DRAWING CULTURE: THE WORLD OF GANGBOX
Acrylic worlds of culture. Painted realms filled with bold characters.
Moya Garrison-Msingwana also known as Gang Box has a very distinct style with which he paints (and sometimes draws) his own characters.
These often show the artist’s favoured culture influences, fashion pieces and his unique take on character design.
Based in Toronto, Gang Box manages to create images that are neither bound by time or location.From 90s hip hop to modern manga and back to popular fashion, he manages to include all in his illustrations.
His work has influenced many around the world, and he continues to inspire through his many avenues of creative work.
In the crowded universe of illustrators, art and manga, Moya manages to create and draw his very own vision, style, and vibe: there simply is no one like Gang Box out there.
The SABUKARU team sat down with Moya Garrison-Msingwana and talked about drawing, Manga, the influence of politics in his work and his journey from the start to where he is now.
Let us dwell deeper into the world that is Gang Box.
Hey Moya, can you please introduce yourself to the Sabukaru Network?
My name is Moya Garrison-Msingwana. I’m an Artist and Illustrator hailing from Toronto, Canada.
How did your journey and career as an artist start and how did your work change over time?
I was always fascinated by illustrated books, comics, animated films and “Fine Art.” My parents did a great job of making sure my passion for art was supported and inspired. I got a scholarship to a small art school program when I was a kid and I would sell drawings to my classmates.
That period was the first time I took art seriously and I continued to study it until I graduated from art and design university in 2017. After I finished, my goal was to save money by working regular jobs and illustrating on the side but within a couple months I got fired and decided to dive in headfirst. As I experienced more of life outside of school, I realized that the lifestyle that accompanied being an artist really suited me on top of just loving the craft and generating ideas.
I think the trajectory of my work reflects that journey. At first everything was based on what I was influenced by and exposed to at the time. For a while I was just copying in order to understand. My artwork started as a mirror of my influences until I left school. During school the focus was mostly on ideas but we didn’t get enough education in technique and so I found myself trying to impress teachers who didn’t understand me or think like me with some pretty mediocre artwork because I hadn’t found my medium or a voice.
When I left school I kinda realized that I could do whatever I want and that’s when my own style began to flourish at a really fast rate because I was applying the few traditional techniques I used to subject matter that I cared about.
Many artists have their period of exploring in which they learn their basics. What artists or art forms influenced you the most?
I’ll preface this by saying it’s too vast to accurately list. I think growing up through the 90’s and early 2000’s had a massive impact on me. Those two decades are so filled with visual information that I was just absorbing everything. Anime was on TV and in the video rental spots, cartoons were all we talked about at school.
I played sports and music, but I think I focused more on the aesthetics than anything. A lot of POC don’t get exposed to art history and master visual artists but I was lucky enough to see a lot of that. I didn’t grow up with video games or TV at home, so when I was exposed to more pop cultural phenomena, I really held on to it. I had some understanding of art in its least accessible form and how it was translated into the mainstream.
Again I was just copying everything, things that were in galleries, the stuff on TV channels like adult swim, YTV and Teletoon at Night (Canadian cartoon channels), video games on N64 and PS1, things on the internet and later on the streets of Toronto and New York with graffiti. The things that influenced me the most directly are probably the traditional illustrations on Vinyl and CD covers. I loved musical artists like the Gorillaz and MF Doom that overlapped with animation.
I was awestruck by anime flicks like Ghost In The Shell, Akira, Blood The Last Vampire, and Final Fantasy: Advent Children. My friends and I loved trading cards like Magic and Yuh-Gi-Oh, we created our own game called “Mist Cards.” Comics and manga in general influenced me a lot, Things like Calvin and Hobbs, X-Men, anything by Mike Mignola, Mobius, Tezuka, or Otomo. My formative years are a blur of creative influence and imagination.
I guess the conclusion is that influence changes, I think what makes my work so versatile is that I have so many and can pull from them, combine, and utilize them at will.
Are there any old drawings or paintings from way back that you still like to look at?
No, I rarely look back and If I do it's at recent pieces.
What are your main tools for drawing and painting?
Cheap brushes I use until they break or fray too much, Golden Acrylics, pens/markers that FredBread gave me from Japan, ultra-fine point Sharpie, pencil, Procreate on iPad, Photoshop.
Take us through your process. How does a Gang Box art piece come to life ?
Step 1. Spend way more time thinking and chilling than actually drawing.
Step 2. Sketch down the ideas, either on paper or procreate.
Step 3. Clean up the best option.
Step 4. Redraw it or Transfer Using lightbox or Ipad.
Step 5. Paint
Step 6. Scan
Step 7. Edit and Optimize in PSD or Procreate If it has a digital destination.
Step 8. Archive
We find a lot of cultural references in your images from fashion, to music, and manga. What does your pool of inspiration look like and what were the cultures/sub-cultures you grow up with that you want to underline in your work?
There isn't really a blueprint. I will say, I’ve always been laser focused on things I find cool. My definition of what's cool has changed a lot over the years but I always really enjoy researching and understanding culture and ideas, so the findings inevitably translate into my artwork.
Music and all the facets of that industry have always fascinated me, my parents are musicians so I’ve always been deeply connected to it. I’m not an expert on designers and fashion but I know what I like and that is entirely parallel with the character work I do. As mentioned I draw on manga and Anime for artistic inspiration and entertainment, I can’t help but be big excited by the level of imagination. Watching and reading that material really helps me think outside of the box and feel more comfortable taking risks in design and storytelling.
I’ve really been admiring and engaging with natural, sustainable living and exploration of our planet. Lastly my African heritage has always come in and out of prominence in my life and I’m looking for ways to insert it into my stuff more often.
I’ve never fully attached my persona to any particular subculture except maybe Rap and Hip-Hop as a teenager. For the most part I always feel like an observer of subcultures, understanding them is valuable to me and they all contribute to aspects of my identity and how I move through the world.
Do you have an overarching goal with the work you do? What is the message you try to convey with the work that you do?
For the most part I just want to bring joy to people and a sense of comfort. I am trying to inspire and encourage people to be their happiest, most diverse, imaginative and empathic selves. I think the world could really use it. I get that it can’t always be sunshine and rainbows so I am also willing to weaponize art for any message that will encourage people to be better.
We see that you have collaborated with many great local individuals, from Latre Art + Style to Eske, and have also found inspiration amongst your close friends, how do you find your local community has inspired you and how has being Canadian shaped your work?
I was raised to believe that community is super important. I’m lucky to have people that are exceptional at what they do as friends. It makes it easier to communicate and collaborate. Coming out of school it was really great to meet allies that were actively working and learning in the field at a high level.
On one hand it showed me that it was possible and on the other It really pushed my competitive spirit. I think we have a bit of a chip on our shoulder in Toronto and I tend to look at the rest of the world as competition. I don’t want to go somewhere else to make it, I want this place to really excel and be a world class arts city and my peers and I are the people that are going to achieve that.
If all your characters would live on a Gang Box planet or run through a Gang Box virtual world, what would this world look like?
That’s something I’ve been working on. There’s a lot of baggy gear, shadows, dungeons, creatures, supernatural powers, great music and a whole lot of melanin.
Your work doesn’t hide from being political and expressing your opinions. How important is it for you to use your reach and art in this current world and time?
I just think as an artist you have to be able to take it there. It’s a gift to be able to engage people on more than one level. There are people that need help, people who are abusing power and a planet to take care of. I wish I could just create artwork and stories that were strictly escapist adventures, but everything is political when you’re black.
I don’t have the luxury of being able to just make cool or cute shit about people that look like me without the world looking at it as an ethnic or racialized form of expression. So I use my platform and my artwork as a vehicle for my ideas, hoping that people who don’t understand will at least try. I think right now society is becoming really polarized and I’m trying to create work that helps people meet between the middle and the left you feel me?.
If we look at current pop culture, like films, music, anime and manga, is there anything that is inspiring you right now?
It’s hard to keep up. I try to keep an eye out but for the most part I just find things when I find them. I don’t spend much time on blogs or anything. I’m usually as late to cultural events as I am early.
Currently here's what's on my Radar:
Musically and visually I’m looking forward to seeing what’s going to come from PG Lang. I always keep an ear out for new Knxwledge beats and flips. My boy Jonah Yano is working on new music, so is BadBadNotGood, my housemate Othello Grey aka Thanks for the Tears has a project coming out eventually and Bambii has been producing her own records for the last little while. Mustafa the Poet released a single called Air Forces and OPN just put out a great music video for a new song. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Duval Timothy.
When it comes to Film and TV, Raised by Wolves was interesting. I’m a big Ridley Scott fan. David Cronenberg's son made a movie called Possessor which looks wild. The Mandalorian season two comes out soon and I’m always here for Star Wars. I hope Jordan Peele makes some more great films and I’d like for Donald Glover to keep producing Atlanta.
The only Manga i’m reading right now is My Hero Academy and it’s going craaazzzyyy. There’s a Demon Slayer Movie coming out and I heard the Last Evangelion is being made. One Piece also gets me hype.
Art and Design wise, Tau Lewis has a show at Cooper Cole in Toronto, My boy Gyimah created and Directed a cartoon called Big Blue that’s going to be on television. Cam Hicks put out a book with Paradigm Publishing called “For the Porch”. Freddy Currasco put out a second print run of GLEEM.
Dingyun Zhang, Hyke, Post Archive Faction and Brain Dead have been making some cool stuff as far as clothing.
Not sure what else to talk about!
Are there any techniques or tools you’d like to try out in the future?
I’d like to enter the public art and installation world at some point so sculpture is something I think about a lot. I’d like to have an ambitious animation project on the table eventually. I’m looking to get something published when client work slows down.
I guess i’m always willing to try and learn new things, I just need the time and focus to really get into them.
What are your top 3 anime/manga of all time? And are there any special titles everyone should have on their reading/watch list?
HunterxHunter is my favourite show and it’s tied with the film Tekkon Kinkreet for the character design and the action. Akira, GITS and Afro Samurai are tied for swag points and Princess Mononoke is a favourite for technical achievement and story.
Works by Osamu Tezuka are a solid way to understand the foundation of modern Manga, Gundam is bless if you like politics and well designed robots, Evangelion if you don’t mind an extremely annoying anti-hero, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, Neo Tokyo, Batman Ninja, Berserk and Blood the last vampire if you like Evil and horrific stuff, Batman Gotham Knight, One Piece, Pom Poko, Paranoia Agent, Death Note, Parasyte, Inuyashiki, FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Metropolis, Dead Leaves, Kaiba, The animatrix.
The list goes on...
Can you shed some light on future projects you’re working on?
I’ve just finished some projects for a couple outerwear and designer companies, unfortunately I can’t speak too much on that. I have something in the works supporting BBNG with their album rollout. I work closely with producer and homie The Kount so there’s ongoing stuff for that. I’m looking to publish a coffee table book and a comic next year. I’m trying to work less and less for other people and really take time to focus on the projects I want to work on strictly for myself and my practice.
Any last words?
Black Lives Matter. Acknowledge indigenous communities and their rights. End fascism. Protect mother earth. Stop developing A.I. Stop and smell the flowers. Laugh, make love, dream and microdose mushrooms.
Thank you for your time.
Credits:
Text & Interview: Johnny Terror & Hussain Razvi & Adrian Bianco
Studio shots by Tyler Hayward
