The Surrealism World of the Great Artist Shiro Baba

A long corridor feels light footsteps approaching. Along it, an ancient piece of furniture houses books with very old photographs. Curious eyes approach the piece of furniture, with the expectation of finding something amazing; take a book, the most broken by the passing of the years. Open the first pages and a smell of storage envelops the entire environment. Suddenly, a black and white photo of a man seems to catch his attention. He puts the book in his backpack and walks briskly to his workshop. He opens the door and on a black wooden table, places that book he found, opens a drawer that houses a notebook where he will again begin to create a new character inspired by that old book.

This is how the art of Shiro Baba begins, a japanese artist who gave us an interview where he shared his sources of inspiration and how he creates his surreal characters.

Since what age did you start with your art?

I've liked to draw since I was very young, and I dreamed of becoming a manga artist in the future. Before I knew it, I became more interested in art than drawing comics. Even now, of course, I love manga.

What is your greatest inspiration when it comes to drawing and painting?

I get my inspiration when I come across people with peculiar features, old photos with scratches, nondescript scenes from films, walls of crumbling houses, deserted scenery where no soul is to be found living.

How do you define your art?

I don't know what my work will always be made in the end. A little bit of a trigger makes me draw. I don't even know what it means. I have the urge to just draw, and I think it's useless to seek meaning for the finished work.

Your style is clearly surreal and we can see it in each of your artistic works. How were your beginnings and when did you discover your style?

I like to draw human faces the most. I like the face as an interesting symbol. While making a portrait I failed, got hurt, suddenly saw a vision and finished drawing without denying it, and I was able to make my current style. It is a method of surrealism to turn the work in a direction that you are not aware of. So I think it's natural for my work to look surreal.

Yesterday's Man / Shiro Baba

What do you consider has been your greatest challenge in the world of art?

With the innovation of it technology, it has become a very privileged environment for artists. It's a happy thing to be able to send a digital work to the world in a few seconds but on the other hand, what I feel is the problem is that the true evaluation and value of the work are not fixed in the NFT world. But I think the problem will be solved by time.

The characters in your works are quite expressive and the absence of color is recurrent, with some exceptions where color plays an important role in emphasizing what you wanted to communicate. Is there any artists in particular that inspired you to dedicate yourself exclusively to this style?

I don't know if it's directly affecting me but my hero is always Francis Bacon, Barthus, David Lynch and cartoonist Akira Toriyama.

Blue Jersey Man / Shiro Baba

Are new exhibition projects approaching this year?

The place of display of my work is always on instagram. The exhibition on the real stage is not planned at the moment.

Woman of The Rock Nº 3 / Shiro Baba

Hoodie Hood Man Nº 2