Bailer

Bailer – I’m from Melbourne Australia. I started messing around with graffiti in 1995 but it wasn’t until 1999 that I became a real writer, doing loops to tag insides on trains, trams and buses was a big part of the local scene back then so that is what everybody did. Racking paint and piecing the drains, then making my way to the train lines then eventually the trains themselves. I have travelled the world extensively and painted all over the place. Graffiti has got me in plenty of trouble and has also got me out of so much more. I find on the whole it has been a positive force in my life. I now have an art-gallery where I had a solo exhibition at the start of the year and I just released a self published book all about the Melbourne Graffiti scene titled Wall Stories that you can find on my website www.bailer.com.au The book has received crazy reviews and is selling like hotcakes, it is a quality product with 360 pages and over 125 artists telling wild tales accompanied by photos of their work.

I have been active for over 23 years with no breaks longer than a week or two. My life has been built around this art-form, that I try and push in new directions at times using different tools and techniques. My style is often informed by artists outside of graffiti; for many years H R Giger and George Hull were artists I studied and emulated within the lettering structure, it also gets subconsciously affected by who I paint with – as you tend to pick up each other’s tricks and nuances out of familiarity. I love to read, watch films, go to the gallery, go to nature and find inspiration outside of graffiti. stanislav szukalski, R Crumb, Dali, Francis Bacon-some of the artists who’s work intrigues me. Within graffiti these days I am drawn to those with an illustrative approach: Baer, Riot, Won abc. I like to see the mark making process- I don’t like the refined photoshop looking pieces many people are flexing – although I do love Bond tru love’s stuff and a few other artists doing this retro futurism- that looks like old heavy metal covers- that I can fuck with.
At the end of the day it’s the tag- a simple act of defiance and proof of existence that can be the most rewarding aspect of this global phenomenon.

Some of the artists that inspired me when I started and the artists who continue to: Voter, Renks, Trance, Giro, Great, Dmote, Phibs, Puzzle, Ocupy, Nasty, Reach, Higher, Denim, Jorz, Shem, Dribles, Dez, Inpak, Dorps, Dskyzer, Merda, Iree, Jumble, Rush, Dash, Tkid, Saber, Won abc, Revok, Riot, Baer, Seen, Sofles, Mist, Gunshot, Frame, Mesk and the thousands of other graff writers who’s dope styles have made me get off the train and go walking back down the tracks just to peep their work properly.