Probs - Graffiti Artist Interview

October 2008

Interview with Probs, a highly active UK graffiti artist based in East London who is a master of many styles and a student of the hidden monkey hands fire palm fist technique!

How old are you?

27, so I've got one whole year to get really famous then burn out in style or probably choke to death on paint fumes.

Where are you based?

East London.

How long have you been painting / writing?

I have always painted, I rarely write my name but I have been painting with aerosol for the last 5 years.

How did you get into graffiti and what made you start painting?

I came at graffiti from a completely different angle to most people, it was never about writing my name just an ability to paint my sketches as big as possible. I have been fortunate enough to meet some of the best painters in the UK and paint with them, wanting to be able to hold my own on a wall with the worlds finest made me take painting seriously.

Where did you paint your first piece?

I have no idea, drugs and paint fumes have made a mockery of my memory.

How would you describe your style?

A fusion of comic illustration, graffiti, 3D, and funk and flow. I do 3D letters, wildstyle, bubble, organic, characters, realistic, cartoon… anything and everything.

How did you choose the name Probs?

I used to make club visuals for a mate who dj'd under the name LoCa$h and I was Problms, I have shortened it and played around with a number of different tags but it has kinda stuck.

Do you write under any other names?

Too many to mention.

Do you write with any crews and if so which ones?

I dont like to be constrained to a crew so I paint with different crews. I have strong allegiances to…

• The 54 Crew
• Turning Tricks Crew
• TMP Crew
• ID Crew
• TPN Crew

Have you done many collaborations with artists overseas or travelled abroad for your art and if where is the most exciting or interesting place you have painted?

I love painting in other countries. Germany is the best place for graff at the moment, I was proud to represent the UK at the Meeting Of Styles this year… such a great display of styles, collaboration and good people.

What are you feelings on the current UK graffiti scene?

The UK has a great scene at the moment, maybe slighly overshadowed by the less impressive street art scene. The Legal scene is producing some of the finest painters this country has ever seen - I am proud to paint next to any of them. I don't pay attention to the illegal scene, there are too many egos and self importance credited to people who have little style.

Have you ever done any commercial work and if so what would you say was your most well known piece?

I have recently been working with G-Shock to redesign their Carnaby St store, it was a great brief and they didn't control what I painted. It paid for me to buy more paint and pay the rent but I don't define myself based on commercial work.

Has graffiti become a full-time career for you now and if so was it a long journey to get to this stage?

Graffiti is full time, I eat, sleep and breath it. I have worked so hard to get where I am, to paint everyday and live the life I live but it aint a career, it is just something I have to do!

Is there any one point in your career you would class as 'your big break'?

I ain't waiting for someone to give me a break, everything I do I have built with my bare hands.

What do you see as your greatest achievement to date?

My greatest achievement is still to come.

What are your thoughts on grafitti being just a likely to be found in a gallery as on the streets these days?

You rarely find real graffiti in galleries in London, it tends to be people trying to make a quick buck… hopping on bandwagons and cashing in on the culture. When you take graffiti out of the street it stops being graffiti and it becomes something else, more like street art.

Graffiti artists are still artists and they deserve to be able to exhibit in a gallery but the message is changed when it enters the art world, which is in essence bullshit and all about money. Graffiti is not about money… it is about getting up with style and originality.

Graffiti is not about money… it is about getting up with style and originality.

Probs

Have you had your work displayed in a galleries and if so is there any one exhibition that stands out from all the rest?

I have put artwork is galleries and I have also organised a few shows. It is a great feeling to invite your favourite artists to exhibit together and it is a great excuse for a party and having a beer with old friends. I am planning a Christmas show featuring the best UK artists painting today.

There seems to have been a sudden surge of interest in graffiti and street art recently, why do you think this is?

I think because so many people have been working so hard to build this culture and make it stand out from all the other arts cultures. It is the last of the hip-hop elements to be co-opted into the capitalist system which it has resisted for so long because it breeds greed and monotonous mainstream sellout art. A new generation of "street" artists with weaker morals have opened the flood gates and let the advertisers in.

There seems to be a very fine line between those who view graffiti as art and those who see it as vandalism, what are your views on this?

The line is obvious - if you are painting your name on someones property without permission then that is vandalism.

Aerosol is a tool, not a tool for vandalism. People who try to group all graffiti as vandalism need to educate themselves.

Have you ever 'felt the long arm of the law' because of your art?

I am regularly approached by the popo, a good bit of blag and charm has always kept me out of trouble.

Do you prefer doing legal or illegal pieces?

Legal… unless I am pissed and have a fat merker in my pocket.

Do you try to keep your identity anonymous where possible?

I don't have a massive ego and I hate photos, I'm not in it for the fame or the column inches. I ain't Banksy!

I don't have a massive ego and I hate photos, I'm not in it for the fame or the column inches. I ain't Banksy!

Probs

Do you see yourself as an artist or a graffiti writer?

Graffiti artist, I rarely write my name.

Which other artists work do you admire?

Too many to mention all…

• Simon Bisley
• Ashley Wood
• Leinil Yu
• Jim Murray
• Jason Brashill
• Snug
• Xenz
• Bonzai
• Chu
• Tizer
• Bleach
• Zadok
• Nash
• Bom-k
• Wany

…are floatin' my boat at the moment.

Which other graffiti artists would you most like to work with if given the chance?

Da Mental Vapours - best crew ever!

What is your preferred medium for making marks with?

• A good can of aerosol
• HB pencil
• Sharpie
• Fineline Papermate

Do you have a favourite piece of all time?

Last one I painted.

What kind of music are you into?

Straight up gangsta rap!

What is the last album you bought?

I dont buy music - I buy paint and comics.

What are you working on currently and what plans do you have for the future?

Christmas show, some massive productions and a bag of barry burners!

Anything else you would like to add?

Big-ups to all my peepls.

For more of Probs graffiti please visit:

Probs Flickr Photostream