17TH street
What does the power of the letter mean to you? Letters offer a strong basis from which you can experiment freely and discover many different forms and shapes. While I experiment with forms and shapes, I do always try to stay true to the basic letter form. What were your early experiences with letters? When I was fifteen I started taking my sketches to the wall and play around withletters. I mainly did tags and throw ups back then and it was more about vandalism than anything else. I also started a mini crew with my best friends and we had lots of fun together. I did my first piece in 1997, my best friends were patrolling for me. How much of a graffiti scene was there in your hometown when you were younger? When I was younger the Campina factory was a place in Sittard that many writers from all around Europe visited to leave their mark. I never got to paint these walls unfortunately; it was before my graffiti days. In surrounding cities there used to be quite a big scene, but from what I know the scene died down after a major arrest. Nash, Tumki and I are all from Sittard, so although the scene is quite small nowadays, we certainly make the most of it! Tell us a little about your time as a professional soccer player and how that reconciled with your growing interest in graffiti. I entered into a talent development programme when I was 10, was selected for the national team at the age of 12, signed my first contract when I was 15 and made my debut in the fist team at the age 16. I started tagging around my 15th birthday. I guess I needed some kind of relief from all the routine and discipline. I had always been drawing a lot without a particular purpose. When I discovered graffiti I really started to take drawing very seriously as I felt that was my basis. Throughout my soccer career I continued to draw a lot. Especially during my darker moments, which where mainly related to knee injuries, drawing helped me to stay positive. How did you start to move into more complex pieces? You get to a point where you have the basics under control. With the basics I mean letter shape, colour combinations and the balance and flow in a piece. From that moment on I felt like experimenting more and more, which led to more complex pieces. When did you start to really play with colour combinations? In my view, I really started to go crazy with colour combinations when I lived in Sydney. Whereas I was used to doing collaboration walls with Nash and Tumki, I was suddenly on my own and unrestricted in using colours and shapes. Where is the balance between the legible and the abstract? The balance is in the shape of the singular letters. You can add many elements to a letter without bending it out of its basic shape and balance. To what extent do you paint a piece to interact with its location? I don’t take the location as a starting point when I decide on a design for a piece. I do especially like popping colours on rough walls in abandoned places. And the location can make your piece more interesting. For example, looking at a piece in on old abandoned church is much more interesting than looking at a piece on a standard wall.
USM 55