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He’s not the kind of guy who wears loose jeans and carries around a can of spray paint in his backpack. Just in case. He’s not an academic painter either. He’s all that and much more. For instance, one of the most exciting talents to emerge from Britain. Not to mention his refreshing approach to art. He has decided to turn recycling policies into creative rules, making astonishing portraits out of floppy disks, X-ray and film negatives. His artworks exude passion, curiosity, nostalgia and hope. By recovering old materials that don’t ring any bell for Millennials, he’s become a safe harbor for our 90’s memories as well as a bridge to the future. This social artist who refuses to be labeled has found in his Dalston studio the right balance between individual and collaborative work. 55 - What’s your first memory as an artist? When did you become self-conscious about your gift for arts? N - It would often be the case that whatever class I was in at school I would usually be drawing in my textbook - while the rest of the class learned Pythagoras theorem. I have vivid memories of those pictures that I drew at an early age. It always felt very direct and natural to me, so drawing became the starting point. It led me into painting, sculpture and beyond. 55 - Was painting always your first choice or did you find your way after having tried other disciplines? N - I always come back to drawing as the base, but throughout my education I’ve experimented. I’ve made short films, animation and even music. I think it’s good creative practice to express ideas in many different ways, as one aspect has the ability to inform another. I have a love of learning and that creates further scope for unique crossovers. It’s almost magical when something experienced or learnt many years ago comes back to form part of a new idea. 55 - How important do you think it is for an artist to have art education? Is it naïve to believe anybody can be an artist? I’m thinking here of Douanier Rousseau for instance… N - Rousseau claimed that he had “no teacher other than nature.” Leonardo Da Vinci also had no early schooling and you can see the evidence of that in how he closely portrays nature in his work. Nature must be the closest thing to the ‘truth’ that we can experience - and therefore is our
best teacher. Education is based on the interpretation (and therefore abstraction) of nature. It can certainly inspire, but the ability to detach oneself from that formal system is also necessary. We need to bend and break the existing manmade rules in order to create something new. 55 – You’re often labeled as a “street artist”. I know you don’t really agree with that definition. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to just say that you’re “an urban artist”? N - I find that both ‘Street’ and ‘Urban’ are overused terms and I find it limiting in some ways. Personally, I don’t fit into a single category and I’m happy enough about that. 55 – Is it maybe that the art scene has been - and still is - too busy categorizing artists in movements, schools, etc, as if it feared the unclassifiable? N - I love the indefinable and the spaces in between. I find that the things that defy classification have an element of mystery and wonder. I never want to sit squarely in the middle of a category. Maybe people do fear chaos and the unknown, so collectively we try to establish a sense of order through categorization. It seems clear that nature has its own system, where everything is connected and in a constant state of flux. 55 – According to you, galleries are on a certain level synonymous with distance. However you have strong links with important ones in New York, London and Hong Kong. How does social media activity help you to break that symbolic wall?