Fantastic Art: An Interview with Alex CF

I first encountered the cryptozoological scientific art of Alex CF via this post on Boing Boing, back in June '07 and have been keeping half an eye on his fabulous portfolio of weird and wonderful artistic endeavours ever since.

Alex is a multi-talented artist: as well as an illustrator, he's also the creator of some incredible and rather wonderful vignettes: themed collections of objet d'bizarre that include Victorian-era scientific paraphenalia; strange, sticky specimens in murky jars; the remains of mummified monsters, aged and cryptically annotated diaries and notebooks... all sorts of wonderful things encased in a suitably battered-looking display boxes or presentation cases. And each is accompanied by its own narrative, explaining the provenance and history of the items in question; Alex is a prose story-teller as well.

Personally, I've always been a huge fan of artwork that's intricate, complex, imaginative and above all, fascinating and for me, it doesn't come much more all-of-the-above than, say, this C19th Anatomical Study Cabinet {1}, or this Lost World Exploration Case {2}, or the gloomy and gothic Death's Coffer {3}, or his latest piece, At the Mountains, There is Madness... {4}. Take a look:

C19th Anatomical Study Cabinet. (c) Alex CF.

{1} C19th Anatomical Study Cabinet

{2} Lost World Exploration Case

{3} Death's Coffer

At the Mountains, There is Madness (c) Alex CF

{4} At the Mountains, There is Madness

All images copyright (c) Alex CF. Used with the permission of the artist.

Alex undertakes commissions - such as the time machine he built for UK publisher Solaris to help promote their Extraordinary Engines anthology and some of his pieces end up for sale via his eBay shop. I've been sorely tempted to bid on several occasions and have only been stopped by the lack of suitable display space for anything I might actually win (alas, we can't all have a library like Jay Walker's...)

When I dropped Alex a line to ask for his permission to use a few images from his website to illustrate this piece, I also wound up asking Alex a few questions for the following mini-interview:

DT: What is it about working in a tactile, 3-D medium (as opposed to, say, illustration) that you find the most interesting and / or satisfying?

Alex CF: I think illustration is still really important to my work, and it is something that I am rediscovering my passion for, when sketching in diaries or manuscripts that feature in my work. But with my 3d art, I guess it's the aspect of realism that I like. I know a lot of my work is not anatomically perfect, but I did a lot of research into how flesh decays, and I like the idea of creating specimens or artifacts that have a real age to them.

I think that most of my customers buy my work because they become focal points in their households, talking points - "This is the living room, here is the fish tank, oh and here is my severed torso of an egyptian vampire mummy" - I like that to most people who have never seen my work before, there is that moment of belief, or suspension of disbelief. I hope that my customers are inspired to add to the stories I mold around each piece. There is a definite extra level to art that can be perceived as real.

DT: Do you draw any of your inspiration from fiction, and if so, are there any authors whose work you particularly enjoy?

Alex CF: I guess any of my work based directly on classic fiction is pretty obvious! For instance the Lost World Expedition Case, based on the book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, much of my early work was based on H.P Lovecraft, and some works are loosely inspired with a less direct approach: The Henrich Emille Rectangle was inspired by books like Solid Geometry by Ian McEwan, or Deaths Coffer, which was influenced by The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.

Much of my work is original, I take ideas from themes I enjoy. These days more of my work is of my own volition, due to my archetype being "borrowed" by people. Trying to create a unique work style without plagiarism is pretty difficult, thanks in most part to the internet!

DT: What sort of research goes into the development of your pieces, or do the concepts tend to flow from your own ideas?

Alex CF: They definitely just flow. I have an original idea, and then I sit down and have a good think about what exactly is needed. If its a research related project, then there are obvious - and sometimes repetetive - needs. Tools, like dissection kits, slides, medical and scientific instruments are common to a lot of my work but this is simply common sense. They are nessecities to any scientist.

But I try to create unique themes and pieces that accompany those items. My diaries are full of illustrations, detailed studies, annotations and guides. My specimens are the focal points, so I spend most of my time on these. Usually if I encounter obstacles I either get angry and throw the piece across the room, or try to be a little more pragmatic... usually the former. I have a short temper when it comes to my work!

DT: Which has been your favourite commissioned piece to-date? And which has been the most challenging or difficult that you've undertaken?

Alex CF: Favourite piece... that's tough. The recent Taxidermied Triceratops was a lot of fun. I guess the Werewolf Research Cases would be my favourite.

I love taking these fictional characters and making a real species out of it. I created this entire alternative history for many of the species involved in my work, how they interact, the evolutionary biology of non existent entities. Many of the pieces are interwoven by the characters involved or the expeditions that take place. Some diaries may point to references in other pieces, I try to create an entire world for my customers to get lost in. I hope it works.

Most difficult piece was the Henrich Emille rectangle. Bloody nightmare!

Many thanks to Alex for taking time away from his creations to answer my questions. If you like the look of his wonderfully macabre work, then you should definitely stop by www.alexcf.com and spend some time poring over his cryptozoological marvels in more detail, as well as reading the back-stories and watching videos of the artist introducing his pieces.

Great stuff.

Update 11.02.09 - Alex has posted details of his latest piece, the Homo Wampyrus Vampire Research Reliquary... incredible!