Fatchurofi on artistic expression and giving back to his community

In for a merch drop full of powerful and hopeful imagery? Let us introduce you to Muhammad Fatchurofi, an artist known for his bold art and thought-provoking illustrations. What makes this collab extra special is that he’s based in Semarang, Indonesia. This means that this merch drop will help children from his own country. For his illustration, Fatchurofi collabed with Devi (10) from Lombok to create a piece all about dreaming and future potential.

Creating art and developing his style

Fatchurofi has been creating for as long as he can remember. He recalls: “I started drawing at 5 years old, when my father bought me a pencil for the first time. I grew up in a farming family in a rural area, so my interest in art arose from pop culture, cartoons, and anime that were on snacks and fireworks packaging, and also Gambar Umbul (Indonesian image cards).”

Fatchurofi elaborates that some of his early inspiration included Wayang, a traditional puppet theatre style from Java, Indonesia. Clearly, his interest in fusing western influences with elements from his home country was there right from the start. 

Nowadays, he pulls a lot of inspiration from ukiyo-e. This is a genre of Japanese art from the 17th-19th centuries, generally characterised by bold colours and flat scenes. Fatchurofi explains: “I really like the textural quality in the ukiyo-e prints and the fact that most of them use the primary colour combinations.”

The textures of ukiyo-e’s signature woodblock prints definitely make an appearance throughout Fatchurofi’s work, which create a multi-layered visual interest in his artwork.

Fatchurofi admits that Indonesian art styles don’t feature in his work, but he clarifies: “I work a lot with Indonesian materials, especially Javanese, for my personal artwork.”

Expressing his emotions through his art

It is in every artist’s nature to grow and develop their style. And Fatchurofi is no exception. “I guess it’s a normal thing for an artist to develop overtime, adjust to their current state of mind and interest, and try to learn new things. So change is inevitable.”

While he doesn’t know how he is going to develop in the future, he hopes he will be honest with how he feels and what he wants. 

His artistic expression might be ever-evolving, but one thing Fatchurofi has always said is that he uses art as a way to journal his emotions. He explains: “It’s sometimes cathartic and other times poetic. I’m not good at expressing my feelings, so I keep them inside, pondering on them, and eventually they emerge into what I do: illustration. After a while, it became a routine for me.”

And this therapeutic way of creating certainly works! Fatchurofi’s work has caught the eyes of The New York Times and Google for editorial features. He also opened up his very own exhibition in Japan titled ‘UNWIND’. In true Fatchurofi style, the exhibition’s artworks were all about pausing in the midst of life’s busyness. 

Collabing with children and helping his community

Fatchurofi admits that he had never professionally collabed with children before, but he does love to exchange doodles with his daughter. So, when we reached out to him for this collab, this was his reaction: “I feel that I share this mission. I didn’t have any big expectations, but I hope it will be a meaningful gesture that will inspire others and will be a real benefit.”

This collab feels extra special for us as well as for Fatchurofi, given that he is an Indonesian artist. When discussing what it means for him to be helping children in his country, he responds: “It means I’m helping myself and my own family.”

For the illustration, he worked with 10 year-old Devi, who drew her favourite place on the island of Gili Asahan: her home. 

“I tried to keep all the elements that she put on paper. Basically I just rearranged her drawing in a way that it would work for me too. Aside from that, I added water and an island at the bottom as reference to the archipelago, and a paper boat as a symbol of hope and dreams and childhood.”

When it came to infusing his personal touch into the final piece, Fatchurofi explains: “The most significant thing that I changed is that I portrayed the house as a bird's house. This made the final piece more metaphorical, which is closer to my style. I like to swap out humans with something else, in this case birds.”

We were very touched to see how much Devi connects with her family home. During our discussion of how she relates to the theme of ‘makes you feel like home’, Fatchurofi contemplates: 

“As a kid, I think it's reasonable for Devi to pick her home as her favourite place. It's a safe haven for her to grow in, where she is nurtured and loved by her parents, just like a bird that is not yet ready to fly. I hope that one day, when she grows up, she will have the chance to fly far, see the world, have a great education, achieve her dreams and potential, before she comes back to her hometown to contribute to her community.”

We can only echo Fatchurofi’s words!

And while we’re on the topic of home, what makes Fatchurofi feel at home is: “Family, the people… and probably food.”

This wasn’t just an inspiring experience for us, but for Fatchurofi too. At the end of the interview, he shares what he took away from this collab: “A chance to contribute and a sense of gratitude.”