dove into the realms of fine art.
How do you define your style? Where did the inspiration for your style come from?
Since I had a background in illustration, I looked up to a lot of overseas artists such as Lowbrow and James Jean. Their art was a mixture of illustration and fine art and I love how they incorporate bits of reality and fantasy into their work. It also inspired me to experiment with various medium combinations as each art medium has its own pros and cons. I just like to take what I am comfortable with and what I think looks the best.
As time went on, I unintentionally developed this ‘mixed’ style and it soon became part of my visual identity as an artist. There are also a lot of pop culture references in my work and I also like to mix traditional art mediums (traditional Malaysian craft, Chinese paintings, Turkish paintings, etc) with a bit of a modern twist.
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
Every project that I take has a different set of requirements and challenges. Since it is quite easy for me to get bored of doing something, this change constantly keeps me on my toes as I have to learn how to adapt to different situations. With every new project, there is an opportunity to explore different ideas and concepts.
Since I am a full time artist, there is also a degree of flexibility in my line of work and I am able to manage my time to achieve that work-life balance. I also get to explore different techniques and medium combinations that will help to become a better artist. With that, it is easy to keep myself motivated and maintain that drive to push on.
What were some of the challenges you faced throughout your creative journey?
Since I am self-taught in fine art, there was a lot of prejudice coming into the art world because I did not graduate with a fine arts degree. It took a lot of convincing and hard work to prove my commercial value as an artist. I would say that was the biggest hurdle I had to overcome in my creative journey. To that, I am grateful that I still get a number of requests to do commercial work even though I am mostly in fine arts now.
What were some of your favorite projects that you worked on?
One project that comes to mind would be a mural in the Toppen Shopping Centre, Johor. The mural was about 20 feet tall with a width of over 40 feet. I really enjoyed working on that project due to its scale and it was the biggest mural I have worked on in my career. Another one of my favorites would be one of the biggest art installations I worked on at the National Art Gallery.
Since I am self-taught in fine art, there was a lot of prejudice coming into the art world because I did not graduate with a fine arts degree. It took a lot of convincing and hard work to prove my commercial value as an artist.
What do you hope to achieve with your work?
Initially, I was interested in working with artists in Europe and the Western world. With the current pandemic, it was going to be difficult to execute that idea and I began to focus more with local content. As of now, I am open to any projects that capture my eye or challenge my ability to create as an artist.
Who are 3 local Creative Crushes that inspire you?
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