@mario_meneses

Instagram: @mario_meneses 

1. What’s your story? Where are you from?

I was born in a small town called Pachuca hidalgo in México and moved to Mexico city as I started my university degree. However, I tried a lot of careers until I realized I wanted to be an illustrator and animator. 

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

I think I’m really influenced by oriental aesthetics but I like to take it to the conceptual area. I like to represent situations with visual metaphors that feel either comical, existential or both. Sometimes I use narrative resources for this, such as vignettes Which help me show a situation from different moments of it. I think the reality is very surreal every moment but we don’t really see it always so what I try to do is to exaggerate some elements and make them noticeable. 

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

I’m really into digital. I like the sense of control, speed and options it gives me but also I think I should give it a try with acrylics or other mediums in order to deal with a different and less controlled experience at creating. 

4. What is your artistic process like?

I think the more interesting part is getting the ideas but I don’t really get them from sitting and drawing. Instead, I do other things. I could go take a walk or just chill, meditate or even do nothing. And that's when ideas come and it's a happy moment cause then I can start sketching and more ideas will come with that. But from my personal experience, I don’t like to rush in picking one or another idea, I like to give my mind its time to get to something I really like. This is not always possible due to the tight deadlines that some projects have but if possible, that's the best for me. 

5. Who and/or what inspires your work? 

Lots of things, it's really hard to tell but everything in my life inspires me, the books and movies I consume and the conversations with everyone I'm able to talk to. I also tend to be inspired when doing nothing or relaxing, I feel that's when everything just clashes and sprouts a nice idea. 

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

It helps a lot because many times, even before doing illustration, I tend to do some kind of narrative metaphors to understand better what was going inside me. Even during a crisis or moments where it was hard to understand life, it helped and I think that’s what I want to get into at some point. To represent difficult, weird, not easy to digest abstract situations or concepts in narrative metaphors which help people heal, or have a laugh, or just get a better understanding of what is going on. 

7. Where did you study?

I studied in UAM Xochimilco and in UNAM, both in Mexico city. 

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Since I really like my illustrator freelancer dynamic, Id like to keep working on really cool projects and also personal ones. But I also aim to eventually join talented people to achieve big projects such as short films, full length animated films, documentaries, etc. There's so much to explore and I hope in 5 years I can try many things and topics. 

9. What about in ten?

Even bigger projects. Even bigger things. 

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

Same as the second part of the sixth answer. I aim «To represent difficult, weird, not easy to digest abstract situations or concepts in narrative metaphors which help people heal, or have a laugh, or just get a better understanding of what is going on». 

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

Mexican and Japanese food but mainly Mexican, really cosy homemade food. There’s nothing such as that. 

12. Favourite book?

Could be something by Herman Hesse, maybe Demian, it says so much for a short book. 

13. Favourite genre of music? 

Jazz and psychedelic rock. 

14. What are your hobbies? 

I have lots of them! I enjoy going to second-hand stores, reading comics and manga, playing the guitar, riding my bicycle and exercising, etc. I also enjoy being DIY and love to do carpentry. 

15. If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?

Probably a comedian, or probably I’d be a musician, I don’t know. Maybe, I’d also love to do research on physics. Anything that keeps me in constant thinking.