Cover Artist: T-Wei

T-Wei is a contemporary muralist and illustrator whose pieces have a tendency to turn things inside-out. His work is often weird and always fun. Wander the streets of Wellington and you’ll eventually stumble across one of T’s pieces. If you’re a beer lover, you’ve seen his work adorning a Garage Project brew or been surrounded by it at their brewery and tap room. His strong visual style with a geometric twist put T-Wei high on our list of artists to approach for the ‘Be Open’ edition of The Generosity Journal. We had a quick chat with him while he was designing the cover.

Thanks for illustrating a kickass cover. Talk us through it.
I’ve been following the work of One Percent Collective for a wee while and I’m always down for supporting forward thinking, ethically conscious projects. 

I was given the theme of ‘Be Open’ and what better analogy of an organism benefiting from its environment than a pot plant proliferating from the soil? From there it was simply a process of anthropomorphism. Generally, I try to give some kind of lasting takeaway for the viewer beyond simple aesthetic. Whether it’s successful or not is another story. 

What gets you inspired? What keeps you motivated?
The feelers are always out there. I’m always soaking in half-formed shapes and thoughts to vomit out later – mama-bird style. My workspace is essentially a small pile of furniture caked with notes-to-self. 

I often listen to music when I’m sketching. Music & drawing to me is like P B & J. My music library is one of the more eclectic I’ve seen but while illustrating this cover of The Generosity Journal I was mostly listening to Kiefer. I’m usually thrashing anything from hip-hop to blue-grass to film scores. 

Shouts to my studio buds, too. They’re always doing cool things – Stacey Robson, Phoebe Morris and Stacy Eyles! 

What’s next for T-Wei?
I’ve just finished up three months of commercial projects so getting back into personal work is looking mighty attractive. ‘One for them, one for me’ is optimistically my rule of thumb. I find personal work to be super important because it keeps that passion and progression alive. I work across a range of disciplines and enjoy each of them equally. A giant sculpture would be a fun bucket-list item. Or a bronze. A furniture collection would be amazing too. As long as I’m mixing it up keeping things fresh then I’m happy. 

Follow @tw.ei on Instagram and catch (or buy!) his art as part of the Pretty Ugly group exhibition at Wellington’s Thistle Hall Gallery running from November 25th to December 1st.