Psychic Garden presents an interview with resident creative Fârzad Borousan, also known as 'Vertigo'; a young talented Iranian digital collage artist who creates multi-dimensional comic-book inspired surrealist pop-art with a vintage sci-fi aesthetic.
"Hey! My name is Fârzad Borousan, the man behind the Vertigo.png Artworks. I'm 26 years old and was born in Tehran, Iran. I spend my leisure time making collage artworks as Vertigo"
What inspires you as an artist? What are your biggest influences?
"I've loved comic books ever since I was a child, and the artworks that I create today are deeply inspired by my old comic books that I grew up reading. My favourite artists in this field are Norman Rockwell, Glenn Fabry and Robert Mcginnis."
"In terms of cinema and animation, I can say that movie's like Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982), Denis Villeneuve's Enemy (2013) and Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (1988) have all influenced me greatly because of their dystopian sci-fi futurism style."
"As a child I also really loved reading the novels of Dr. Isaac Asimov, a prolific American science fiction writer. His work always engaged me because of his unique sci-fi stories and writing style, all his book covers were always illustrated by truly great artists like Micheal Whelan and Bruce Pennington."
What themes do you like exploring through your work?
"I believe that every artwork should have a deep theme and point for the viewer, and at the same time it should convey a surreal world of escapism away from everyday life, so I intend to present the Science Fiction style in the form of Pop. I like to show parallel worlds in my artwork and I believe that the feeling you convey in a piece of art is more important than technique."
What are some of your favourite artworks you have made?
"My first work to be seen globally was "1984", other works that I am most proud of include "Headache", "Poker Night Series", "Enemy", "Asura" And "The Last One Series". These are my favourite artworks I have made so far because they helped me to refine and achieve the style I have forged today."
What were the concepts & inspirations of these artworks?
"Regarding "The Last One" series, I was inspired to create this collection because I am a strong believer in the concept that there is always a higher power or invisible force within nature that can play a vital role in controlling what happens to us..."
"I really loved creating this series of dystopian and apocalyptic artworks because the concept behind them is directly aligned with my belief that there is a mysterious force who is directly involved in our lives, an undetectable presence or supernatural energy that is influencing us everyday without our knowledge. For this series I took inspiration from Glen Fabri's artworks."
"I made "Asura" in the beginning of 2020 pandemic and my goal was to show a Virus bigger than any kind of pandemic that could be in anyone's head. Asuras are powerful demons or deities in the Hindu religion who are described in some ancient Indian texts as "evil spirits" or "powerful superhuman demigods with good and bad qualities. The name Asura also translates to mean demons, powerful, mighty, divine or anti-god."
"My artwork entitled "Enemy" is heavily inspired by the 2013 movie "Enemy" by Denis Villeneuve, which had a very strong, dark and sinister atmosphere, the imagery of those giant terrifying spiders left a powerful impression on my mind."
"I was inspired to make "Headache" after becoming fascinated with the aesthetic of Japanese film posters and pop-art designs. I tried to show the vitality and beauty inside the human being, as shown in the image, his head is exploding with the luscious greenery of the natural world, while negative thoughts in the form of small humans escape from the body of that man."
"The character of "Poker Night" (Green Head) was inspired by the artwork of a Canadian artist, Allan Mardon. When I was making both of the images in the "Poker Night" series, I took inspiration from the legendary works of my favourite American artist Norman Rockwell, which I then implemented into these two different designs, the second version of Poker Night (below) features the character of Beetlejuice, shot through the head..."
"Regarding my "1984" image, I can say that it represents the beginning of my work in this style and it was my first work that was seen worldwide. I made this picture after being inspired by George Orwell's 1984 book, which is a symbol of the governments control over the people of the city, which I transformed and adapted to represent the age of technology."
When did you first start making your digital collage artwork?
"I started working in the field of art and digital collage in 2014, when i first started painting, and after getting acquainted with graphic softwares i started to make collages with old comic book covers, my first collage work was created in 2018."
How would you describe your creative process?
"To begin with, I start researching different vintage artworks by different artists for inspiration and I start to come up with ideas about concepts I want to create. Then I try to combine different pieces and to get to the closet point to the concept I want."
Can you tell me more about Norman Rockwell, Glenn Fabry and Robert Mcginnis? Why are these men your favourite comic book artists?
"Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) is widely considered to be one of the best American illustrators and painters of all time. I would describe his painting style as "Realistic Fantasies". To learn more about Rockwell's work, I would like to introduce your readers to "Saturday Evening Post" magazine, a publication that Rockwell worked at during 47 years of his career. Rockwell was a true master at portraying and reflecting American culture and everyday life, hence why he was so famous and revered."
"Another key influence of mine is the work of Glenn Fabry, who is a fantastic British comic book artist who is known for creating highly detailed and realistic work in both ink and painted colour, his style is described by many as "Heavy Metal". To learn more about "Glen Fabry", I would refer you to check out the Vertigo comic book series "Preacher", which has rough illustrations and great character designs. He painted the cover artworks for this iconic DC magazine, which was adapted into a TV series last year which was broadcast on AMC."
"My third biggest influence is Robert Mcginnis, an American artist and illustrator, he is undoubtably one of the best character designers in the world in my opinion. Robert is revered for his sophisticated and empowering depictions of beautiful female figures and seductive femme fatale heroins, a signature style which dominated an whole era of popular culture in America."
"Robert Mcginnis had a long and successful sixty year career illustrating thousands of paperback book covers and magazine artworks. He is perhaps most famous for designing hundreds of classic Hollywood movie posters throughout the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's, his most iconic works include Breakfast At Tiffanies and all the James Bond movie posters in the 60's. His work is a true inspiration and has inspired many of my own artworks."
What are your dreams for the future as an artist?
"My dream is to be able to raise the level of quality in the world of digital collage art and always keep the immortal works of great artists alive in the eyes of the viewers. The project i'm most interested in doing is eventually publishing an art book under my own name, which i'll hopefully be able to do soon."
What's the best creative advise you've ever been given?
"Creativity and innovation are the most important principles of work, keep busy, stay in touch with other artists, share ideas with one another, consume content and collaborate!"
Who are some of your favourite contemporary digital collage artists that you recommend our readers should check out?
"I can introduce you too @OguzDogru, @NicPensa, @Mr.Beny, and @raminnazer who are all good friends of mine! Check out their work and support young aspiring artists!"
You can follow Vertigo on instagram at @vertigo.png - Please check out the gallery below with a selection of his remarkable digital collage artworks.
~ PSYCHIC GARDEN