Jiro Bevis is an influential London based illustrator creating bold and humorous graphics drenched in pop culture. Alongside a plethora of personal work, Jiro has collaborated with a number of cultural clients including Vice, Black Lips, Merok Records & Sixpack France.

www.jirobevis.co.uk

• For the people who don't know your work - how would you describe it ?


• My work is pretty straightforward and really no different to the way I would draw as a little kid, just drawing stuff I like onto pieces of paper, but with less drawings of men with big muscles. It's usually quite fun, lighthearted with a strong emphasis on bold colour ,strong lines and hand drawn text.

• What are the key themes running through your practice?


• I noticed the other day that I draw a lot of people sleeping which is probably because I love sleeping. Other than that I guess the themes runningthrough my work are just things that I'm into whether that's blankets (more sleep related), drinking, pizza, caves, trash cans, brick walls, voyeuristic monsters, space, music, hippies or hot girls.

• Your favorite place on earth?


• Japan, half my family live there and I love going to my Oba-Chan's (Nan) house, it's like a stereotypical old Japanese house with sliding paper doors, wooden floor hallways and matted straw floors in the rooms and then an hour away is Tokyo which is the complete opposite but equally amazing.

• What influences your work?


• Fergus "Fergadelic" Purcell, doodling while watching TV and movies as a kid and The British Museum.

• What music are you into right now?


• Over the past few months I've really been getting into 80's Japanese Pop and Jazz Fusion such as anything YMO related, Tatsuro Yamashita, Kazumi Watanabe, Logic System, Ryo Kawasaki, Cosmos, Hiroshi Sato, Ramu, Mariah, Osamu Kitajima, Takanaka and Seaside Lovers. There's a real strong identity with it that also seems to have a strong correlation to 80's Japanese design and fashion which I'm also into at the moment. (2) Japanese mixes I really recommend are Jamie Tiller's Evening Shadow Mix at Noncollective and Pootee's Yen Kids Mix, both very 80's but very different.

• Describe your thought & design process...


• I guess I'm quite inquisitive and usually wanna find stuff out and that will sometimes manifest into things that I want to draw or think would look nice drawn. Sometimes it can take a couple hours and sometimes I'll sit on it for a few weeks until I can think of the best way to create the piece and sometimes nothing ever materializes. 99% of the time when making the work it goes through the same process of me drawing it by hand on a piece of A4 paper and working from there.

• Which emerging artists are you looking forward to seeing more of?


• I'm not sure if they're emerging artists but they were both in the Frame section of the Frieze Art Fair (which is the section for upcoming Galleries and Artists) and that's Oliver Laric and Aids-3D, their work isn't similar to mine at all but I just really like it. Also Martin Cole and Chris Hopkins whose work has a very 80's Japanese feel to it which I love.

• Favorite place on the internet?


• For the past year or so it has been Noise In My Head, it's a radio show every Sunday evening in Melbourne but the shows are uploaded with full tracklist the next day. I have discovered so much good music on their site. They also have brilliant guest DJs such as Lovefingers, Nozaki DJ, Cos/Mes, Basso, Daniele Baldelli and Misha Hollenbach and his buddies.

• Do you have any upcoming projects/exhibitions we should know about?


• Got a piece at the Pa/Per View Book Fair this weekend and also a few offers to do stuff for the Pick Me Up Fair although no idea what to do yet, probably a drawing of someone sleeping. I'm also going to Japan in March and really wanna see what's going on there.

• Tell us something we don't know - but should...


• I only just got into Kurt Vonnegut a few months ago, which I realise now is pretty fucking stupid.