Eulan To interviews Graham Fink. Creative Director and Multimedia Artist.

I have known Graham for over 10 years now, it took me 4 years to get a meeting and I had to travel over 5000 miles to Ogilvy's Shanghai offices. I got my 15 minutes and I can confirm persistence is the key to success, Graham would say ideas are ! So is talent really overrated?

Graham is my favourite creative, not only because of his ‘Face’ commercial for British Airways, which at the time was the world’s most expensive ad directed by Hugh Hudson where no CGI was involved created only with real people. But in Hong Kong he discovered a 19-year-old graphic design student, Jonathan Mak. Graham commissioned Mak to work on a campaign for Coca-Cola, which went on to win a Cannes Lion Grand Prix and more awarded designs that Coca Cola has ever seen. It was this creative Finking, confidence in giving someone a chance that I aspire to be in a position myself one day.

Me, being a lover of classic Magnum photography, it’s strange that the digital world has given us the opportunity to work together. A year ago I arranged a private commission for Graham to do one of his Eye-Drawings for the Peng family of Hunan restaurant in Belgravia. Restaurant critic, Giles Coren once said Hunan may be the best Chinese restaurant in the world. 

Graham Fink and Sophia the Robot

Im Eulan To, and recently caught up with Graham to interview him, and used the ES magazine backpage format.

Here’s how it went.

Home is ? UK.

Where do you stay in London ? Soho, Tower Bridge, Fulham/Parson’s Green.

What is your earliest memory of London ? I remember my grandmother took me up to London when I was about seven years old and dragged me all over the city to visit just every sight possible in a day. But I distinctly remember seeing the Christopher Wren’s monument where the great fire of London started and climbing the 311 steps to the top. I counted them out loud! Then on to Buckingham Palace, the changing of the guard, the Tower of London, the Crown Jewels, and on and on we went. Having only ever lived in the countryside until that point, it was a real shock to the senses. Everything looked so much bigger and more colourful than anything I’d seen to date. From that point, I was determined I would one day live here.

 What has been your most memorable meal ? Sitting on an old wooden barrel at 2:30 in the morning in a local street food market in Taiwan savouring a bowl of crispy noodles. It was heaven.

What shops do you rely on ? I don’t rely on shops.

What would you do if you were Mayor for the day ? I’d make every school in London fit for purpose, and bring back compulsory art and music classes.

Best thing a cabbie has said to you ? Once, a minicab driver picked me up in London and said he recognised me and had driven me in Nairobi. Although I had been to Nairobi a few years before, I thought he was joking. He then went on to describe me and the people I was with. It turned out he was a driver on a film shoot and it was indeed the same driver.

Where do you go to let your hair down ? Vidal Sassoon.

If you could buy any London building and live there, which would it be ? I immediately thought of Buckingham Palace, but then thought of the Tate gallery, it would be amazing to live with art all day long. But then I thought, as I love books, perhaps a giant bookstore like Foyles. Then last week I did a talk overlooking Battersea Power Station and I thought at the time it would be pretty cool to live there and look at the river every day. Such an iconic building.

What is your favourite London work of Art ? Too many to mention. But there is a giant painting in the National Gallery by John Martin, called The Great Day Of His Wrath. I’ve looked at that many times in complete awe.

What are you up to right now for work ? I’ve been insanely busy these last few months on a number of projects. But very recently I’ve been involved in doing some work on Sunset Boulevard -The Musical with Nicole Scherzinger, and a massive AI job in development that I’m not yet allowed to discuss. NDAs and all that!

You’re also an agent to Sophia, the humanoid robot, what’s the story there ? Yes, Sophia was created by David Hanson of Hanson Robotics, she is a super intelligent woman and her AI is being upgraded constantly. I did an interview with her last year and drew her with my eyes.

We’ve recently been working together on a project in the US for a big brand. Watch this space.

Who is the iconic Londoner in history ? I’ve always been a huge fan of JMW Turner and his incredible paintings. He was so far ahead of his time. He was born in Maiden Lane in Covent Garden, a stone’s throw from where I work.

 There’s a great story about him that I love….

It was during the annual varnishing day at the Royal Academy, a period when artists would come in to apply final touches to their works already hung for the upcoming exhibition, Turner was observed adding an enigmatic red blob to his maritime painting, which seemed complete and was already hung.

This act drew a lot of attention and consternation from his peers, who remarked on Turner's bold and seemingly arbitrary addition.

The next day, Turner returned and with just a few masterful brushstrokes, transformed that red spot into a buoy.

This act demonstrated his deft skill but also showcased his flair for dramatics, whilst making a point about the potency of colour and the transformative magic of a few well-placed strokes.

Are you working on any exhibitions at the moment ? I’m hoping to have a new exhibition of my Eye-Drawings. I’ve been trying out a new way of seeing.

What makes someone a Londoner ? Attitude.

What’s your London secret ? It’s a secret.

What’s one creative phrase every Londoner should know ? Fink Different.

Interview by Eulan To