Raphaël Vicenzi, aka Mydeadpony, is a self-taught artist living in Brussels, Belgium with his wife and child. His works are influenced by fashion, handmade typography, street art and graffiti. He aims to create vivid & beautiful imagery, which are a reflection of his inner thoughts and mood. Sometimes his works are exploring more chaotic & darker themes but as life and light would not exist without darkness, he always strives to strike some form of balance between opposites. His process is a mix of digital media (Photoshop) and textures created from watercolors, acrylic paint, markers and rough sketches. His works have been featured in Illustration now 3, Illustration now portraits, Art box Japan and many other publications. He continues to work for many clients including Be Magazine, Marie-Claire, Votre beauté, Company Uk, Place Laurier, Write now.
Your artworks are a harmonious blend of watercolor painting, drawing, and typography. Are you equally as passionate about each creation method or is there one in particular that is the fire within your creative engine?
I’d say that it’s the mix of all three that makes it interesting for me. The use of one technique will start to generate ideas for the illustration, like an unknown puzzle that starts to assemble itself and create happy mistakes that will surprise me because I would not have discovered them if I had worked any other way.
"Wild Mother" | Numbered Edition Art Print
There are lots of hidden details in your works that keep the viewer engaged and exploring. Do you simply add typography and smaller drawings to your works when inspiration strikes, or are even the smallest of details within each of your works thought out in advance?
It’s mostly a form of automatic writing/drawing where it starts to create different free associations in my mind. Sometimes I do have a few ideas written in advance but it’s never set in stone. I start to dig into my own unconscious in this way and I am surprised at the connections that appear without me being aware of them at first. Sometimes it just reflects the mood I am in at that moment. It doesn’t always work though and it happens that I am just doodling away until something seems to connect with a deeper meaning.
Your artworks feature exclusively women, who is the muse?
I don’t know. I’d like to think about it as my feminine side coming up to the surface and speaking to me. I don’t always listen to her because I am too stubborn.
"Monolith 02" | Numbered Edition Art Print
The titles you choose add intensity to your artworks, and in many ways seem to complete them by revealing the thoughts of the women depicted. How do your titles play a role in what the viewer experiences when they see your artwork? This also leads us to ask, how did you come up Mydeadpony?
I want the words to give another meaning to the image, depending on the viewer. I like contrasting deeper, darker themes with a sense of beauty and frailty. Nothing is what it seems and I like to give a voice to the unspoken. I hope that sometimes the viewer thinks about the title or the words, and this make their own experiences & memories come into play. If art did not make you sometimes think or reflect upon your own life or the world around you, it would be really sad.
Mydeadpony was just a nickname I chose after seeing a forgotten childhood picture of me sitting on a white pony. I thought about how that pony was probably dead since a long time, hence the name. Perhaps it has something to do with the loss of childhood innocence & the nostalgia it brings when you realize that you’re a grown up. I keep trying to find those feelings back.
"I Drink Ink and I Bleed Dreams" | Numbered Edition Art Print
The eyes of the women in your artworks also seem to play a very important role, as both focal points and sources of emotion. Are we right in thinking so?
I don’t do it purposefully to be honest. It just makes sense to me but it would be hard to say why. The emotions can sometimes be conflicting and create some inner tensions, all within the same body, the same mind and perhaps the eyes are the only port in the storm I can find and they cannot lie if you pay close attention.
"Lost in Confined Space" | Numbered Edition Art Print
Was there ever an “Ah ha” moment that led you to create your brand and dedicate yourself to your creations? Have you known since you were kid that you wanted to become the artist you are now today, or did something inspire you later on? Any certain artists that influenced you along the way?
I struggled a lot to find my own way of doing things. Until one day I thought that it would be cool to mix fashion illustration with typography and say things you’re not supposed to say out loud. Not quite sure how I came up with this, but it might be because I always try to see things differently, from another angle.
I always wanted to do something creative but I did not know what exactly, I dabbled in music, photography, writing and such, but I did not find the necessary drive to do it all the time. I am a late bloomer. The computer really opened up my eyes. I’ve been influenced by so many artists along the way, from Tom Bagshaw, Daniel Egneus, Klimt, Chloe Early, Banksy…well the list never stops really. I constantly find new people who are making incredible art, illustration, paintings, music… you just have to keep looking.
"Urban Guerilla Girl" | Numbered Edition Art Print
Living in Brussels you’re in a melting pot of many different cultures, not to mention that Belgium shares boarders with 4 different countries. Does that make your city a hub for international artistic talents (expos, theater)? If so, do these cultural influences contribute to your artistic visions?
In some respect, yes, it attracts many different artists & exhibitions because it’s not too far from many countries and it’s an ok place to live. I don’t go that much to exhibitions though, but I always keep an eye on what’s happening.
Despite that, I would personally say that unless you’re an established artist (meaning earning tons of money & approved by the state) the situation in Belgium is getting really hard for many artists in general due to the “austerity” plan and it does not bode well for the future as the artistic expression that should be held up high by our democracy is getting targeted heavily.
My influences have been worldwide since the internet came into my life. I think that by living in Belgium, I have been more open to what was going on out there in general, I do have the chance to be able to read in French & English so it opened up my horizons considerably. I don’t think I am especially influenced by one culture or another, it’s all a personal melting-pot where I find my inspiration.
What wins: Belgian beer, chocolate or waffles?
Chocolate! If you’ve never tasted real Belgian chocolate, you haven’t lived yet.
“Mountains of Hate and Drivers of Rage” | Numbered Edition Art Print