Salah Van Puymbroeck

Who are your biggest artistic influences?

My current biggest artistic influences are Hussein Shikha and Che Go Eun. Funny enough I first met Hussein back in 2019 at the finals of a local fighting game tournament, never expecting that years later he would become a major source of creative inspiration. We collaborated on the graphic design for his festival, ‘Here and Then, There and Now’ that took place in Het Bos, where I had the chance to see his artistic process up close. His advice, tips, laugh, nerdy references, inspiration, tools and shared excitement were incredibly motivating and pushed me to a new level of creativity.

At that same festival, I had the pleasure of meeting Che Go, another inspiring artist. After the event, I helped her dismantle her work, and we had a great conversation about using video games and anime as artistic influences—something I had felt insecure about implementing in my graphic and artistic work. She simply told me, and I quote: “Ye just go for it! Haha” and proceeded to show me how she incorporates games and anime into her own work, which I absolutely admire.

Both Hussein and Che Go draw inspiration from video games, manga, anime, folklore, and mythology—areas I used to avoid but now embrace because they make the creative process much more enjoyable. An important factor in creating art in my opinion. They’ve shown me how these influences can produce engaging, meaningful work. Plus, they’re always just a message away for advice, which is a true blessing.

And for the record, in that 2019 tournament, I came out on top. GG to you, Hussein, let’s have a rematch soon!