Bournemouth based artist, Tech Moon, also known as Krishna Malla, started his academic career being pushed towards traditional subjects, however his attraction to art and illustration quickly took over.
Despite struggling to achieve top grades as a student at Arts University Bournemouth, university culture exposed him to the notion of graffiti and street art: from there, his career blossomed.
“The more I paint, the better I get,” says Tech Moon. “So, for me it keeps on getting better and better.”
Casting his designs on the side of houses, on billboards and under underpasses, Tech Moon has worked hard to bring his creative mind to life, intertwined between buildings and roads in the town of Bournemouth.
“I think Bournemouth was crying out to have a street art culture to it. It is one of the reasons why I stuck around. There was always the prospect of moving to London by Bournemouth is a great place to work.”
It is no argument that his designs are instantly eye catching, and certainly unique. However, sometimes the inspiration takes time to develop, making sure that each illustration is individually diverse and distinctive.
“You have to be a sponge and take everything in, process it yourself and work on your own identity.
“Sometimes it is a case of just thinking and waiting for the idea to come to you.”
One of his most well-known designs ‘Fly on the Wall’, illustrated underneath a flyover in Bournemouth, was simply brought into existence by a nuisance fly buzzing over him while sipping on a glass of wine one evening. Soon that fly would be buzzing over everyone.
A lot of his inspiration is underpinned by nature and animals, describing himself having a “big affinity” for animals that drive his portfolio.
The 50ft high street art owl in Boscombe is one of his proudest works of art, and certainly has turned many heads amongst the locals.
“The reaction from that was amazing. I was given freedom on the owl and having creative freedom as an artist is crucial. You get to move.”
While every artist wants their work be liked, Tech Moon says he is very much open for his designs to be interpreted.
“I don’t expect my work to be appreciated by everyone. I don’t want everyone to love it.
“It is subjective so everyone should take in artwork differently and if it causes discussion that is great.”
While he has already been involved in incredible projects with Boomtown and Netflix, Tech Moon has some exciting projects on the horizon including a personal illustration of David Attenborough and will be working on the Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf near the Bournemouth Pier.
Tech Moon’s top three illustrations:
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