Heesco: Every minute I’m not drawing is a waste of time
...You will not believe how relaxing it is to just concentrate and draw. You don’t get that relaxation while drawing outside on a street wall as people are constantly passing by and the wind and dust constantly blowing in my face...
Kh.Khosnaran, more commonly known as Heesco, is a highly skilled muralist and artist based in Melbourne, Australia with a unique concept driven vision all of his own. Both in Mongolia and abroad, he is recognized for his stylistically diverse and prolific work on the streets...
Kh.Khosnaran, more commonly known as Heesco, is a highly skilled muralist and artist based in Melbourne, Australia with a unique concept driven vision of his own. Both in Mongolia and abroad, he is recognized for his stylistically diverse and prolific work on the streets. His experimental, emotive and genre defying artwork crosses effortlessly between fine art, street art, comics, and illustration.
Besides a lengthy resume spanning a decade of gallery exhibitions, private and public commissions, various publications and projects under his belt, Heesco is the winner of 2011 Secret Wars competition and a finalist of 2013 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.
We got to learn more about Kh.Khosnaran, rather than Heesco the artist, through an extensive interview.
I heard that you quit studying international relations at the National University of Mongolia and left for Australia. Did you start learning about the arts in Australia?
I finished high school in 1997 and entered the National University of Mongolia. In 1999, I decide to go to Australia. I continued my studies but in international business. Later, I started learning about contemporary art at the Sydney College of the Arts of the University of Sydney and graduated in 2005. I’ve already been living in Australia for 19 years.
Did you enjoy drawing since you were a child?
My father was an architect. He had quite good dexterity and could draw amazingly. He apparently went to the Fine Arts School but wasn’t able to graduate. I probably fell in love with this profession because I watched my father enjoy drawing so much as I grew up.
When I was in fourth and fifth grade, my father sat me down next to him and taught me simple ways to get the correct proportion of a human body in drawing. I can still vividly remember his tips.
Was it hard studying fine arts abroad? Is Australia’s teaching methods different from Mongolia’s?
I was bummed out at first. Students from other countries had already acquired extensive knowledge about the arts and had already figured out what to do. I, on the other hand, hadn’t even learned the basics. I guess I should’ve seen it coming since middle schools in Mongolia don’t have arts classes.
By learning from the very basics and digging deep into whatever my teachers taught me, I was able to catch up with the rest of the class.
Were you the only Mongolian at the Sydney College of the Arts back then?
Not just during my college years, but in the history of the college, no Mongolian had studied at the Sydney College of the Arts before me.
Many teachers and students must have been curious about what kinds of art the first Mongolian student would create, right? Did you feel any pressure because of it?
The way I thought and saw things was very different from other students. For example, the teachers would become very surprised when I told them what kind of genre I want to learn more about and what kinds of art I’m planning to make. They were fascinated by the things I drew.
From one side, it was probably easy for me to stand out from my classmates since I was the first and only Mongolian there. But from another point of view, I feared that none of them would understand or accept my art.
You studied contemporary art in college so how did you come to do mural and street art?
In high school, I would have never imagined myself doing murals and street art. I was really engrossed in comics back then. I even tried drawing comics. Drawing comics isn’t just about drawing the main characters you have to draw the sub characters, the scene, and every other little detail.
After graduating, I thought hard about what to do next, especially the type of art that I wanted to do. Around that time, street art was becoming popular and a lot of people started becoming interested in it, including myself. For some reason, street art seemed to be a genre that encapsulated all of my interests, desires and inner emotions.
When and where did you draw your first street art?
My college provides a workshop for every student. Our teacher gave us an opportunity to decorate our workspace anyway we wanted to. At the time, I usually drew in black and white on A4 or A3 canvases. So, my teacher suggested that I should start “playing” with color in addition to expanding my canvas since I was already good at drawing in black and white. He taught me that I should use my full body to draw because drawing wasn’t something done by just moving our fingers and hands. His words influenced me a lot. That’s how I came to draw my first wall art on the wall of my workshop.
You’re becoming very popular as an artist, especially after you painted portraits of Kiwi’s Uka and other bands like Punk and Chinggis Khaan. So far, how many walls have you decorated with your art?
The number is pretty high because I started drawing on street walls in 2010. I do murals once every week. Most of my work are in Melbourne, Australia. I have quite a few in Sydney too. I have traveled around nearby cities and places quite a bit.
I visited New York four times. I created murals every time I went there. I’ve also done a mural in Vietnam and do them in Mongolia whenever I visit.
Do you get permission before painting on walls of buildings?
If there’s already something doodled on the wall, I paint over it. But of course, I ask permission from the building owner and organization’s management first. My latest work can be seen at the parking across the street from Regency Residence’s north gateway.
I used to look at that wall all the time because my family lives in that residence town. The building owner really wanted to sign the permission slip and luckily, the parking became empty during Naadam festival, so I drew on it.
How do you get permission abroad?
It’s the same process but every city in Australia has different laws and regulations. In the city that I live in, residents and building owners can sign the permission slip.
Have you ever seen your murals erased, doodled over or even covered with another painting?
Yes, it happens. I’ve grown accustomed to it. One of the things about murals is that they are painted on, the artist snaps a photo of it and that’s it. The most important part is taking a picture, or proof, of it.
You have to expect your murals to be doodled or painted over since you’re drawing on a street wall, in other words public property. Even if someone doesn’t ruin it, the drawing will smudge, the paint will come off and the colors will wear off. Not having your murals erased is an indication that people like your street art.
What is the biggest mural that you created?
Last year, I painted a hay storage house that has walls measuring 22 meters in height and 60 meters in width. Twenty-two meters is like the same height as a seven or eight-storey building. I finally managed to finish my art all by myself in about 20 days.
By the way, that mural was recently made into a postage stamp of Australia. Apparently, it’s sold for one USD. I received several prizes for drawing it as well.
You usually use bright colors for your street art. Is it common for street artists to use bright colors?
You don’t have to use bright colors. There are people who draw in black and white only. My understanding of colors is just like that. When I was still a student, my teacher gave me a task to create a dark grey color using red, blue, yellow, black and white. For that task, I really studied hard about color combinations and their characteristics while experimenting.
Which colors to choose and how to coordinate it with other colors is up to the artist. Everybody has a color they like or prefer over other colors. I enjoy playing with bright and vibrant colors. My red, orange, yellow and black colors are always the first ones to run out. I guess you could say that I use these colors more and like them the most.
Do artists have colors they don’t like?
Rather than disliking, there are some colors we prefer not to use. I hardly use pastel colors like light green.
Your murals are known for being unique. How do you come up with them?
I draw it in various ways first. With the advanced technology, I now make it on my computer. This is a really convenient way to sketch murals on order. It’s easier to present it to the customer and add their desires.
Do you draw on different canvases like paper and coins?
Yes, of course. It’s my meditating mechanism. You will not believe how relaxing it is to just concentrate and draw. You don’t get that relaxation while drawing outside on a street wall as people are constantly passing by and the wind and dust constantly blowing in my face. I try to be as artistic as possible with my murals. It’s boring if you just stick to illustration or street art.
You will return to Australia soon. Have you decided where to draw your next mural?
I have quite a few things planned out. My work there has already stacked up. I want to talk about them once I’m done instead of doing it before completing them.