HATEMACHINE 666
Interview with the Balinese artist

Hatemachine 666 tells us more about his artworks in an exclusive interview.

The man behind Hatemachine 666 is my best friend in Bali.
When lunch time is ringing, I like to stop working and meet the talented artist and owner of the brand Stormbridge for a yummy balinese dish such as lawar (pork and pig’s blood with rice and spices) or be celeng (suckling pig).
Then we usually talk about some of our favorite topics like design, balinese culture, or girls (the married man is way more serious than me on that subject) with our friend Setiawan Tangsek.
We recently did a collaboration for his clothing line and produce the official outfits of my last touring exhibition Longing To Be Knotted Together.
Stay tuned because there is more collaboration to come, and I can guarantee that it will blow your mind.
Waiting for the new project to be released I’m happy to put some of his great work on my blog.
Matur suksma bli!
More about the Balinese artist Hatemachine 666.
More about Stormbridge.

PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF:
Hi, my name is Hatemachine666 and I live in Bali, Indonesia. I’m an illustrator as well as a graphic & apparel designer.
As a child I never received any formal training but Art is my passion.
I started from copying comic books, TV cartoon movies, nude pictures that I saw in my grand dad Playboy magazines (I discovered it in his treasure trunk and the images allowed me to learn more about female anatomy 😉 ). I never imagined that I would become a graphic designer or an illustrator cause at the time my dream was to become an astronaut. But Art was my real passion and I have been working as a graphic designer and illustrator for over 7 years now. I started right after I dropped my college at Indonesian Art Institute Bali ( I.S.I Bali ) and I’m working on apparel design, t-shirt graphics, CD covers, logos, posters, packaging design etc.

Hatemachine 666 avatar

Hatemachine 666 avatar.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORK?
I can’t be too specific on that but I do love playing with skulls, nude women, flowers, snakes and all those ol’skool tattoo things. I then combine everything with a psychedelic, nouveau, or surrealist twist.

Duality - 6 colors screen print on black paper by Hatemachine 666

Duality – 6 colors screen print on black paper by Hatemachine 666.

PLEASE SHARE WITH US YOUR WORKING PROCESS:
I first draw a sketch of the concept I have, then ink it with markers before scanning it and finalizing the details on Photoshop. Sometimes I use a tablet that allows me to be more time efficient, but it all depends of the feeling I want to input in my work. Manual pratice is still the best for me I think.

Even the Great Should Fall by Hatemachine 666

Even the Great Should Fall by Hatemachine 666.

HOW DOES YOUR ENVIRONMENT INFLUENCE YOUR ART?
I grew up and live in Bali. It’s an island that still has deep beliefs in magic, ancestor spirits, god and goddess, demons etc. There is also a strong presence of traditional art with sculptures and paintings that I see everyday. All those things really have a huge influence on most of my works.

Killed By Butterfly by Hatemachine 666

Killed By Butterfly by Hatemachine 666.

WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCE?

  • Frank Frazetta.
  • Alphonse Mucha.
  • Jean Giraud a.k.a Moebius.
  • Charles Burns.
  • Alex Ross.
  • Pushead.

and more great artists.

Lady Muerte by Hatemachine 666

Lady Muerte by Hatemachine 666.

ANY LAST WORDS?

I always have this quote in my mind. It’s a short but meaningful one to me.: “I am still learning”. It’s from Michelangelo and those few words put me in the right state of mind to keep exploring my skills and improving myself. I hope it will inspire you too.