Andrew Hem is best known for his paintings, but he has a lesser-known history with murals as well. The child of Cambodian immigrants, born while his parents were in the process of fleeing the repressive Khmer Rouge regime, Hem originally became interested in art due to his teenage fascination with graffiti.
Andrew Hem is best known for his paintings, but he has a lesser-known history with murals as well. The child of Cambodian immigrants, born while his parents were in the process of fleeing the repressive Khmer Rouge regime, Hem originally became interested in art due to his teenage fascination with graffiti. It was only later, when his interest in drawing led him to seek a degree at Art Center College of Design, that he moved more into the world of painting. His oil and acrylic paintings focus on lifelike human characters within fantastic landscapes filled with bright colors. Hem’s contribution to the 2013 Richmond Mural Project combined his earlier graffiti-based work with the characters and colors from his paintings, and the resulting images were a great document of Hem’s artistic growth. He’s taking things to the next level. We spoke to Hem while he was in town, learning about his impressions of the current street art scene, as well as his fear of heights.
How did you get involved with the project?
Through Shane [Pomajambo of Art Whino]. He contacted me last year and asked If I’d be down for it–flying over to Richmond for a mural. Something happened [and] I couldn’t do it last year, so I’m super stoked to be here this year painting this mural.
You’re an illustrator. At what point in your career did you feel you wanted to do walls?
I’ve always done walls, from when I was 16 to 23, but they were small walls and always letters. This is like the first time where I’m doing figures and also doing something on this scale. Even though I’ve been doing walls for the past eight years, I still feel like I’m new to the game, because I’m doing something completely different that isn’t letters.
Who do you like in the street art scene right now?
I think, hands down, the Etam Cru guys. They are just insane. I’ve seen their work before and was really impressed, but seeing it in person, the scale of it, it really inspired me. Their composition is insane. I think they’re the ones to look out for.
They’ve done nine story buildings. Would you ever want to do something that big?
You know, I’m actually scared of heights. So this wall kind of freaks me out, and it’s not even that high. If I could do it, I’d love to try, but I don’t know if I could use a boom lift or if I could handle the height.
You mentioned that as an illustrator you spent some time at Disney. How was that?
I produced, and it’s been six years since I’ve left them. I’ve been producing ever since, so I just gotta knock on wood and see if I can do it for a long period of time.
What do you think of Richmond so far?
I love it. I love the food. Everything around here is awesome, like the people. The only thing I’d like is more places to eat in Shockoe Bottom.
Would you like to come back next year and continue?
I would love to come back next year. Maybe come back and do a smaller wall, but at the same time there’s a bit of me that might want to challenge myself and go bigger. I definitely want to go home and crank out more walls before I come back and tackle bigger walls.
What projects do you have going on after this?
I’m just going to be in the studio for awhile. I’ve got a couple of studio visits that I’m really stoked about. Right now, I have a lot of deadlines in producing work. I would like to do more murals, but I think for the next three months, I’ve got to lock myself in and just try to accomplish some paints. Maybe ten, hopefully. I think my next show is in LA in 2014. I’ve been working hard on my next body of work. When I get that finished, I just want to tour the world and do murals.
Photo by Angry Woebots
Check out Andrew Hem’s contribution to the Richmond Mural Project at:
14 S. 15th St
