We recently connected with Aaron Moran and have shared our conversation below.

Aaron, appreciate you joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

This is less about my art but more about myself as an individual expressing. I struggled for many years, I was the odd child, I never fit in, I was different and was mostly dismissed. The only thing I excelled at was art, but due to the lack of support I failed to understand my own expression. I could draw photo realistic from age of 12, people were amazed and praised me. I got an A* in school then went to KIAD art college and achieved the highest grade while there. When I went UCCA in Canterbury my tutors hated my work, they hated my use of narratives as storytelling is one of my desires, my dyslexia diagnosis happened unexpectedly during this time. After receiving average scores I became disillusioned, my home life began to fall apart as my dad decided he didn’t want a family anymore and my sister, mum and myself became homeless. Art became nothing to me and I felt there was nothing to say. I got diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder. Only after years of struggle I began doing street art to support my family, it was there I began to feel a stronger connection to myself. It was then I discovered I can express myself with illustrated books where I can truly speak. Not long ago I got diagnosed with autism and it was then I began to truly realise what I am and why I’ve struggled to express myself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started doing street art doing landscapes and other subjects. Soon I was doing portrait commissions, these helped to support my family. It was by chance that I found a way to truly express myself work. I was in a book store and was buying a large illustration /graphic novel for my sister where I joked to the owner I could do exactly the same, he asked to see my work and was impressed. He got in contact with Cy Dethan a writer, he asked me to illustrate his story. After that I got in contact with Harry Markos and he taught me how to make my work ready for print publishing and I was soon a published artist. Soon I produced my first illustration/graphic novel called Flash Blind, not long after that I began to make more including Whispers: A Book About Mental Health and Bride of the Ripper. They’re available worldwide and I really helped to establish my desire to tell stories. My most successful book is my adaptation of War of the Worlds, it is good seller and I was praised for being very accurate to the novel. As a writer I feel it is wrong to change the original when it doesn’t need to. While I work on those I moved on to children’s books like the Snorp series and painting movie posters.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My biggest resilience is facing what my father did to me, he took great pleasure in knowing we had nowhere to go. He screamed at me I couldn’t support my mum and sister, but I did, I gave every penny I could make to help them. After my sister left to get married I stayed with my mum and I supported her for twenty years, she got a brain injury and I was her sole carer along with my girlfriend Rachel. She passed away last year, and it hurt me greatly but I know she would want me to move on and achieve my potential. After finding out I have autism and knowing I did everything possible with no help from anyone is proof I am resilient. My work from now on will be a testament to that.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My main goal is two things: if I can survive after everything that has happened to me anyone can. I know what homelessness is, I know what suicidal thoughts are, I know what poverty is, I know what being ignored is, I know what feeling unloved means, I know how it feels to be the odd one out. My story is about survival, and the story is told through my art.

The second thing is to create more awareness for autism, especially for those who are diagnosed late. One professional described me as ‘a product of neglect’ and it hurt. I want to show people we are not freaks and we are functioning and providing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aaronmoran-artist.co.uk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaronmoranart/
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@aaronmoran7195

Image Credits

Aaron Moran