D7606 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
“Through the Instagram community I have met many people and discovered so many cool places I want to visit. In fact, most people I know these days I have met through Instagram in one way or another. It’s a massive community of likeminded people and one that has certainly given me an opportunity to share my share my photography and my own artwork too. ”
What drives your selection of certain icons, such as the telephone booth, to be featured in your artwork? I'm absolutely fascinated by them.
I first chose Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor as they were two favourite icons of mine, the third, Rhianna was a request from a friend of mine. This set the theme really, Iconic people from the big screen and the world of music along with the occasional request. Music is a big part of my life so many have been musicians, Ian Curtis from Joy Division, Ian Brown from the Stone Roses and more recently Kurt Cobain and David Bowie. There have been a couple of exceptions, I even put lots of pink gerbils in a telephone box once.
Your artwork carries a distinctive, nostalgic touch. What is the underlying message or sentiment you aim to convey through it?
I often get ask that question then always struggle to give an answer. I’m not into deep meaningful messages in art, I like bright colours and things of beauty so when it comes to my own work it’s about creating a visual statement, a big or small splash of colour in my own pop art style.
What fuels your creative drive? Are there particular people, locations, or other elements that spark your inspiration? Could you share a bit about your creative journey and process?
Both people and places inspire me. It could be that I want to feature a person, be that a favourite musician or someone that means something to me in my life. Then people themselves inspire me, working with or watching other artists often makes me want to create art, try new things, improve what I do and where I do it. Places often are part of that creative process to, if I see a wall, door or window for example it can make me think that place needs some colour, brightening up or my work would look great there. When I plan to visit another country I will try to think about a theme. Last year when I visited New York, I featured Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen due to their NY connection plus and old favourite of mine Debbie Harry, sadly I didn’t get to paste her up at CBGBs although I found some spots close by in Manhattan.
Which artistic mediums do you usually prefer to utilize in your work? Are there any other mediums you're interested in exploring further?
Mostly I use good old paper and glue, paste ups/wheatpastes are my trade mark and the one I am most commutable with. I often say one day I will surprise everyone and reveal a wall I have spray painted, that may come one day really but my work suites the medium I currently use. Recently I have done some larger scale collage pieces, one in Manchester Northern Quarter and one at the City of Colours festival in Birmingham, I have really enjoyed doing these and this is certainly a direction I’d like to take my work.
You are not only an incredible artist but also a remarkable street art photographer. I am a daily visitor to your Instagram photography feed. Could you share how your passion for this started?
Well thank you. A lot of people who follow my Instagram feed are often unaware that I am a street artist as I spend a lot of my time and energy travelling and taking photographs of street art all around the world. I have always enjoyed photography and it was the discovery of the Instagram app just over 4 years ago that gave me a platform to share my passion of both photography and art. Through the Instagram community I have met many people and discovered so many cool places I want to visit. In fact, most people I know these days I have met through Instagram in one way or another. It’s a massive community of likeminded people and one that has certainly given me an opportunity to share my share my photography and my own artwork too.
Which artists do you draw inspiration from? Is there any specific artist whose work you find yourself capturing more often in your photography?
Many artists inspire me in one way or another. Those from the past who stand out are Andy Warhol, his pop art revolution has been so influential, art inspired from his work is everywhere, just walk into a supermarket or store and you see his influence. Artists who currently inspire me are my partner and artist C3, we work so well off each other and although her work differs from mine it pushes me to do more and try new things. I recently visited Portland, Oregon in the USA, they have such an amazing art community, they work so hard and with each other in producing some amazing art, these guys including Voxxromana, Skam and Arrex Skulls have given me such a boost this year and have certainly influenced me into creating more and better work.
One of things that work so well with me is collaborating, working together with another artist can really work. I have worked with City Kitty and Kafka Is Famous from New York over the past year and I hope you will agree our collaborations have been fun and have produced some great pieces.
As far as my photography is concerned, I try to capture as much as I can, although I will favour some artists work I like the most. I like the popular big mural pieces from the likes of Phlegm and Roa for example but at the other end of the scale love all those wheatpastes you find around all the back streets of most big cities… favourites of mine right now are Phoebe New York, Sacsix, C3, Villana Art, Silvio Alino, City Kitty, Enzo Sarto and Kafka Is Famous …and the list could go on as there is so much good original work out there right now.