'HomEage': Fin DAC celebrates his creative influences in new half-and-half portrait series

23.10.2024 - 12:09 / euronews.com / Pablo Picasso / Andy Warhol

David Bowie once said: "The only art I'll ever study is stuff that I can steal from."

It’s a cheeky quip, but there’s a grain of truth to it: all art borrows, bends, and blends. And no one’s owning this notion better right now than Fin DAC.

While many creatives try to sneak in their influences and hope no one notices, the Cork-born, London-based artist is putting them front and centre in his latest project, HomEage.

The series features striking "half-and-half portraits", fusing his signature aesthetic with that of the legends who have shaped him, from the likes of Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol to Frida Kahlo and Sex Pistols artist Jamie Reid.

"The artwork is split down the middle, with the second half repainted in the style of another artist. It looks like two different versions or personalities of the same character," explained DAC from his studio in Mile End, London.

He added: "With this project, there’s no hiding - it's all out there. It’s meant to celebrate those influences and those artists."

Renowned for his larger-than-life outdoor street murals that can be found all over the world, HomEage marks DAC's first solo show since 2021, and is being held in at London’s St Martins Lane crypt gallery on 25 and 26 October.

The project is also available in book form from the West Contemporary Editions website.

Euronews Culture sat down with DAC before the show's unveiling to discuss everything from his journey to becoming a full-time artist at 40, the impact of AI in the art world, and his creative process for creating gigantic murals.

Euronews Culture: How did you become a full-time artist?

Fin DAC: My career as an artist started super late, when I was around 40. I had just come out of a fairly stressful relationship, and I essentially wanted something to take my mind off what I was going through at the time. I used to draw as a child, and I have memories of being alone in my room, completely content just doing that.

So I thought, okay, if I start to draw and paint, that might give me that kind of meditation or therapy. And it’s true - it silences the world completely. Painting seemed like an easy route to take. Even if I didn’t become a full-time artist, it didn’t matter. I was content in my job as a web designer and developer at the time. But once I really got into painting, it snowballed quickly; I became a full-time artist within 2 or 3 years.

Tell us more about your latest project 'HomEage'.

It’s essentially about split personalities. The artwork is split down the middle, with the second half repainted in the style of another artist. It looks like two different versions or personalities of the same character.

It started as an interim project back in 2020 during the first pandemic lockdown in California.