In August 2011, the Very Nearly Almost crew ventured out to Paris to meet French street artist, Invader. You can read the full interview in VNA16

Itdrewitself are back with a video interview, and this time they take a candid look behind the scenes at the prolific Very Nearly Almost. VNA are the goto choice for documented street art in the UK and abroad. This video takes a short look at the guys behind the ace mag.

Produced by itdrewitself
Original sound track by Matthew Giraudeau

Addict Clothing caught up with the legend that is Duster recently and put together this 7 min video interview which they have kindly sent over.

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.

Who are the Graffiti Kings and how many artists are involved?
The Graffiti Kings are a collective of the best artists from across the UK, and there are over 30 artists involved.

Tell us a bit about Graffiti Kings do
Our whole aim has been to turn our passion into our career and along the way promote graffiti as a positive art form. Every time we are out representing the Kings we endeavour to smash the stereotypes some associate with graffiti.

How and when did you get together?
I started the Kings as a movement 11 years ago and it became an organised business in 2007. Over the past 20 years I have painted with some of the very best so I initially formed the team from the talent pool I already knew. Soon after word got out about what we were doing artists started coming out of the woodwork and contacting us to be involved. It’s one of the things I love about my job, the constant exposure to new talent. Just when you think you’ve seen it all someone comes around and blows you away. Most of our guys are also involved in other disciplines too; we have fine artists, sculptors, tattooists and graphic designers as well as street artists in the team.

Can you tell us what you’ve been working on recently?
To be honest all our current projects are top-secret.

As a collective, what has been your professional highlight so far?
Making it this far is everything to us. Every time we get paid to do what we love we thank our lucky stars.

Street art and graffiti, is there a difference?
I guess straight up spray-paint onto wall is considered graff and the more fruity stuff is street art, but the lines are so blurred nowadays and we use techniques traditionally associated with both. I believe that whatever makes you stronger as an artist should be embraced.

How do you feel the public’s opinion towards graffiti has changed over the years?
Since a chap called ‘Banksy’ the idea of a graffiti artist being considered an artist in their own right has become more accepted. There is more acceptance now than even as little as 10 years ago. There is still ignorance and government brainwashing that presents anyone with a spray can as a dangerous thug, but every time we paint before the public we turn those ideas on their head.

Which country is home to the best graffiti work?
I love English graffiti. There is always something happening, especially within the London scene that keeps it evolving and fresh, and there have never, ever been any rules. I respect the world scene, specifically LA, New York and Europe but the UK is my home.

If we were looking for the best showcase of graffiti in London, where would we look?
Nothing lasts forever. Some of the legal walls in London look amazing for 10 minutes but then are gone. You just need to keep your eyes open and explore the city.

Which artists should we be looking out for at the moment?
The Graffiti Kings ha ha!

Any advice to those starting out?
Keep drawing. All the time. The sketch is your foundation, if it looks bad on paper it’s not going to look good on the wall. Oh, and wear a mask.

What does the future have in store?
Robots I reckon.

If there’s one message you’d like to portray with your work, what would it be?
Shake it, spray it, love it.

Want to see the Graffiti Kings in action? Then head down to the Croydon Festival this Saturday.

www.graffitikings.co.uk

Words by Rebecca Laing

www.zeitgeistmagazine.co.uk

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.

Where did the name Inkfetish come from?
The name was spawned after a long period of time spent working on pen and ink comic books; this was before my passion for painting surfaced. It was almost meant to be a brand name for my work but transformed over the years into more of a second identity.

How would you describe your style?
I think at this point in time, it’s a mutant hybrid of a few of my visual interests; Japanese culture, pop iconography and animation, American subcultures, comics and horror movies.

Who or what influences you?
I never really know how to answer this as I’m sure a lot of it is subconscious. Comics, animation, subculture, pop culture and movies all play their part.

What made you first pick up a spray can?
I think at first it was just the deviant in me wanting to express myself outside of the realms of what’s considered art in the view of the establishment; that and a growing fascination with graffiti and interacting with the city itself. Throw in a misunderstood, slightly lost young man and you have the recipe for a budding graffiti artist.

Can you remember the first piece of work you produced on the street?
If simply tagging counts, I did a bunch of that before I started taking more conceptual street/ legal work more seriously. One of the first ‘pieces’ I did was of Pinocchio on a shop shutter to advertise a self-published comic I released.

We quite often see 40HK accompanying your work, what does this stand for?
40HK (Forty Hit Kombo) is the name of the graffiti crew I’m part of alongside Balrog, Jasik, Motel, Toe and Gfunk. It’s been going for just over a year and is a really interesting mix of people with totally different artistic backgrounds, from painting trains, to Illustrating, to showing fine art in galleries. We’re friends as well as painting partners which I feel is important.

You’re current work involves a lot of Disney inspired characters, what’s all that about?
It’s a nudge to my first comic ‘No Strings’, a dark take on Pinocchio which really kicked off my interest in subverting classic Disney characters. It’s not the most original thing to do but feel like it suits the universe in which my work resides.

How long does a piece usually take?
Street pieces, I’d say anywhere between four and ten hours depending on scale and detail. I can work on canvases forever (and probably walls too given half the chance).

How do you feel graffiti/street art from the UK compares to that of other countries?
It’s difficult to answer as it’s all extremely subjective. The UK graffiti scene is quite an insular one and at times works against itself for that reason. I personally think places like Spain, France and Copenhagen are all ahead of us in terms of evolution of the art form.

Where, in your opinion, can you find the best street work?
It’s become a bit of a cliché but most stuff seems to go up around East London.

Where would be your ideal location?
Venice beach stands out as somewhere I’d like to paint again, or anywhere in Barcelona.

What do you prefer, painting or illustrating?
They’re all pretty much one and the same thing to me. When I’ve done a lot of wall stuff, a canvas is a nice change and vice-versa. I’m not really feeling illustrating too much as so much of it on a professional level entails sitting in front of a computer, and that’s something I’ve really tried to scale back on.

Do you feel you have to separate working identities?
I’ll sign most of my wall work with Inkfetish. With canvases, I’ll generally use my real name as I don’t like the idea of relying on a moniker with the galleries. I’ve been painting a few letter pieces recently using the name Otaku (Japanese phrase for obsessive fan). I feel I need these names to umbrella different ideas and motives. I’m not sure if this will always be the case.

What’s next?
I have a few ideas…we’ll see.

You can buy artwork and keep up to date with Inkfetish at www.inkfetish.co.uk

Words by Rebecca Laing
www.zeitgeistmagazine.co.uk

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:

How did you find the experience of your first solo show?
We had a lot of fun working towards this show and working with Art Republic in their London space. The response on the opening night and throughout the three weeks was entirely positive and it was a shame to have to wrap it up at the end.

Is there anything you would have done differently?
Well we were allowed total free reign with the gallery space, decorating it from top to bottom with paint, wallpaper, stencils and false walls. Even though it was a lot of hard work leading up to the opening night, we wouldn’t have changed anything about it; there was never a moment where we had to compromise our ideas or vision.

What have you learnt?
It’s important to work with people who are 100% committed to promoting new ideas and ways of doing things. It’s also important to read and carefully follow the instructions when mixing large quantities of wallpaper paste so that you get an even consistency… it also helps if you’ve not been on the beers and if you’ve got some good friends who don’t mind giving up some of their time to help with the painting and decorating.

How do you feel about and deal with negative comments regarding your work?
There’s always going to be some people who won’t get ‘it’ for whatever reason, so will try to discredit your ideas and work. It can be disheartening, especially when you feel like you’ve worked really hard producing something that is totally unique, but this is always counterbalanced by the fact that there are always a lot more people who are extremely enthusiastic about what we do. The great part about this show was that we got to meet a lot of them personally and talk to them about our ideas, where we were coming from and where we want to go next.

Do you think the current economic climate has had any effect on the sales of your work?
We’re not financial forecasters by any means, but it’s probably safe to say that no one has been unaffected by the ‘current economic climate.’ All we can do is continue to work on what we love doing and hopefully find an audience that connects with it and allows us to continue with it for as long as possible.

Currently you only have prints of Grown Up Games available, do you have plans to release any more prints of the work featured in the show?
The next print we’ve been working on is actually based on the ‘Luxury Vandals Crew’ piece with Kate Moss in it, which will be released late August to coincide with our visit to Japan where we’ll be showing some work at Gallery Kawamatsu in Tokyo. We’re also thinking about doing another print from the ‘Fight for the Right’ series, which will be released later in the year.

What are your plans for the future?
Well the Japan show is top of our priorities at the moment. We’re also working on several commissions following the end of the show, and there are a couple of other things happening later in the year that we’re keeping on the down low until nearer the time.

Keep up to date with Static by visiting their website www.welikestatic.com, where you can sign up for their newsletter and purchase artwork.

Rebecca Laing
www.zeitgeistmagazine.co.uk

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.

Rebecca Laing spoke to Dan about his creative process, inspirations and the effect of the recession. You can read the full interview after the jump…

Tell us about your new show
A New Life is my newest collection of work. I hadn’t painted for 3 months after a really productive vase period, and found the first two pieces a real struggle; it was almost like I was coming to the end of working in a certain way so they were quite dark, but then something clicked on the third and fourth piece and I felt so free again. I’ve always been free in the sense that my style is organic and it can go in any direction, but I was enjoying colour, form and shape, and instead of having a large focal point or making a scene, I pulled it back and kept it really light and delicate. It’s harder to be subtle rather than heavy. My paintings have begun to metamorphasise as my life changes, and I love the new work.

What made you become an artist?
I was always a really creative child and initially thought about becoming a carpenter as I loved creating things. My mum suggested I should take evening classes in plumbing when I was 16 so I did a youth training scheme plumbing apprenticeship for 9 months, working on church roofs guttering and doing lead work and mending toilets, earning just £28 a week! When I turned 17 I thought ‘fuck this’ and went back to my old school where my art teacher sat me down to discuss my future and arranged an interview for me at Eastbourne College of Art and Technology (ECAT). Being accepted opened up a whole new world for me; I discovered Peter Blake and Hockney and spent all my time creating art. I knew art was my future, but i trained in illustration and communication media, and I’m glad I did, as it taught me how to be disciplined in the real world. I went full time in 2006, but it’s been quite a journey.

Do you think your work fits into any particular art bracket/genre?
I think people find it hard to place me. I’m not Urban but there are elements of politics in my work; I’m not Street but I can comfortably hang next to a D*Face. I painted a wall last week, but then in the last year I’ve exhibited at The Royal Academy twice, Basel, and at other established art fairs including London Art Fair, Scope, and Pulse, so my work crosses over into all areas. Maybe that’s why I’m like the Marmite of the art scene, hated or loved, people can’t place me.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I love colour and collecting things from flea markets, so I often get inspiration from seeing something like a bullet or war medal. I don’t plan my work, I start with colour. I saw the Bacon retrospective when the recession hit and my work went really dark with semi-circular bases and dark figures; that was a direct influence from Bacon I think, and Twombly too.

Who or what influences you?
Artists I admire are Bacon, Hirst, Blake, Hockney, Rauschenberg, Cornell, Twombly, Fiona Rae and Basquiat. I also respect Shepard Fairey and love his work. I collect art too and own work by Paul insect, Gilbert and George, Antony Micallef, and Jamie Reid. Moving to the country really affected my work, having a house with a garden and listening to the birds when i paint, watering the garden, that all came into the work in 2008. Now, being a father, I find my work is becoming more delicate.

Tell us about your creative process when you begin a new work
I start by painting a base colour then I’ll squirt another colour from a bottle over it, drag a third colour through while the canvas is still wet, and then freestyle spray and add dribbles. I’ll then spend a few hours layering and freestyling shapes until the base is really juicy. When dry I’ll then bring in the first element, which may be from a vintage book of children’s illustrations, so I’ll copy something like a little rabbit by hand, and then counterbalance with a silhouetted plant or leaf, or add a rose, a child, a lamb a bug or something like that; then the story begins. In the past I’ve screen-printed images like skulls or tanks onto the canvas, and layered things like dollars or medals. I pick at the colour with small details, and might bring in some gold or silver leaf. It’s part abstract, but becomes a story or puzzle which is built up in layers until it’s right.

You also create a lot of work away from the canvas, but what is your preferred medium to work with?
Painting on canvas is the best but creating vases is fun. I don’t do sculpture much now, and it was more like playing with stuffed birds and making weird shit with taxidermy.

Where is your favourite place to exhibit and what would be your ideal exhibition venue?

I’ve been lucky enough to show at The Royal Academy twice, and I had a nice show in the newly refurbished Storey Gallery in Lancaster last year. I’m excited by showing in Tokyo, Sydney, Denver and Paris in the next 12 months, but I’d still like a solo show in NYC, that’s always been a real ambition.

How did you feel when Apocalypse Wow, The End Of Everything, sold for £25,000 at Bonham’s auction in 2008?
It was a great piece and seemed to sum up the time; America and England as burned skulls. I was nervous, as I always am with auctions, but then elated (and a bit drunk as I’d had six bottles of Becks while waiting to see the results online). I still have no idea who owns it, but I heard it looked great on the night at Bonham’s.

Has the current economic climate affected your work?
Yes definitely, people aren’t buying originals like they were. You can’t rely on paintings as a sole income, but luckily I also do well with prints, vases, and lower end works. I’ve consciously made smaller work this year as a result of the recession, and kept my prices real and more affordable. My London gallery went down in 2008 which was hard, but it became a positive thing as i was then totally free to work with many people. I’ve been involved in 23 events from group shows so far this year; from print shows to charity events and fashion collaborations, so it’s really forced me to work even harder. It is still tough out there, and galleries are struggling to pay their artists.

How do you feel about those who buy artwork for investment rather than for the love of the piece?
It’s up to them what they do with it. I’m not precious, I’d rather the work gets sold and then I move on. I prefer to not know and let the gallery deal with that side of things. It gets a bit annoying if they’re being flipped on eBay, but it’s all part of the fun.

Do you find the reaction to your work differs between countries?
I’m not sure really. There was a very famous actor in LA looking at one of my paintings, and he liked it, but when he realised it was painted on Iraqi money and had a big American flag on it I think he became offended. I’m curious to see how they react in Tokyo, I hear they don’t like the colour green so I’m avoiding that. In Miami the population is very Jewish, so you can imagine the response my painting featuring Hitler and Jesus received at the Miami Art Fair! It didn’t sell.

What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?
My proudest personal moment was getting on the property ladder, but with work I’m not sure as there’s been many great moments. I love doing charity events, at one i was stood next to John Hurt and at another Alexander McQueen! Meeting Peter Blake was cool, and I still get a buzz when a famous person emails me about a piece they bought. Chatting to Shepard Fairey at my show in Hollywood was amazing, and then being invited to his studio was cool. There’s so many…

What advice would you give to emerging artists?
Be prepared for a long tough road. It took me from 1990 to 1995 to graduate and then I wasn’t able to take the leap until 2006. Work hard, be unique, be thick skinned and keep the faith. It’s hard out there but you can get it if you want it. Get a business head on you too, promotion is a big part of it, but there’s so much help online these days.

Dan Baldwin: A New Life
Until 17th July 2010
Signal Gallery
96a Curtain Road
Hoxton
London
EC2A 3AA
Tuesday to Saturday 12pm – 6pm

Words by Rebecca Laing of www.zeitgeistmagazine.com

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.

New York is inundated with advertisements. So why spend money on materials when posters and billboards are ripe for the picking? Stealing and vandalising ads is illegal, but littering the public’s visual space with images and messages that are motivated by profit is wrong. There’s a lot of potential in working with your environment, especially if the motives are well place. Besides, the traditional mediums have never satisfied my ambitions.

I always hoped this would catch on. I couldn’t have been the only one with these sentiments floating around.

What are your views on advertising?

Advertising is bizarro art. Both are cut from the same cloth, but what sets them apart is intent. Art is driven, at least in theory, by the desire to express oneself. Advertising is driven by the desire to promote a product or service. Often times the two overlap making it hard to tell the difference. As long as there’s money to be made there’ll be advertising. I can’t deny that. With development of technology and the market comes increasingly elaborate ad campaigns. Sometimes the campaigns are funny. Sometimes they’re artful. But one thing I’ll never accept is public advertising no matter how clever the campaign is.

Do you think that people are more wary about believing the images / messages that are printed because of the worldwide economic downturn?

The economic pinch continues to breed skepticism. However, people have been wary of the media lies for a while now.

I remember our first conversation and the email you sent me:

Have you ever read something and said to yourself, “Christ, where have I been the last few years of my life?” Well, your email just did that to me. These type of requests and acknowledgements have always humbled me. …

Why do you think people are so taken by your work?

I think people relate to the work mostly because of the commentary. There’s a lot going on in the world financially, politically, culturally, and environmentally. The work touches on some of these topics. Often times with humor, which is very important in serious situations.

The other reason is the medium. I mean really, with the exception of the people profiting, who doesn’t hate public advertising?

We talked about some of your future plans and what Poster Boy intends to do next. You strike me as someone who has a strong passion and desire to follow his dreams – to continue to grow and be creative in the way you want.

I should hope so. My dreams are pretty much all I have right now.

To me you are sending out a clear message to people that they should not give-up on their desires -to listen to their hearts and pursue the path that they want without being afraid to voice their opinions. Do you think this is a fair statement?

I believe it’s a fair statement. As long as your path doesn’t involve the destruction of life I say follow it. The worst that can come from following your heart is knowledge and wisdom.

I believe that the whole point of street art is that it is on the street for everyone to see– you are not stifled creatively and not drawn by the $$$. Nobody tells you whether you are good enough. It is art for the people, not the selective few.

Street art is for anyone to experience. It works both ways. The streets serve as a venue for artists who wish to forego gallery-world hierarchies.

I’m not stifled or drawn by the money. Doesn’t mean the pressure doesn’t affect me. I’ve turned down some very lucrative deals in order to make a statement. I’ll be honest, when rent is late or I can’t manage three squares a day I feel a little gypped, but when those feelings start bubbling I just remind myself of why I started this.

All my life I wanted someone or something to believe in. Except for a few inspirations here and there I never found it. So I set out to be the that thing I always yearned for. So what if PB&J has been the menu for weeks or the lies to my landlord are getting better, life could always be worse. Besides, poverty tends to be quite the motivator these days.

I think the popularity of street art has exploded over the last couple of years and I feel that it is good and bad. Great street artists are enjoying the success they deserve and some are just riding on their coat-tails.

Actually, I don’t believe bad street art exists. I say cover every Goddam inch of concrete and steel! What bothers me are the people who try to mask gallery art as street art and vice versa. I’m not one for strict labels or definitions of anything, but there’s a fundamental difference. At the same time I understand certain situations call for compromise. I know I’m not the purest street artist or activist. There have been Poster boy shows with prints being sold, and I’m not even sure if I should feel guilty for it. I’ve always tried to bring something different to a show and I’ve never sold an actual Poster Boy piece. The point being that the street art persona should be critiqued and presented differently than the gallery art persona. Once street, graf, or whatever art, is brought into a controlled environment it ceases to be street art, period.

With the phenomenal costs prints and original works are going for it has become de rigueur to like street art. Yesterday, I went to opening night of an exhibition on Brick Lane in London , and it was dominated by the young and trendy. Like a few of the street artists who were present, I felt awkward and out of place. My question to you is how do you feel about how street art has evolved and do you feel proud to be labelled a street artist. Do you always see the streets as your playground?

Let me guess, some guy in a Basquiat shirt, skinny jeans, and an ironic mustache gave you the, “where the fuck is your Murakami bag” look? Don’t worry, we’ve got that too. It happens whenever something is in vogue. Next time just make a scene. Tell everyone you’re Banksy or that your dad owns the Tate.

I’m proud to be a street artist in the literal sense. I find comfort in the uncertainty of the streets.

How does it feel to have a platform? You have the attention of all the major media players in New York who are raving about the statements that you put out?

It feels really weird, ’cause I’m not that cool.

Who influenced you growing-up – people and / or other artists?

This one’s hard. You’d expect me to say Keith Haring or something. Not that he hasn’t, but I’ve been inspired by many characters in my short life. I can honestly say that Bugs Bunny inspired me as much as Fredrick Douglas.

How do you work – do you come-up with ideas on the spot or do you see posters and then think about how you can create images from them?

The work is always impromptu. It has to be, the ads are always changing. Even the gallery work relies on materials in the immediate environment.

Are there any other comments that you would like to make?

God Save the Obama.