A/S/L?
36/M/Austria

Favorite gas station snack food:
Leberkässemmerl (there's no translation nor description for this abysmal food).

Hidden talent:
Dolphin sound impersonator.

What’s the last thing you spent money on?
Milk.

Weirdest thing in your fridge:
I try to avoid weird stuff in my fridge. Is milk weird enough?

Dream person or company to collaborate with?
That's a tough question. There are too many great artists I like and I would love to work with. But I'm lucky to be part of the ‘Isolation Camp’ movement. It's a regular gathering of artists from different genres in some remote hut in the Austrian alps. And one of the goals is to collaborate with other people instead of just work on your own.

What’s your approach to color?
Working with screen printing has definitely influenced my use of color. As I print nearly everything by myself I try to use as few colors as possible. To save me some work … But also because I like the flashy result.

How did you get into making gig posters?
I didn't really know about gig posters until me and some friends read the rock poster bible ‘The Art Of Modern Rock.’ Like my friends, I was already into screen printing and so we started a collective called Atzgerei. In 2007, I did my very first gig poster for The Melvins.

What made you start posting on Instagram and how do you feel about it?
Actually, it wasn't my idea. A couple of years ago, a friend just set up an account for me on his phone. I didn't have a smartphone yet and it took me more than a year to get one of those fancy devices. But now I'm pretty happy that I was forced into that. (Thanks Ahmed!)

Being that it’s 2017, there are countless ways to publish your art, whether on a wall, in a zine, on a poster, on a t-shirt, etc. Do you have a favorite?
As I'm a big comic fan, books are my favorite medium. They are a lot of work, but you just have more possibilities to tell your story than with a single illustration. But I do love screen printed posters.

Shameless plug:
I just launched my first crowdfunding campaign for my new cartoon book ‘Pizzeria Disgusto.’ It's 80 pages full of illustrated puns and wordplays about pizza, pasta and other Italian delicacies.
Web: MichaelHacker.at
IG: @michaelhackerillustration

[All photos courtesy of Michael Hacker]