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2022-01-20
ANO (A-Nuo)
PRESENTER
ANO (A-Nuo)
Taiwanese graffiti artist
Video games, science, and graffiti…these are indispensable sources of inspiration and an integral part of his life. He first encountered graffiti in junior high while skateboarding, and from then on, his life became inseparable from graffiti art. As a child, he often played in the large arcade game shop run by his maternal grandfather, becoming thoroughly familiar with the elements and interfaces of video games. This led him to incorporate “Pixel”—with its playful, game-like qualities—into his artistic style and personal imagery, and it has since become the most distinctive hallmark of his graffiti.
IG:www.instagram.com/ano9s FB:www.facebook.com/ano9s2.0
Q & A
Q: How do you start your day?
After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I have breakfast and then start learning new software. Since it’s related to my creative work, I try out a lot of new software. Basically, mornings are my time to learn. In the afternoons, I usually draw, create, or do woodworking. In the evenings, I reply to work emails.
Q: Where do you usually hang out?
Studio (Banqiao) and good restaurants.
Q: The restaurant you go to most often?
“Hao Chu Breakfast”—everything is pretty tasty, and they even have Japanese magazines to read! I usually order the pork chop sandwich. The meat inside is nice and thick, so guys should really love it. What’s special is that they also serve fried tangyuan—it’s not easy to find fried tangyuan for breakfast (haha).
Hao Chu Breakfast fan page www.facebook.com/hoochuu
The Shulin Sanma Stinky Pot is highly recommended. This is the flagship branch (or so they say, haha). You pick and assemble the ingredients for your mini hot pot yourself, and you absolutely have to order the spicy duck blood!
Q: What do you do for fun after work?
Ever since I started freelancing, there’s been no such thing as “clocking off,” because work has blended so seamlessly into my daily life that I can’t tell them apart anymore (laughs wryly). The things that help me unwind are playing video games, going to the gym, and skateboarding… Lately, I’ve been really into Mario Party.
Q: Why do you use pixel art as an element in your visual creations?
My grandpa’s family used to run an arcade. Back in the early days, game graphics had very low resolution, and I thought it was fascinating how Mario’s face could be represented by just a few pixels. Later, I got a work project doing art for a mobile game. It was still the Nokia-phone era, and the games were all black and white. Then game resolutions kept getting higher, and the digital age arrived. The pixel style gradually disappeared, and I thought, “Pixels are a classic from our generation—I want to preserve them!”
Q: What is the creative concept behind this exhibition?
Treat this place as a game space, with the idea of a child’s playroom. The exhibition is titled “Game Room.” “Room” means a room, and since the hotel has many rooms, it also extends this concept. Many of my works come from everyday life. I really enjoy observing the things around me. “Good Fortune Shines Bright” is a portrait of the Chihuahua kept by the owner of the ten-dollar shop at the end of my alley. It later passed away due to old age, so I thought I’d paint a picture to remember it by. I eventually showed the painting to the owner, who was very moved and surprised!
Q: What is the spirit of graffiti?
Creating without being constrained by time, space, subject matter, or other people’s instructions—that’s the spirit of graffiti to me!
Q: What’s a book you’ve read recently? Any thoughts or takeaways after finishing it?
The book *A User’s Guide to Being Human* is fascinating. It describes topics such as behavioral science, interpersonal relationships, and social connections, analyzing human behavior through observation. After reading it, it seems that as long as we make good use of empathy, understanding, and compromise in our interactions with others, we can get along successfully in any kind of relationship (laughs).
Q: What do you find most interesting or appealing about Taiwan?
Night markets, especially those in central and southern Taiwan, have a distinctive charm, with a wide variety of snacks and plenty of innovation. Chiayi’s Wenhua Road Night Market is quite large. The stir-fried snails beside the Wenhua Road Post Office are fragrant and crispy, making them perfect with drinks! If you’re not in the mood for street snacks, there are restaurants to choose from as well. The Houfeng Bikeway in Taichung offers changing scenery along the route from its starting point to Houli Horse Ranch. Along the way, you’ll also cross a railway bridge and pass through a tunnel, giving you different riding experiences.Houfeng Bikeway https://travel.taichung.gov.tw/zh-tw/Experience/CyclingTrip/4/%E5%90%8E%E8%B1%90%E9%90%B5%E9%A6%AC%E9%81%93
Q: What do you look forward to most when staying at a hotel?
I’m most looking forward to seeing something I’ve never thought of (laughs). I have a little wish: I’ve stayed at so many hotels and guesthouses, and laundry facilities are usually in a shared area or there’s a laundry service. It can be inconvenient when you need to wash your underwear, so I’d suggest providing laundry detergent in the room. It would be even more perfect if there were somewhere to hang clothes to dry!
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