Surabaya , the second-largest city in Indonesia and home to 17-year-old digital creationist , Bintang Araafi Muharram . Here , he lives a colourful life mired in the imaginative manipulations of Photoshop .
Like many artists , Muharram ’ s artistic pursuits were established early on through drawing and painting and , like many artists of his generation , it was only a matter of time before things took a technological turn . He began photo editing with the Android application Meld , learning multi-layer blending , mask brushing and general image manipulation techniques .
“ I always say , if you can ’ t make it good , at least make it look good !” laughed Muharram .
He then began watching YouTube tutorials on Photoshop and also found himself greatly inspired by the vast artwork galleries of DeviantArt , a major online community for artists and art enthusiasts . Muharram ’ s skills have since evolved , and now he manipulates images freely , inspired by his own life ’ s stories . His images tackle many of life ’ s themes : hope , loneliness , health , addiction , love , loss and dreams .
“ I hope when people view my pictures that , aside from enjoying them , they are also able to see the messages contained in my art ,” said Muharram , “ For me , the messages in my images are very important . Because it is only through this medium that I feel I can express the experiences of my life .”