Art Scout: Melbourne Illustrator Nathan Nankervis Wants to Put Googly Eyes on Everything

We visit the studio of the young artist inspired by '90s paraphernalia and pop culture.

by Katherine Gillespie

April 27, 2016, 5:57am

Nathan Nankervis in his studio. All photography by Katherine Gillespie

Welcome to our new column Art Scout, where we profile Australia's creative up-and-comers.

For someone with so much energy, Nathan Nankervis has a suspiciously tidy desk. When questioned, he sheepishly admits that we’ve caught him on a good day. But given the 24 year old illustrator splits his time between running a commercial graphic design business and working on his own art, organisation is probably a necessity.

The neat and tidiness stands out because Nathan’s studio is otherwise reminiscent of a very cool ‘90s kid’s dream bedroom, complete with miniature basketball hoop, Spider-Man bust, Garfield telephone, and Mr Men books. You’d be confused as to what year it was, if not for the craft beers and pantone catalogue taking pride of place.

That sense of nostalgia is deliberate though, and it comes through in much of Nathan’s work. “My art is quite personal; I tend to convey myself and my interests through it,” he tells The Creators Project. “So a lot of ‘90s-inspired stuff like cereal, basketball, and cartoons. I’m definitely trying to avoid growing up.”

As a graphic designer Nathan’s got an impressive list of design clients under his belt, including Bonds, Heineken and Red Bull. A Communication Design graduate of Swinburne University of Technology, he’s also received nominations from The Design Foundation. But he’s developing his own art practice too, with a forthcoming solo exhibition—his first—in the works. Tentatively titled Best Buds, it will dissect iconic characters from his childhood and touch on themes of “friendship, fun and adventure.”

Nathan drafts his brightly hued illustrations on paper then switches to Photoshop or Illustrator. Having worked with a variety of print and digital mediums, lately he’s been preoccupied with GIFs and movement. “My art is very character based, so it works well in animation,” he says. “I love faces and cartoons and personalities, and I have this innate need to anthropomorphise objects; which is a fancy way of saying I basically want to put googly eyes on everything.”

The sense of playful positivity present in Nathan’s work is a product of his own upbeat personality. Even GIF illustrations he’s created to celebrate Earth Day and promote the Real Aussies Say Welcome movement have a cheerfulness to them. “I’m an extremely optimistic person,” he tells us. “And I do think that I have a responsibility to make people think, and try to create positive change.”

You can see more of Nathan’s work on his website and follow him on Instagram.