I-LIB is the acronym (I Lurk in Bushes) artist Iggy Arnold goes by, exhibiting his anthropomorphic creatures in a solo show entitled As Teardrops Fall at Stella Dore. Emerging from a street art background, I-LIB now uses ink and graphite on old, distressed paper, as well as experimenting with script and art deco influences. We scratched the surface to see what lurks beneath.

Dazed Digital: Your creations all seem very otherworldly – do you dream vividly?
I-LIB: Very. The most fertile region seems to be the borderland between sleep and full awakening, where the matrices of disciplined thought are already operating, but have not yet sufficiently hardened to obstruct the dreamlike fluidity of the imagination – those states of limbo combined with music, people, love, hate and nightmares spark off captivating ideas along with really nice sentences of words, all making up my pathway to inspiration.

DD:What's the worst nightmare you've ever had?
I-LIB: The one of losing my true love.

DD:When did you start drawing, and how did you end up using the mediums you work with now?
I-LIB: I've drawn all my life, ever since I could hold a pencil – how I work now just evolved through graffiti to begin with, then through experimenting and trying different things.

DD: Who would you get to paint your portrait?
I-LIB: Alex Thornthon from Stolen Space gallery. He's a very dear friend of mine and I love his work. He's actually doing a portrait as we speak!

DD: Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I-LIB: I'm not sure my style would work with a lot of my favourite artists, but I'm just about to do some work with Alex Thornton so that should be sweet.

DD:Having your own solo show seems a million miles from lurking in bushes – have you changed? Has your work changed?
I-LIB: Yes, I have changed as an artist and person; it all just gets better and better.

As Teardrops Fall opens at the Stella Dore Gallery on 8th May.