Why Not Us?

In conversation with Illustrator Andy Akanagh.

When I first ran into Andy at The Combine the week before the launch of his latest exhibit, Hip Hop Fusion: Repertoire, he was deep in install mode—dozens of prints and panels already on display, many more on standby.

Despite seeming to be in flow, he greeted my random interruption with warm confidence. Turns out, he’d already mapped out the gallery months ago—using 3D modelling software and photos from a site visit to build a virtual Combine.

Into that world, he’d dropped his show, piece by piece: large-format prints, projection loops, lenticular images, folded-paper sculptures. A few days after the launch party, Andy and I sat down at Luigi’s.

He picked up where we left off, with the first question: “Why?”

ANDY: When things hit the fan, sometimes, you're like, “Damn, what did I do all this for?”

Like, I could've just been fine in my comfort zone, right? I could be happy watching TV at home. Instead, I chose to draw. To craft. To keep up a content calendar. Chase leads. Build a site. Be an entrepreneur. I read this book recently that’s really changed how I view things because it’s making me ask myself why more?

Why am I holding an exhibition in Toronto? No one asked me to. Artists often have a curator who, you know, represents them, finds them opportunities. I don't. But I felt like this was for other people like me—who don’t have curators or people backing them, but still want to create something that brings people together to tell stories. Underdogs.

Compared to abstract artists or painter-sculptors, how does a digital underdog cope?

ANDY: Most of my work is digital. And, to be honest, although things are getting better, digital still has a bad rep. The average painting might hold more market value than a digital piece—which is fair. But that’s why I focus on formatting.

I invite you into my world to see things I created on my screen— now in a physical sense. I like to think of art like a restaurant. You can take a casual spot and elevate it with the silverware, the plates, the menu—until it becomes an experience.

So with this show at The Combine, I wanted to make sure it was an experience: Hip Hop Fusion: Repertoire. Repertoire meaning the breadth of my work. Beyond just the digital.

Your exhibit also spotlights your drawing process. As a digital artist, do you feel pressure to show the behind-the-scenes?

ANDY: Yeah, rough work was part of what I wanted to showcase. In a way, to earn my digital art the same respect you’d give a film—like when you see behind the scenes—or a painter in their studio.

But I also want to give respect to my media. Not just the hip hop that inspires it, I mean. I want people to experience each medium I use to reimagine these figures.

For example, we filled the space with a giant paper crown to represent Biggie. We used vellum for lanterns: its translucency lets things blur depending on how you place it, evoking a hazy memory. Like when someone spits a verse and if you don’t pay attention, you miss it. And lenticular prints, where the image shifts as you shift make you an active participant in the work. In my head, these pieces are never meant to be static.

Hip hop icons and comic book heroes often go through transformations. What does that intersection mean to you?

ANDY: For me, it’s about the bravado. A rap verse can take you to a different realm. Bigger-than-life personas. Their stories—good and bad—are like arcs.

When they're struggling, when they’ve made it—there’s drama on both sides. I love using digital to explore those extremes. I can change the brush head, switch up the style, reimagine a character like in comics—same figure, totally different tone or decade.

How has the digital world influenced your creative philosophy?

ANDY: Once you fall into the social media rabbit hole, you realize there’s no right way. But for a long time, I thought I needed a "style." I wanted to be part of a movement.

Later I heard someone say, "Your style is what you can’t do." And I realized, yeah—you can’t help but be yourself. I like comics, anime, manga, hip hop. So I just put them all together. For a while I was trying to be something else. But it wasn’t me.

Speaking of alter egos... you’ve worn a few. Do those roles ever feel at odds?

ANDY: Definitely. Some days I’m deep in admin: writing grants, doing logistics. Other days I’m drawing, experimenting. I used to be a photographer. I wanted to be a writer. I still love writing.

And my illustration lets me do that visually. There's structure, storytelling, arcs. I didn’t think I’d enjoy being in galleries. I thought I’d be in streetwear. That could still happen. But showing digital work in physical space, curating the room, leading teams—it pushes me in a way nothing else has.

In such a saturated online world, how do you keep your presence feeling meaningful?

ANDY: It gets lonely posting on Instagram all the time. Like, where does it even go? I’m sharing work with the world, sure—but I want to make an impact. I’m committed to craft. I want to keep learning.

And you can’t do that if you’re not putting it out there, getting feedback, meeting people from different places. That’s why I want to make this a traveling show—so I can connect with new folks, learn more, collaborate more.

Even bringing the work here, I wanted it to feel like it responded to the city. So I added a few new pieces that nodded to the Drake/Kendrick feud. And I hope to do the same when I bring it to places like New York or Chicago. The work should speak to where it’s shown.

I think it’s a really cool product: this evolving body of work, different mediums, different voices. All I need is four walls to show you something you’ve never seen before.

How closely does your workshop vision reflect your own art education?

ANDY: I’m self-taught. As a kid I’d stay up late watching Dragon Ball Z, then spend recess drawing what I saw. And I’m super against gatekeeping, especially in art, and in the business of art.

I started doing workshops at Ottawa U when a friend who teaches there invited me. It was surreal being in the same room I once sat in as a marketing student, barely paying attention. But it was an honour to go back and give back.

I want to create a space where folks can learn what I do without barriers. Because no one taught me. Digital gives you flexibility and scale. I want to show people that something they made in 2021 might still have use in 2025. That’s what I love about digital. You never know when something might come back around.

What’s been the biggest highlight of this run so far?

ANDY: I was there at the gallery on Thursday and Friday, and because there was a Kendrick concert around the corner, people just kept coming in. It was wild. They were in the city for the show, but they also wanted to just consume hip hop.

I had conversations with folks from the US, the UK, all over. They wanted to see how Toronto would react to a Kendrick show. And that’s hip hop for you. When The Combine asked me if I wanted to do a show in May or June, I picked June for a reason. I knew we could do something special here.