When is a piece of work qualified as art? What does it take to be an artist? In my opinion, art is art when you think it is. In this series of interviews, artists display their best work irrespective of their status, age and their curriculum vitae.
The artist I talk with today sucks at football and wasn’t fit enough to become an astronaut, so he became Jimba. Jimba, or Jim Mooijekind as his mortal name is, uses acrylic paint on canvas, and ink and paint markers on paper. Every now and then he uses computer programs like Photoshop and Illustrator as well. Jimba decided to go paint because he noticed it was fun to create and he realized he was better then the other kids in his class.
I thank high school for being so boring, I had a lot of time to draw in boring classes.
Since Jimba’s paintings look like the type of drawings people scribble in their notebooks during class, it was no coincidence to me that drawing was the first discipline he developed. “If I had a pen I would be drawing! When we went out for dinner when I was really young, I would be drawing on napkins or in my sketchbook. I also thank high school for being so boring, I had a lot of time to draw in boring classes.”
Jimba’s work seems to flood with symbolism. This is because, besides his daily experiences, his inspiration comes from the unknown, the occult and the wicked. “I’m particularly interested in masonic symbolism. That’s occult symbolism used by secret societies like Freemasons to communicate with one another.” Jimba himself stands for straightforward communication. He doesn’t use more words then necessary when answering a question. Maybe because of that characteristic he also likes his own paintings that are right in your face best, the black and white ones with the heavy contrast. “How I draw is not sketching, just black on white straight in your face. BAM! That’s how I can be sometimes.”
How I draw is not sketching, just black on white straight in your face. BAM! That’s how I can be sometimes.
If you want to check out more of Jimba’s work, look at his website or go to Number9 in Haarlem, he painted the walls there.
Sharing is caring!
Tweet