Interview courtesy Bizarre Beyond Belief from issue #7
From waking up until laying to rest, describe a day in the life of ASKEW…
Well, I never used to have a routine as such, just go with the flow and work around whatever was going on in my life. From time to time I get so busy it’s still like that but I am making a real concerted effort to have at least some routine. Right now I wake up between about 6-6.30am every day except maybe Sunday. I get up and try to do some sort of physical activity, it might be a half hour 5km run or it might be an hour walk- both scenarios usually include my dog Dora. I try and do something else after like some weights or pushups, sit-ups etc. Then I eat – most likely porridge (oatmeal) and fruit and definitely an espresso or two before I shower then start in my studio for the day. When I’m not doing some outdoor painting or the magazine I freelance for then I can work pretty much a solid 8 hours making paintings. I take a break to eat, walk the dog again and have a meal and sit down with my partner Livi around 5pm then about 7-ish I start editing or doing the post work on any video stuff I’m doing. I do this until I’m tired and losing focus – anywhere between 11pm and 2am and then I crash out. I used to be a total night owl but these days I’ve changed my focus a lot to these things listed during my working week. On Sunday I like to paint at least a couple of quick pieces just to keep sharp and in the game.
With the fact that you have achieved such a lengthy career as a graffiti artist, how have you seen the graffiti community change?
It’s like anything really, there needs to be a perpetual evolution for it to survive. I’ve seen a lot of change in graffiti – I’ve also seen a lot of resistance to change that’s often fuelled by the intense nostalgia that a lot of people have. Graffiti in it’s purest is a bit of a young persons game and so you can encounter people that feel like their relevance is slipping away. Everyone feels it to some extent I reckon but there’s those that are at peace with it and those that just fixate with the past and really resent change.
Also, how have you felt the aesthetics have changed?
I feel like graffiti is diversifying in every way. There’s much more room to specialize now rather than striving for one blanket aesthetic norm.
How big, if at all, has been the shift in public opinion of graffiti and street art since you began to practice?
It’s one of things that goes through waves. Some friends and I had a lengthy talk with Futura about it when he was out in NZ and he talked about when graffiti hit that initial spike of mainstream popularity back in the early ’80’s and then as quick as success materialized for him and so many of his peers it vanished over night. Futura is a pretty exceptional example of a person that learned from that and found a way to maintain and somehow be at the forefront of every significant pop cultural shift over the past few decades but I’m pretty sure a lot of people didn’t come back from that. Every few years the cycle kinda’ repeats, some new faces and some more familiar remain but it absolutely cyclic.
Considering graffiti is a relatively young phenomena, how far do you believe graffiti can evolve or has it already began to become stagnant?
I’d be lying if I denied there are attitudes and approaches to graffiti that I find really redundant. There’s a pretty big divide sometimes between the varying ethos and range of people and motivations in this. I think personally, once I just broadened my own perception of what I am as an artist beyond graffiti and felt comfortable to embrace being an ‘artist’ in general it became easier to look at certain aspects of graffiti more objectively. That’s not everyone’s desire, to be an artist – but I have always done this as a creative outlet first and foremost, before anything political thrill seeking or otherwise.
Furthermore, there are many graffiti artists that have gone from the street to the gallery, is it possible to maintain complete street credibility and achieve success in the gallery domain?
The writer in me will always respect people that put in genuine work outdoors before stepping inside under the pre tense of being a ‘graffiti’ or ‘street artist’. Only because it’s a kindred experience that we can mutually understand or something. There are always exceptions to every rule though and that’s the main thing I’ve had to learn is always keeping an open mind. Success in the gallery domain has a totally unrelated group of factors that have almost nothing to do with your reputation on the street.
Your crew is a highly respected and acclaimed group internationally, how do you believe they have aided in your achievements?
I’m part of a three crews and all three contained a host of inspiring people that I’m lucky to know as close friends. Being a part of a crew is two way thing, it’s an endorsement from your peers within those groups but it’s also a responsibility to represent and conduct yourself in a way that benefits and moves the group forward. I’d like to think I work as hard for my crews as I can to give thanks for the belief and support the others have given me.
Considering you’re from New Zealand, how do you feel this has helped or hindered your success?
Most likely a bit of both. I’m starting to realise both the frustrations and perspectives I have as a creative are things that have been central in New Zealand art since colonisation and nothing new. That makes it somewhat easier to accept that what I feel is not my own individual experience but regardless, it’s still stifling sometimes to be so removed from the epicentre of everything I’m involved in. You can feel like a lot passes you by. Also things are more expensive here like the materials I use, It’s super hard to sell art here and people resent you easily if you become too prolific. I’m at peace with it but deep down I’ve always know there will be a stint abroad at some stage in my life. Hopefully sooner than later.
Is there a particular reason you have decided to remain in New Zealand as opposed to moving to a larger city elsewhere?
The reasons are mainly financial if I’m to be totally honest. My partner and I work very hard but we just scrape by. It’s a double edged sword in so many respects because we need more security to make some moves but the security may not come without making the moves first if you get what I mean?
We understand that you struggled in finding an aesthetic for your fine art, what do you feel were the obstacles prior to achieving your current aesthetic?
I really wrestled with my mediums, spending a third of my life working with mediums that didn’t translate nicely into something that worked well in my studio work, I’ve really had to find the balances between the energy and attitude of what I do outdoors and grappling with the concepts I want to communicate in my fine art. I’ve been full circle, well almost. I really rejected spray paint at one stage and tried everything else I could get my hands on before coming back to spray paint to some extent. It’s usually there in all my paintings to some degree. I enjoy a few other mediums now and use them outdoors also – I try to have much more of a conversation between my graffiti, my large mural works and my canvases and illustrations. I’ve also extended to include my video work in this conversation too. I want everything to have some eventual harmony and consistency.
If your city was to experience a massive fire and only one of your walls were to remain as artifact, which one would you choose?
I really don’t know if I care. Isn’t that weird? There’s other possessions I’d care about saving more like my photo archive for example. If that happened I’d probably just be excited that there’d lots of new spaces to paint. Lot’s of burnt dilapidated buildings with character.
Your aesthetic is constantly evolving and your name is surging in notoriety, where does ASKEW see himself in ten, fifteen and twenty years?
I’d like to think that I’d have created enough stability in my personal, creative and financial situation to keep doing everything I’m doing now but in a much grander scale. My only concerns are to be happy, healthy and keep creating, that’s it!
We wants to thank Bizarre Beyond Belief as well as Askew for sharing another interview with us. Hope you enjoyed it. More to come!
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