Mert Keskin a.k.a. Haydi Roket is a multimedia artist who creates colorful, vibrant, and humorous computer GIF’s and still collages, filled with 8 -bit pop references from his childhood passion for playing early video game consoles. He started a Tumblr with his art and quickly became noticed through the Tumblr community, and now works for Tumblr as one of their GIF editors. He worked in the 1990′s as a demoscene artist, and has since done visual work for the 2012 MTV VMA awards and has collaborated with Vans on their Action Gallery. Haydi is also an electronic musician who plays under the name Midiroket.
Interview by Emma Kathan. All artwork by Haydi Roket.
What was your favorite video game growing up?
Wizard of Wor.
What is your zodiac sign?
Cancer.
Where were you born?
Born and raised in Istanbul City.
What inspires you about the city you live in?
The history and the sea.
Do you also design games?
Yes, I also do web design.
What kind of software do you use to create your art?
Adobe’s.
Do you actually still own and use any old systems like Amiga, Intellivision, Colecovision, Atari, etc., for your artwork?
Yes, I’ve got a c64,A 500, Atari 800, Game Boy, Betamax.
Do you usually start your artwork with a certain vision in mind, or do you usually experiment until you get the desired result?
Sometimes, I start with a certain idea but usually I don’t. It’s usually just totally random until I’m done with it.
Who are some of your favorite artists?
Max Capacity, V5mt, dvdp, Scotty2hotty69, Mr.GIF, televandalist, valentinsalja.