Sick1 - Graffiti Artist Interview

August 2008

Interview with Sick1, a UK graffiti artist who is a member of the KYS Crew, TUS Crew and LTD Crew.

How old are you?

25

How long have you been painting / writing?

I picked up the cans at the age of 13, gave up just after I turned 16 and then one very bored afternoon in 2006, aged 23, I went to a car shop and picked up some Carplan and Hycote, went to a local spot and put together a reasonable piece using an 8 year old sketch with absolutely no can control what so ever. At that point I decided if I was going to start painting again I had to do it properly and that's what I hope I have done.

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

Initially… Hip-Hop Connection's graffiti pages did a feature on Nema… it blew me away and as soon as I put the magazine down I picked up a pencil and started planning my first piece. I still have these sketches and I love looking back at some of the cliche shit I used to write on them and stupid crew names that we came up with. The first crew I joined was SBC… wait for it… Switch Blade Crew!!! Yep, enough said.

How did you choose the name Sick1?

I always chose names which were based on my favourite letters but they always had no meaning were not easy to remember. Sick was a word that I was familiar with being a skater at the time and I wanted to be seen as a sick writer. It's always cool when people I tell are like "That's a sick piece… What does it say?".

Do you write under any other names?

No.

Which crews do you write with?

• KYS Crew
• TUS Crew
• LTD Crew

Where did you paint your first piece?

On the one of them big grey electricity boxes not far from my house. The piece said Pil?… Auto K paint, stock caps, black infill, white outline, red border… drips galore.

How would you describe your style?

It's just a combination of all the things that please my eye. Strong, readable, thick looking letters accompanied by tiny cuts, small details, zingy colour and illustrated characters.

What are your influences?

Inspiration comes from anywhere at any time - a colour scheme from a t-shirt or a shape in a bed sheet, subway art, music, my mates and crew mates, old sketches, the people I paint with and the pieces I see along the way.

Old Canterbury writers:

• Seno
• Arch
• Broke
• Hash

90's writers:

• Shine
• Quest
• Skore
• Rough
• Alert
• VOP Stars
• Nema

Todays writers:

• Askew
• Wany
• HA Crew
• MSK Crew
• Love Letters
• Pornostars
• Bates
• Vents

So, so many more

Have you done any collaborations with artists overseas and if so where is the most exciting or interesting place you have painted?

Yes I went to Copenhagen last year with the TUS boys:

• Shine
• Quest
• Skore
• Rhize
• Tkow

We painted with Clean and Tiws and met up with the legendary Great and Bates. Copenhagen was off the hook.

I also went to Berlin with Ante which was totally ill for bombing - we got up road side, track side, loads of tags and did the legal spots too.

What are you feelings on the graffiti scene in the UK at the moment?

I'm undecided really. It seems in the UK that Flickr, Myspace, Fotolog, in fact any graffiti website has taken the place of getting up. Fame is much more easily aquired nowadays than ten or fifteen years back… when you had to get out and put your name all over the place to get it seen. A writer could paint the same spot week in, week out and still get some recognition… and some do. I'm as guilty as the next man for using the net for displaying my work and believe it to be a positive influence in graffiti but it's taken some of the mystery and fun out of the whole thing. The UK has some inspirational writers and tons of writers who are on the verge of being huge so I'm really excited to see what happens and who blows up over the next few years.

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

Yes, I have displayed and sold work in the Frisson Gallery in Canterbury but I don't paint canvas very often.

What do you think of the way grafitti is just a likely to be found in a gallery as on the streets these days?

It's cool, a writer's gotta eat too and if your art is good enough to sell then congrats. I personally get my kicks from painting big walls so I find it hard to motivate myself to paint on a small scale.

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

Both.

Do you prefer doing legal or illegal pieces?

I prefer the rush of successfully putting up a good illegal and after a few you really get the bug for it, however these days I paint mainly tolerated legal spots and commissions… I get my best work that way.

Sick1

I prefer the rush of successfully putting up a good illegal and after a few you really get the bug for it, however these days I paint mainly tolerated legal spots and commissions… I get my best work that way.

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

Caught once or twice in action but not arrested at tolerated walls. Some police appreciate the good work they see you painting and some threaten you with arrest, most try to take your details anyway.

Do you prefer to keep your identity a secret whenever possible?

Yes, I like for people to build up their own idea of you by what they see on the wall. I think you can see aspects of a writer's personality by their style and how they paint. Often I subconciously build up an image of what a writer's appearence is by their paintings and then when I meet them I'm often totally wrong.

What do you see as your greatest achievement to date?

A year after I got back into graffiti I got an interview in the graffiti pages of Hip-Hop Connection magazine (the mag that originally inspired me to start doing graffiti).

What is your preferred medium for making marks with?

Spray paint - Belton, Hardcore, Gold, Black, Silverhook carpaint… whatever works.

Who are your favourite graffiti artists?

At the moment:

• Aroe
• Rime
• Revok
• Askew
• Wany
• Does
• Sean2
• Shine
• Pose
• Dems
• Smash
• Bates
• Stor

I'd be all day if I listed them all.

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

Rime, he just has the most amazing, free-flowing style and is a brilliant all-rounder. I think he's mastered his art and I would have a hell of a lot to learn from him.

What kind of music are you into?

Hip-hop mainly but not exclusively.

For further information about Sick1 please visit:

Sick1 Profile

Sick1 Website

Sick1 MySpace Page

Sick1 Flickr Photostream

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