Meet Xavier Lalanne-Tauzia

Raised in Hong Kong Xavier now works in NYC as an illustrator. Their style can easily pivot between whimsical and more serious subjects. No matter the venue the artist always holds on to their signature line work, composition, and character development techniques. Get to know this terrific artist as we talk about, their work, fish, and movie soundtracks.

A self-portrait by, Xavier Lalanne-Tauzia

Would You Rather

smell like mothballs, or sound like Gilbert Godfried?

Gilbert!! I first heard his voice on Hollywood squares when I was a kid and it stuck with me to this day. Also, he's on tiktok now and it's very wholesome.

Some questions with Xavier Lalanne-Tauzia

You were born and raised in Hong Kong and now you live in New York. Has living in such large metropolitan areas encouraged you to focus on the small, eclectic details that so much of your work includes?

Yeah I think that would be the case. Every place has its own visual vocabulary. Different street signs, trash, storefronts, logos…it goes on! Drawing those details together is a way for me to kind of scrapbook a memory or place. So when I don’t know what to draw I go for a walk, take some pictures and then maybe those will go into an illustration.

Who was a significantly influential family member growing up?

Tante Simone! (Aunt Simone) I would see her in France most summers growing up. Simone was a really eccentric woman who wore thick tinted glasses and smoked cigarettes with a holder (she said it was triple filtered so smoking was okay). She really encouraged me to draw and since we didn't have much to do in the countryside, I'd just keep making stuff over the years and started getting into illustration. There's so much to be said about her that I can't even get started, Simone was definitely the most interesting person in my family.

You’ve done a lot of work for VICE which is a company known for exploring topics out of the norm. Has producing work for such a company pushed you out of your illustrative comfort zone? Is there such a thing for you?

Yeah definitely, I’ve gotten the chance to work on a range of topics thanks to VICE. Sometimes it’s really silly and other times it’s pretty serious. The latter definitely requires some finer thinking.

You’ve integrated animation into some of your illustrations. How does this added dimension change your process? Have you thought about delving into longer-form animation?

Most of the work that’s been animated has been made with animators. So I’ve definitely learnt how to work collaboratively and how to respectfully/tidily hand over working files for animation. I’m still learning how to animate and have managed to do some basic stuff for some projects but nothing too fancy yet! Doing something long form like a cartoon would be a dream for sure.

Are you good at remembering new people’s names?

Kinda. I’m good with faces

What is objectively the coolest kind of fish?

Pufferfish (｀ ◕‸◕´+)

What movie has your favorite soundtrack?

I definitely listen to the Superfly soundtrack the most…but I haven’t seen the movie. For movies I have seen though, I really enjoyed oneohtrix point never’s soundtrack for Good Time and Uncut Gems.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Doooooooot dooooooooooooot vote baby!

Xavier Lalanne-Tauzia