About the Artist
Boy Drinks Ink is the brainchild of Vancouver-based writer, rapper, comedian, and comic strip artist Nik Dobrinsky. The title Boy Drinks Ink is an anagram of Nik Dobrinsky, representing an alternate dimension version of Nik and his creative vision. The animated figure of The Boy is a projection of the artist himself. And as BEAT NIK, he explores a HipHop persona through numerous videos and audio recordings on the website. While essentially a portfolio, Boy Drinks Ink is also a work of art in and of itself, reflecting various aspects of Nik's identity and creative interests.
Since the early 2000s, Nik has been involved in a number of Vancouver artist and political communities, performing his rap songs, slam-style poetry, and stand-up comedy at multiple venues around town. A graduate of the University of British Columbia's Creative Writing Program, Nik considers himself a writer foremost, but continually seeks different platforms through which to present his multifaceted creativity. Boy Drinks Ink provides a cross-sectional glimpse into some of the work that he's produced over the years.
Nik is equally interested in the grassroots, Do-It-Yourself aesthetics of underground art forms as in factors that contribute to mass pop culture art appeal. With a focus that tends towards science fiction/fantasy and HipHop, often framed in a political context, Nik identifies as a fan and critic as much as he does as an artist and writer. So while Boy Drinks Ink displays various aspects of Nik's own creative repertoire, it also features essays, reviews, and commentary on other works of art including literature, film, television, and music.
Boy Drinks Ink projects a multimedia, cross-genre universe wherein the worlds of reality, fantasy, and art converge.
Artist Statement:
"A lot of the time my mind inhabits a realm where dreams coincide with rhymes, where oppressed creatures struggle to express themselves in the darkness. I'm interested in exploring the interconnectivity between innerspace and outerspace, between popular cultures and subcultures, to find meaning in experiences of frequently overwhelming contradiction. And whether it be through music, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, movies, comic strips, stand-up comedy, or contemplating others' works, it always revolves around words."
- Nik Dobrinsky