friends of pansy : hello it’s bobo!
Friends of Pansy is series of short conversations and interviews with people who are closely involved with the day to day of pansy. I hope it’s a nice chance for you to get to know pansy more, but also the people who help, support, and cheer me on this adventure!
For this first edition, it was obvious to choose my nearest, dearest, sweetest, hairiest and kindest Bobo, my boyfriend of almost 5 years! Enjoy!
Hi Bobo, I think a lot of people might have seen you on pansy’s insta and already know who you are! But can you tell us a bit about yourself, or something we might not know about you?
Something people might not know about me is that I am a fantasy illustrator, most of my days are spent drawing super dorky stuff like goblins, swords and mushrooms. Generally I am a pretty relaxed and patient person I think, though I get anxious pretty easily.
Bobo and my mate Anthony in their classic all-black uniform taping up the shop window sills (April 2020)
Bobo looking cheerful as always
Another all-black ensemble with cool gal Melly (May 2021)
What’s your involvement in pansy and what kind of things do you do when you’re here?
I think I end up visiting Pansy most days, my studio is nearby so I will often pass by on my way in if you’ve gone in before me (I tend to sleep in a bit longer). My role at Pansy consists of odd jobs like lifting things, reaching things, cleaning things, moral support and the occasional shop-keeping duty.
Bobo helped me paint the studio carpet on the floor! We celebrated with cocktails from our neighbours Virtu
One of Bobo’s favourite foods is kapsalon! He makes a mean home-made vegan version too, ask him about it next time you see him!
What’s a day in the life of Bobo look like?
This is usually what a day for me looks like:
- Wake up: I wake up a little late, somewhere around 10am, I like to stay up drawing until around 1 or 2am so I try to still get a good 7-8 hours of sleep.
- Get up: Shower, get dressed in the same black pants and tshirt as every other day. I can usually find something that you’ve left out for me to ride to Pansy for you
- Probably Pansy: Even if I don’t have anything to drop off, I will try to drop by Pansy to say hi, you usually get sad that I then immediately leave but it’s still nice to see you.
- Get to the studio: Ride to my studio which is nearby Pansy. I will usually call by the supermarket to get a croissant and something for lunch.
- Coffee and faff: Make a coffee and check my emails, browse reddit a bit for news and put some music on.
- Start work: I set up a project to work on, usually drawing something. I like spending time in a discord voice chat with some other illustrators/writers while I work.
- Work work work: Work until about 6 or 7, I like to sometimes play a game with a friend online or on switch at home. Lately i’ve been playing one where you have to investigate ghosts in a haunted house.
- Home time: My average home-time is 9pm probably, we have dinner and sit on the couch together, maybe watch something together for a bit.
- Late night drawing: After chilling a bit, we will either both do some more work for a few hours OR you’ll be pooped and go to bed and i’ll have some solo drawing time until about 2am while watching a show(I’m just about finished watching through Scrubs).
- Sleep! I shower and go find you snoring and laying the wrong way across the bed with a podcast playing loudly. I try to swap your podcast for my own without you noticing and find a space to lay down and sleep.
Bobo on his morning pansy pitstop (sometimes I buy us a small breakfast or coffee to lure him in!)
Bobo in the comfort of his studio in the plantage buurt, Amsterdam
Bobo enjoying his favourite weather (cold and miserable with a tiny bit of sunshine)
We met almost 6 years ago, do you want to share the story? What were your first impressions?
Well... we were sitting on the same bench in a bar, you smiled and said hi. I thought it was pretty cool that you were an artist (and really cute). We ended up connecting online later and things just kept getting better from there! I still think you’re pretty cool too.
What would you like people to know about you that you don’t share through social media?
I don’t think people realise how much we work. We love it so i’m not complaining, just that I don’t think any amount of stories and time lapses will truly show how much time and work especially you put in each day.
When I asked you to move to the Netherlands, what were your feelings and thoughts about moving to a new country you had never visited before?
On a very basic level, my thought was that I just want to be where you are. I definitely wouldn’t have pushed myself to move alone but i’m really glad that we did, even if it still causes me a lot of stress! As far as the actual move goes, I definitely wasn’t prepared for the intensity and stress of finding a place to live here. We had such an easy time in Australia, we both had stable jobs and the housing market was just easier there. Two freelance artists trying to find a place in Amsterdam is up there in the worst experiences of my life, I have short moments of fear thinking about being in that position again at some point. We were in a very ideal and privileged position and it was that bad for us, I can’t imagine what some people in less ideal positions must go through.
What are you currently working on right now?
I’m currently in the early planning stages of a new book, it’s going to be full of very detailed illustrations of fantastical locations. Think Lord of the Rings meets Where’s-Wally.
What’s it like being my boyfriend? Be nice!
It’s a voluntary position so I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love it! You’re a strange combination of powerful, independent, capable and tragically hopeless… Which somehow means we work really well together. It makes me happy to be able to look after you when you need it, but then your dedication to your work means I also have a lot of alone time which I like too.
during our four month residency in Lapua, Finland
We took this in a photobooth at Alsmeer (flower wholesaler in NL)
Ready to pick mushrooms! Lapua, Finland
Always cheering on our wins (when I found out I got the space for pansy!)
A lot of people ask if we ever collaborate on projects and usually the answer is an astounding ‘no’, but maybe not for the reasons that you might think! Do you want to elaborate a bit more about this?
I’ve pushed for a Lina Bobo collab a few times over the years, I guess we just have quite different practises and have struggled to find a nice way for our creativity to come together in a way that meets in the middle. We tend to work well together when assisting the other with their project, but not as equal collaborators. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
Something that I feel that’s special about our relationship is that you’ve really seen me grow (we met each other when I was 23 - so we’ve dated for almost 5 years now!) but you’ve seen me struggle with exhibition projects, develop my own practice outside and inside of Beau Est Mien, and grow up (like moving into our apartment together, sharing a studio, doing residencies) - can you tell me more about your feelings about this?
This is a hard one! It’s been wonderful getting to see you realise what you’re capable of. I think especially with Pansy over this last year and a half, it seems like you’ve realised that your ideas work and you’re capable of doing the big things that will bring your dreams to life.
For people who don’t get to visit pansy or be here in person, how would you describe it?
There’s a lot more to Pansy than just being a shop, there’s life in that little space almost every day of the week, stuff being made, events planned, funny stories being shared.
How would you describe me as a person (outside of pansy and outside of my work) and how would you describe our relationship?
I would say that… you’re an extremely passionate person and that passion manifests in both directions. Sometimes you’re dancing a happy jig for no reason in the lounge room, other times you’re having a sook laying face down on the kitchen floor for also no reason in particular.
Our relationship could be described as happily asymmetrical? We definitely don’t split anything equally as far as what we contribute to the relationship but it feels like it all fits together in a nice healthy balanced package by the end.
Bobo carrying dozens of kilos of glitter from our favourite craft store in LA
If Bobo was in a boy band with our mates Desmo, Gok-Lim and Johnny (and my pink car)
Bobo loves eating baked beans and breakfast for dinner……..
What do you care most about the world?
It’s hard to answer this without immediately branching off into an infinite sprawl of ‘its this, because this and this… But in a very simple view, I care most about you and I being good people who are happy.
You of all people have been the most supportive and encouraging of me, I want to thank you for being such a huge part of this journey and being my biggest cheerleader through this, I love you Bobo!
I love you too.
You can find more of Bobo’s work here: