The 25 year old Belgium native, Jochen, aka Vacuum on Instagram is an amazing artist that you need to be following right now! He does awesome collage work that showcases his limitless creativity.
Find Jochen: Instagram – @vacuumcollage – Facebook
How old are you?
I’m 25 years old
Where are you from?
I am from West Flanders, Belgium
How long have you been an artist? What is your specialty? Where do u find inspiration?
I’ve always been interested in art, when I was a kid I loved drawing. But I started this project 3 years ago. Even though I’m still exploring, learning and developing what my style would be, my specialty is digital collage and glitch art. I find inspiration in dreaming, music and also other artists. But mostly inspiration just pops in my head. Sometimes I just start with a picture and I make stuff up along the way.
Do you have a job in the art industry? If So, what’s one thing you don’t like about it? If no, where would your dream job be?
My job is a desktop publisher, but not in the art industry. Nowadays I work for a packaging company and it’s not being creative, but more like getting the files ready for prints. So it’s really technical. Luckily I can be creative outside of work.
Do you have a favorite Artist?
Yeah, there are a lot of artists I follow. I love the style of the Belgian cartoonist Jeroom, which got me into making collages because my drawing skills are really bad. Sammy Slabbinck is also one of my favorites, his collages are amazing, simple but yet so great. Error Design also creates stunning art, in which he seeks inspiration from music. And last but not least, I really enjoy the work of Leif Podhajsky, his style is just stunning.
What is one accomplishment you’ve had in your life? Does not need to be art related.
There was a tiny exposition in Brussels a while ago, where I displayed my collages for the visitors and other artists. And they liked it. I’m more a held back, shy person so that really felt like an accomplishment to me
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?
Everything can be so unpredictable so I don’t know. I hope I could make a living out of my collages, that would be the dream. Doing this in a big city in a foreign country would be an even greater dream.
If you could meet and talk to any person in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?
Tough question. I’m a big fan of Disney, so grabbing a drink with Walt Disney could be nice.
How is one way you make money with your art?
I don’t actually. Right now, I’m still exploring my style and just create more art. But I will sell some prints and shirts in the near future, probably on Redbubble.
If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
I’d love to see Japan one day, it fascinates me. And a few years ago I’ve been to South Africa. I would love to go back some day.
What is your favorite brand of art supply? Whether it’s a brand of pencils or brand of camera or software
My go-to software is Photoshop. I create everything with that. I also use a cheap Wacom drawing tablet, it’s really handy. And for collages, some images I just find in old magazines and books in flea markets.
Any advice for young artists?
The most basic and yet effective advice there is: don’t give up, continue to work on your dream. Enjoy your own art, but keep evolving. Know you can experiment more, know you can grow. If someone doesn’t like your art, don’t let that bring you down, just don’t quit. And I know, that is hard sometimes to create something. But it is really worth it.
