H.R. Giger (Born in February, 1940) was born in the city of Chur in Switzerland. His father was the local pharmacist, so he grew up in a rather middle class, normal family environment. When he was quite young a pharmaceutical firm awarded his father with a human skull as a professional promotion, and the young Giger was taken awestruck. He fast developed an attraction to all things strange and dark, and later found inspiration from magazine photos and postcards featuring the works of Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali. His mother Melli, though she did not always understand the strange enthrallments of her young son, was a great encouragement to him. When he was slightly above 10 years of age, Giger would invite his friends in the neighborhood to come and watch his presentations portraying the dark fantastic including the "Ghost Train" rides, and others.
After high school, he went on to study industrial design and architecture at Zurich's School of Applied Arts. Here he began drawing creatively, and also met and soon expanded his network of fans and friends to include those studying or involved in various aspects of the arts. After graduation, in 1966, he began to work as an interior designer, and completed some early paintings at the same time. Two years later, the artist began working exclusively as filmmaker as well as an artist. In 1969 he had his first posters published and also had some of his first exhibitions at locations outside of Zurich. He began using the airbrush in the next decade, and his works took on a unique otherworldly quality. He grew to be one of the leading airbrush artists in the world.
