Leif Podhajsky

A potentially tongue-twisting name is one that soon leads to a far different oral issue, that of your jaw dropping. Leif Podhajsky, the Australian artist and creative director first came to our attention as the creator of the immersive cover artwork for Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker an image that draws you in to a parallel universe of sorts through delicately crafted repetition leaving perceptions of space and perspective challenged in an impelling manner. Extensively working with musicians such as Lykke Li, Shabazz Places and Young Magic along with record labels including Warp, Modular and Sub Pop, Podhajsky’s work has become cemented into popular culture, tipping us off to the rest of his opus.

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Barren Circle Pit (Canyons Poster). Mixed Media, 2012

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Fibonacci Vortex. Mixed Media, 2012

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Jichael Morden. Collage, 2011

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Likke Li Tour Poster. Mixed Media, 2012

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Metals. Mixed Media, 2011

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Pineal Gland. Mixed Media, 2012

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Pixel Dust 5e. Mixed Media, 2012

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Psychonaut. Mixed Media, 2011

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Recursion. Mixed Media, 2011

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Shabazz Places (African Shaman). Mixed Media, 2011

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Synergy II. 2012

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Tame Impala Innerspeaker Artwork. Mixed Media, 2011

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Tame Impala Lucidity Artwork. Mixed Media, 2011

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Wanderer at the Edge of Time. Mixed Media, 2009

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Worship. Mixed Media, 2012

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Young Magic Cassette Cover. Collage, 2011

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Young Magic Melt Artwork. Mixed Media 2011

His array of Mixed Media and collage work often retains a natural element but firmly contorts the image often in a psychedelic manner, coercing the viewer into engaging with both his and their imaginations, something that the artist explains in detail in this excerpt from a brilliantly put together interview from Beautiful/Decay

BD: Many of your works, such as “Pineal Gland” depict fantasy landscapes that you’ve created through photo manipulation; what fuels your ability to create these fictive places? You’re currently working in Melbourne; do your surroundings affect your art?

LP: I believe that what I surround myself with has had an effect on my work, not just location, but people and information. I try to be as open as I can to different ideology and points of view, which I may not understand or agree with. I really think knowledge is a terrific means for discovery and progression.

What fuels the creation of these perplexing worlds I honestly cannot say for sure.  Thoughts and ideas seem to be floating around out there in the collective ether, maybe that’s why there are similar movements in art and music across the planet at the same time… and the creation is just different personal representations of these ideas…?

I usually start with a concept that I want to examine and scrutinize in more detail, and my work is the product of me unfolding these riddles and putting meaning to them.

With ‘Pineal Gland’ I was reading Rick Strassman’s book ‘The Spirit Molecule’ in which he hypothesizes that DMT, a powerful psychedelic, produced in the pineal gland of the brain and released in large doses when a person is approaching death may account for near death experiences, or the releasing of the soul. This drug is also released on the 49th day of fetes development, which Strassman attributes to the beginning of the soul. So I mulled this over for a good 6 months and this piece is based on my thoughts and feelings of this idea that the soul is released and returns to a physical form.

Extending his canvass to video, this short video entitled Jichael Morden plays with 1990s footage of Basketball superstar Michael Jordan to create dizzying but fascinating imagery turning the iconic sight of Jordan’s lavish slam dunks into a mirrored exploration of modern day athleticism. It’s trippy yet really rather enjoyable.

We here at Kollektivnye have spent many hours gazing into Podhajsky’s creations as a means of inspiration and exploration of the outer limits of our consciousness and it seems that these hours, in hindsight have been well spent. If you would like to embark on a similar journey or merely look at some more of these interesting compositions, head to Leif’s site