Andre Lissiman

Artists

I’m a man of humble beginnings, born and raised in a simple log cabin. For as long as I can remember I’ve been putting pen to paper, doodling and scribbling. In fact I’d put my pen to anything, the floor, the walls, anything in reach. I used to scribble with such intensity that I would often bore holes into the walls of my room. My parents believed they could harness this energy present in my frenzied scribbling episodes. They signed me up for the next local Aus kick game and turned me loose, I had the ferocity but alas not the skill. It was as if the ball was some sort of elusive gazelle, bounding away from a mentally impaired three-legged cheetah. Their hopes and dreams of me becoming the next Luke Darcy were shattered before they had even begun. Their attempts to keep me from my scribbling only worsened my condition .When I started to incorporate spasms and shrill yelping into my scribbling routine they thought it necessary to call a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist prescribed that I be kept from any drawing devices for the duration of my life.

“Either this boy has an unnatural affection to pens, or he is the anti-Christ.”

The first night without a drawing utensil was the hardest , I had to be strapped to the bed as I frothed at the mouth while holy water was cast on me. This was a very traumatizing experience for a three year old boy, it was a dark chapter in my life.10 years after this ordeal I met Reif Myers, he taught me that it is ok to draw so passionately and fiercely and rekindled my zest for illustration. And so there I was, scribbling once more. Over time my scribbles started to make shapes, they eventually became discernible, they are now on the OZ clothes you know and love. Although I’ve come along way scribble/ drawing-wise, there is still a fair way to go yet…

I can’t think of any notable influences in my work, I draw from the strange and absurd… but sometimes these designs don’t quite make it past the drawing board. My ideas for designs just come to me when I’m going about my daily business; “What would life be like if your head was a sausage roll?” Questions like this are often the basis of my work.