Pop Magazine caught up with London based artist Word To Mother, while the artist was in the midst of Italy’s FAME festival.

POP: Tell me about the new work you are making.
WTM: As well as working on some large letter pieces out here in Italy, I am producing a print with Angelo and Studio Cromie and an installation for the final FAME show in September. When I get back to London I’ll be getting back to producing work for my upcoming London Solo show at StolenSpace in October. It will feature pieces painted on salvaged wood and metal which is something I have been doing for a while now. The whole idea of the show is going to be based around the idea of the lies and deceit that is thrown at us every day behind the veil of popular culture.

You can read the full interview over on the Pop site.

Images: Viktor Vauthier

Graffiti; is it vandalism or art? It’s a question that’s perplexed many for decades.

The public are now beginning to embrace graffiti artists and their work, yet the authorities still consider them to be as much of a menace as mindless taggers who are simply looking for a way to relieve boredom. Consequently many legitimate and talented artists are having to work with caution and paint ‘legal walls’ for fear of costly repercussions. However, just this week an artist was questioned by police for painting on a wall legally, with permission from the owner of the building.

Is it possible to remove the negative stereotypes surrounding graffiti? I had a chat with artist SER, founder of Graffiti Kings, a collective waging a war against the intolerant and narrow minded, with a determination to promote graffiti as something positive.

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I’ll be honest, I have never been the biggest fan of manga inspired art, yet it was such a piece on Curtain Road in East London which introduced me to the work of Inkfetish. The vibrancy and fine detail simply pulled me in, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

For seven years streets around the world have been adorned with the unapologetically bold colours, strong themes and technical precision of his artwork. It is this distinctiveness that has led to projects with Nike, Manga and MTV amongst many others, and which has placed his name firmly on the radar of the art savvy.

Yet, as always seems to be the case with great talent, he has also received his fair share of negative attention. Every artist expects a certain amount of negativity surrounding their work, (I’ve been told more than once that it’s ‘just another part of the job’), but it’s certainly something which he seems to take in good humour (he recently re tweeted a negative comment made about him on his Twitter profile); but like it or loathe it, it’s hard to ignore Inkfetish’s work

I had a brief chat with him before his upcoming live paint at the Whitecross Street Party this weekend.

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We’re all used to hearing from artists publicising their upcoming shows, but what happens afterwards? Do they feel remorse or elation? Was all the stress really worth it?

Artistic duo Static recently held their first solo show at Art Republic’s Soho Gallery where they adorned the walls with brand new work. The top floor, decorated with screen-printed wallpaper and pieces of used wood, featured their ‘Fight For The Right’ series. Here they questioned our perception of society and the daily hypocrisy we find ourselves surrounded by on a day to day basis, with photographic images altered to provide a comedic effect.

The ground floor, home to their ‘Luxury Vandals’ collection, was in stark contrast; sleek, glossy and decadent with gold alcoves and black walls. Focusing on the exploration of commercialisation and street art’s desirability, the artwork featured images of Drew Barrymore and Kate Moss, their infamous Chinook Chandelier™, leather cased aerosol cans and hand painted glass caskets.

I had a chat with Static about their experience, negativity and the future:

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He’s been described as ‘one of the UK’s best young artists’ by Sir Alan Sugar, has exhibited alongside Banksy, Peter Blake and Damien Hirst, and is revered by artists, celebrities and the art savvy alike; he is Dan Baldwin, artiste du jour, and current resident of London’s Signal Gallery.

Multi-talented Baldwin’s new exhibition ‘A New Life’ is a celebration of recent and important changes in his life. Renewed and revived by a recent move to the country and buoyed by fatherhood, these new paintings are more colourful, playful and stripped back than his usual work, but the dark and disturbing undertones he has become known for still lurk beneath the surface.

The multi-dimensional effect in his work remains, with crucifixes, razorblades and foreign currency adorning the work. This extra element and his use of juxtapositions, life and death, happiness and melancholy, innocence and corruption, create aesthetically beautiful and provocative pieces which are highly coveted and admired.

Here’s a teaser:

DazedDigital: Is street art kind of dead now that it’s been so heavily appropriated by the art market?
Mike Ballard: I’m sure there’s a lot of people who made money from the street art bubble that peaked a few years ago. It’s hard to be knocked out by graffitti art now because there’s so much out there and the graffiti bracket is so limiting, but there are still loads of great people coming through. I think I’ve really moved beyong the street art tag now.

Catch the full interview with Mike Ballard (CEPT) on Dazed Digital.

…and if you want a few tunes to accompany the interview, Dazed Digital teamed up with dubstep dapper Zomby at the beginning of this year for a ‘back to ’92′ mixtape.

We’re big fans of Poster Boy here at UKSA, and although he’s not technically from the UK scene, we’d like to make an exception and introduce you all to this sterling talent!

Clever, Creative and seriously cool, Poster Boy is the masked crusader waging war on advertising billboards across NYC will only a razor blade as his weapon of choice. Interview by Helen Soteriou. All photos from Poster Boy’s Flickr, which you can check out here

Who is the guy behind the mask? Can you tell me about yourself and your background?

No ones behind the mask. There’s only the mask.

Do many people know your real identity? Do you parents know?

Only the people who need to know, including mummy and pop-pop.

How did Poster Boy come about? Why did you start cutting-up posters and did you ever think it would turn into the phenomenon it is?

I’m constantly torn between wanting to be an activist and an artist. I’m not the greatest artist nor am I the greatest activist, but I’m a pretty good Poster Boy and that requires being little of both.

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“One of the most inappropriate nicknames of all time, at least in my opinion, belonged to Ronald Reagan: “The Great Communicator,” who we’ve come to learn did a pretty shitty job of communicating the government’s problems and indiscretions. A nickname like that deserves a more righteous, honest owner—someone like BANKSY.”

Read the full interview over at Swindle

Another sterling interview from Helen Soteriou, this time one of our favourites, Copyright. Thanks Helen!

Can you tell me about your background?

I’ve been painting with spray paint for the last 10 years but I’ve been into art my whole life. I got the name Copyright and started painting roses about the same time, 5 years ago in 2004.

You have a unique style. I call you the romantic graffiti artist because you spray pink roses everywhere. How did this come about?

Yeah, on the streets I mostly do the roses. I’ve done loads of ‘em now. I try to put them on the Sh*ttiest walls or down dark alleyways. The first one I ever did is still probably my fave, it was painted coming out of a hackney council rubbish bin that was overflowing. I try to brighten up places with ‘em, it’s just a small touch that can make a big difference.

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Helen Soteriou interviews the hugely successful urban sculptor Nick Georgiou about his background and the strange creatures he makes out of the stitched folds of thousands of discarded newspapers.

Can you tell me about yourself?

I was born in Queens, NY in 1980, the youngest of six children, six years after the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus. The occupation set in motion a series of events that would have a profound impact on my life. I spent my childhood surrounded by relatives who were prisoners of war. My father was born in Neo Xopio, Cyprus, which is currently occupied by Turkish troops, and on my mother’s side, she was born in Brooklyn but her family originated from Smyrna, later escaping the fires of 1922.

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