New Folk: Murugiah

At The Different Folk, we’re thrilled to welcome an award-winning artist to our global roster: Murugiah.

As a London-based illustrator, he draws more inspiration from his Sri Lankan heritage than his city surroundings, using South Asian references to create colourful and graphical compositions.

For Murugiah, finding his style wasn’t as simple as putting pen to paper; it meant journeying way, way back to his childhood. From there, he rediscovered the vibrancy of his after-school cartoons, the simplicity of his action figures and the magic of his favourite Sci-Fi movies. Today, these memories shape his art, which he describes as surreal, joyful, loud and unapologetic.

But, like all great things, it took a long time for Murugiah to settle on his career. After seven years of training to become an architect and feeling like he was holding back, he gave up his craft to pursue his true passion: illustration. A decision that has seen him work on some pretty big commissions for even bigger names, like Apple, Disney and Facebook.

Architecture may have taught him how to use space effectively but, when it comes to planning his work, it couldn’t be further away from the industry’s calculated approach. Preferring to build on a loose idea, Murugiah tends to add and take components away until the piece feels complete. This way, he can stay out of his head and let his creativity do its thing.

We can’t wait to see where Murugiah’s imagination will take him. If you want to come along for the ride, get in touch!