Red Ape is a painter, graphic designer and sculptor. His work essentially revolves around portraits of people and society. His approach is simple; the words and the actions leave permanent traces which we then carry with us for life, like tattoos. He likes to toy with graphic conventions, with the visual universe to make it serve his own creations. For this reason, he creates series of portraits as nude fragments of tattooed bodies which tell a story of the traces left by the society, the world.

Today you selected for MoW 5 of your artworks inspired by music. Can you tell MoW what was the music behind the artworks ? What inspired you to create them ?

Basically, my art wasn't specifically inspired by music. This is the urban art festival Artaq who brought me there when Yves Suty , founder and organizer of the event, asked me to participate with other international artists to MYTHIQ 27 exhibition dedicated to the famous club 27.

Four of the five portraits that I selected were created for this exhibition. The fifth, the Iggy Pop was made before. I was inspired and seduced by the charisma of the character, its history, including its outrageous dimension and his particular body. His music is then added.

In contrast, the world of Amy Winehouse and Jim Morrison were not unknown to me. The titles " Back to Black " and " The End " are by the way directly mentioned in my paintings.

In the case of Jimi Hendrix, the image of the character that marked my childhood inspired my work much more than his riffs. As for John Garrighan, I totally discovered him when I started working on his portrait.

A common feature of these five portraits: they evoke artists who burned their life ...

Why is music important to you and your art?

Actually music occupies an important place in my life. I need it every day and it is a strong source of inspiration. It also contributes to isolate myself in my own worls, a bubble, that is essential for me to create.

If you had to choose between the artworks presented today, which of your artwork would be your favorite ? And why ?

Difficult choice. Two of them have always been my favorite, Iggy and Jim. But if I have to choose one, so I choose Iggy .

Can you tell MoW more about the techniques you used. How old is your technique? How did it start? How long does it take you to make an artwork

I need to get myself settle... I'm not one of those artists who have the ability and talent to create fast and spontaneously .

I usually work in two stages. A first step to put things digitally, after conducting research. I do and undo till I get what I want. The second step is to translate this work in painting, sculpture, collage ... Accidents involving these techniques more "traditional" bring another dimension to my work, which I am attached to.

Do you have plans on creating new artworks insipired by music ?

Of course, I do not intend to stop here, though for the moment I'm working on other projects.

Do you listen to music when you’re working ? If so, what kind of music ?

Yes, all the time! The type of music depends on the moment, my mood, my desires, what I do, how the music will inspire me . Regardless of the style, Massive Attack, Portishead, Wax Tailor, The Doors, and Tarantino's movie soundtracks ... occupy a special place in my playlist .

What is the song you liked the most lately? The album ? What was the last gig you went to ?

My song "Die By The Drop" by The Dead Weather.