Artist Interview: Malcolm Fernandes

Malcolm Fernandes is a designer and artist who works with painting, drawing, mixed media, digital imagery, animation, sound, sculpture and video. Based in Bengaluru, India, he also writes and theorizes on the subject of art on his personal blog and Medium page.

Deeply influenced by design, illustration, 90s conceptualism as well as experimental practices in theater, literature and music he employs a multi-disciplinary practice to challenge convention and weave imagery, forms, spaces and narratives that mainly center around questions of perception, human psychology and the reflections on the human condition.

We asked Malcolm about his art, creative process, and inspirations.

*Art by Malcolm Fernandes: Peculiarities in the Nature of Change, 2022. Courtesy of the artist.*

Can you tell us about your background as a digital artist? How did you get started in this field?

I first started playing around with the computer around the 2000s, using MS Paint. I’ve always been fascinated by how pictures were formed on tube TVs and old CRT monitors. From afar you’d see moving pictures. But up-close you could see these solid colored squares and rectangles that were so abstract. I’d spend hours trying to paint these grids in Paint with individual “pixels” and then fill them up with color to create these geometric pictures. Several years later, a friend of mine needed help on a project he was working on and introduced me to photoshop. After a while I got sufficiently good with it that I soon started getting projects that required using various application on the computer — Photoshop, Sketchup, Audacity and PowerPoint. Today, there’s such a range of creative possibilities in the digital sphere, and using the computer in creative practices is really inevitable.

“To me, the foundations of “our” experience falls to but one fundamental — language. It is the one place, the one tool we use to “bring into being” the nothing into something — something thought, something felt and, if venerated with the focus “it” commands, something acted upon and made into a reality. Then it is to this reality that the world reacts to and the cycle begins again, repeating like a broken record, stuck in a perpetual loop that we are destined to embrace for eternity. Add, multiply and compound the output of these cycles of creation and destruction and we get the world we live in right now.”

— Malcolm Fernandes

What inspires your art? Are there any particular themes or subjects that you enjoy exploring through your artwork?

That’s a question I feel I can go on and on about. I have a voracious appetite for a whole bunch of things and can geek out on a lot of them. I’d say my influences fall mainly under three categories: the sciences, the creative arts, and books and stories. I love stories and their power to capture the imagination.

The Re-interpretation works on my Instagram feed, for example, look at how our core instincts and our core abilities as living beings fuel our need to create narratives and patterns. But it does so through the lens of science and science fiction. At the same time, I’m sharing perspectives on collective and individual behavior, ideas of good and evil, the state of the world today, as well as that of the rise of AI technology. I find these types of thematic juxtapositions logical and irrational at the same time.

*Art by Malcolm Fernandes: Canto XVII-Reinterpretations - Dante's Inferno, Fernandes, 2022. Courtesy of the artist.*

What is an event which you consider a milestone in your digital art career?

I spent a number of years working on commissions and projects that required me to use digital tools in various formats. But I’d say a turning point was being able to show my work for the first time in a solo exhibition I called Non-Metamorphic Images from The Echoes of a Present. This was a cohesive body of seventy-four works that were about human perception where I used physical and digital works to reference the interplay in dealing with the physical and mental world at the same time. Since then I’ve been a part of several other exhibitions, so that’s been great.

*Art by Malcolm Fernandes: Disjointed Images (In White). Courtesy of the artist.*

Can you share an example of a challenging project you've worked on recently? What were the obstacles you encountered, and how did you overcome them?

I think the most challenging projects have been those that were for client. When working on these you have to deal with the fact that your vision, as an artist — especially if you see yourself as one, or want to see yourself as one, has to be subordinate in some form to the client’s vision, and more so the clients need. This requires moving into an assertive mode— even if it is just temporary — you have to tell yourself that it is OK. It also requires open communication, setting expectations, managing time, managing conflict. As an artist you really need a thought process and work process that are indeed very different from when you are working for yourself. You really need to have an approach that is mentally and physically efficient and economical in all ways possible — for yourself, and for others.

One challenge that comes to mind was once where I had to deal with a client who had a different vision for the project, but was not communicating it well. In this situation I found I had to manage my own communication, manage expectations on one side, as well as meet project goals on the other. It took a lot of effort and even a bit of reading up, but we made it through and I was able to deliver on goals while still feeling like I did not compromise on my creative vision.

Digital art by Malcolm Fernandes: Future Memory-M Fernandes, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. — *Art by Malcolm Fernandes: Future Memory, 2022. Courtesy of the artist.*

Are there any artists or creative influences that have had a significant impact on your work? How have they shaped your artistic style or approach?

Oh, many! I have a list of all the people who I look up to, written down. These range from the 19th century illustrator Heinrich Kley, to Dave McKean — who is an absolutely brilliant comic book artist, to John Singer Sargent — the painter, to Stephen Sondheim, to Guillermo del Toro’s writings and movies, to John Petrucci, from the group Dream Theater, to St Vincent, Igor Stravinsky — the list goes on. Then there are the digital artists — folks like Manfred Mohr, Olia Lialina, C.E.B Reas, and particularly, Josh On, who I think were all trail-blazers in the fields.

And because I have so many inspirations, I try to write down and be clear about what I like about each person or project, and then select that particular aspect when I need it at a specific time.

For example, I normally do NOT listen to music when working. I find that if attention needs to be paid then it needs to be paid — especially when working on a challenge or something new. On my last work, which was a phygital piece with separate still, sound and video elements, I found that I needed to approach it the way some of my favorite music concept albums were created. So, I had the CDs and inlays laid out in front of me while brainstorming ideas. My output from that exercise hardly had any visible or auditory similarities with this music, but it was the creative thought process of the creators that I hoped to replicate. As soon as I was done on that phase of the project, I put the CDs away and moved on from there.

At other times, if it’s a phrase or line of text I need to glean inspiration from, I put them down on post it notes and place them in front of me to remind myself of it while working on that project or project phase.

*Art by Malcolm Fernandes: Re-interpretations-Dante's Inferno, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.*

Can you tell us about your fiction writing; how does it connect to your art?

I love books and stories; and at the end of the day I see the endeavor of an artist as being an endeavor to create and tell a story. The greatest works of any type of art are ones that transport you to a whole new world and they usually do that in the guise of a story. Think of Michelangelo’s work on the Sistine Chapel, Guernica by Pablo Picasso, or even Refik Anadol’s AI art always works from bespoke AI models telling stories from the data it is commissioned to read from. If you ask about what is Beeple’s claim to fame? It’s his interpretation of the top news of the day of course and more so his own story of making a 3D, digital work every single day for who knows how long.

To me, I see the whole range of creative media as a tool, secondary only to the experience I want the viewer to have. To that end, a big part of my own effort has been to learn how to tell stories. I started to learn how to write and create using text several years ago and wrote a few books with themes that I also talk about in my visual and sound art — themes that fall under the areas of the sciences, the climate crisis, psychology and the nature of human perception. Then there’s of course the exercise of take these stories to market, finding patrons, selling to them, talking to them and then feeding it back into your creative process. It’s the same with being an artist really and there’s much to learn from that, I guess.

*Art by Malcolm Fernandes: Page 60 -Reinterpretation of Darwin's Origin of Species, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.*

You also blog about digital art — what kind of an impact do you think reflecting on your practice has on your work?

I started to blog for two reasons: as an attempt to connect with other artists and learn from them, and as a way of documenting and presenting my own learnings from over the years. That said, I find that blogging takes a lot of time and effort. But It’s worth it — I’ve learnt a lot, and met, and keep meeting very interesting people I wouldn’t get to interact in any other situation.

“Operating at the confluence of the sciences, realism, objectivism and pragmaticism on one side, and the abstract, experiential, subjective and ephemeral — in individual, collective and inanimate contexts — on the other, my work explores the themes of psychology, language, meaning, learning, change, perception and how we all have our own unique ways of using them to reconcile the internal and the external and construct the experiences we live in.”

— Malcolm Fernandes

Are there any specific projects or goals you're currently working towards as a digital artist? What do you hope to achieve in the future?

I’ve got several projects on hand that I’m working on and a few pending ones too. I want to be able to take my work to more people and show at new places, as well. I love being able to create images and sounds and experiences for other people. My biggest hope is be able to continue to do what I am doing, and being able to continue to create, learn, and create even more. We’re living in an incredible time. Things are changing ever so rapidly; my goal is be able to push the boundaries of my abilities with every new project, meet new artists and learn as much as I can.

*Art by Malcolm Fernandes: Of Pain and Pleasure-Studio Setup-From Non-Metamorphic Images-Fernandes-2022-All Rights Reserved*

What advice would you give to aspiring digital artists who are just starting out? Are there any resources or learning materials you would recommend to help them improve their skills?

I’ve learned a few things through experience and that I wished I focused on right from the start:

Write down your goals and creative vision, and then don’t give up on it — no matter how wild it is.

All of art — visual or other — really comes down to one fundamental thing: taste. Take the time to develop your palate. And that comes only through getting exposed to as much in the world as possible.

Visual literacy is a real thing! So is Visual illiteracy. Learn to draw — on paper. They say that only through drawing can you learn how to see. So, for anyone interested in creating things visual —need to be visually literate themselves. They have to be able to understand how we see things, how the human eye works and the psychology of that experience — all the masters know and understand this.

Read – All of the knowledge in the world has been put down on paper — So, get your hands on as many books in areas of your interest. And use them like you would text books — take notes, practice and find ways to incorporate what you’ve singled out into your own practice.

Manage your time; the internet is a vast and mighty beast. There are only two ways to use the internet: one, is to use the Search box i.e. you decide what you want, go in, get it, and get out. Two, is where the internet uses you.

I think my biggest learnings have been A.F.K. The computer is but a tool meant to do the bidding of its master. So, get organised mentally, and physically, before you even touch a device.

With AI now in the game, from a creator’s point of view I think it’s going to be easy for anyone to create great images. For commercial applications, I think the masses will be able to get by with these systems. But if you’re a fine artist or wish to create your own mark or brand in a space where there’s a demand for the artist’s unique voice, I think the use of mass-sourced AI trained applications will need thought and, really, taste. And that comes back to the points about visual literacy. Think of it from a viewer’s point of view: As a viewer I’m already fed-up with most AI images on Instagram — no matter how good they look — and especially images that come from mass-data-trained AI systems. To a certain degree these are instantly recognizable — for one, you’ll see all ten slots in IG’s multiple image post filled. I think we’re going to reach a time really soon when the general public is going to be able to recognize these as well. It’s going to be a time where beautiful AI artworks are everywhere but everyone’s AI art will look like everyone else’s. Bespoke AI systems on the other hand and AI systems trained on custom data sets are a different story. And that’s where, again, I think the artist’s taste and ability to look at 10 or 100 generated images and say “This, this and this is good. These others are not. These are what I want to show. But I need to tweak these …” — that ability to decide like a director what the audience will see and experience, will still be key. And therefore, the need for the human artist to really get good will always remain.

On the topic of creative resources, there’s just so many out there. I’m a big fan of books, audio, video, magazines — any media that has the information I need. As I’ve said before, I think in today’s world it’s easy to get lost in the excess. So, knowing what you want to key. And then seeking out pertinent information, and capturing it and putting it into a system where you can easily access it whenever needed is another skill that everyone needs. Then, it’s just about putting in the work.