Stylo - Graffiti Artist Interview

October 2007

Interview with UK graffiti artist Stylo of the infamous VOP Stars Crew.

How old are you?

Old enough.

How long have you been painting / writing?

23 years give or take.

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

I was into art anywyay and my breakin' only extended to a knee spin so it seemed like the best option.

Which crew / crews do you write with or have you written with in your time?

My first unit was a bus bombing crew called Imperial Force (IF Inc!), big in Croydon and South London late 1984-85 but I'm probably better known for VOP which I formed in 1988, it stands for Visual Orgasm Productions and a few other variations.

What names do you write under?

Stylo.

How did the VOP Stars Crew get together?

I wrote it on a piece in mid-1988 and it developed into a crew after that. Members have come and gone including Rough, Part 2 and a few others but it's been settled on just four since 1993: Me, Solo One, Mear and Dane.

How did you decide on the crew name "Visual Orgasm Productions"?

"Visual Orgasm" was something I wrote on a wildstyle piece I did in Colliers Wood on a piece with Style and Blitz back in 1988. The idea caught on and that was that…

You are well known for your photo-realistic portraits, do you usually paint these from some kind of printed reference or are they created off the top of the dome?

Almost always with a reference, but I often mix a few references together or twist it to suit my purposes (like adding tattoos or more pock marks) to make something new out of it. It never looks quite the same on the wall. It's the break to the beat.

You are also renowned for your abstract letter forms, do you have any kind of process you go through when distorting words?

It's just a style I've developed over time by trying to strip down the letters to their bare minimum (after years of trying to complicate them in wildstyles). There's something about the way they interlock that can still make them hard to read though, which I like.

What are your feelings on the UK graf scene at the moment?

Hard to gauge clearly. I'm not in deep with it right now, but it's been good to catch up with a lot of old writers at a few street art shows this year in London.

Have you done many collaborations with artists overseas or have you ever travelled overseas to paint?

Yes and yes. Tagged with Phase II in NYC, pieced with T-Kid in Berlin, East in Chicago, Raven in Miami, solo missions in Sicily and most of the UK and Ireland with loads of cool writers.

Where is the most exciting or interesting place you have painted?

Painting the Berlin Wall just after it was knocked through in 1990 was cool and Drogheda in Ireland with Rask and his boys takes a lot of beating.

Where did you paint your first piece?

Under a railway bridge in South Croydon in 1984.

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

It's about the quality of the art either way. There's good and bad in both, but I think on the whole graf is hard to translate to galleries for reasons of scale mainly. It started in the street for a reason.

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 a few times. Scratch in Kings Cross in 1996 stands out mainly because the organisers paid for us to photograph a ton of our back catalogue onto slides and display them round the club on large screens all night as well as show new canvas.

Have you done much commercial work and if so what would you class as your most famous piece?

Some, but my most famous pieces have been non-commercial.

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

I'm more interested in if it's any good. You can argue the toss either way, I'm bored of the question. Ultimately we can be either or both depending on the day, the number of beers and who makes up the laws and/or does or doesn't give permission.

The more art I see of all kinds, the more think that the best graf writers can compete with anything the so-called fine art world can do.

Stylo

Do you try to remain anonymous and keep your identity a secret if possible?

Pretty much. People who know, know. The low profile is fine.

Do you prefer doing legal or illegal pieces?

It depends, kicks to be had both ways.

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

Yes.

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

Artist.

What is your inspiration and what drives you?

Trying to do stuff that has impact and individuality.

Which other artists work do you admire?

All the Vopstars and endless others including off the top of my head:

• Phase II
• Dondi
• Futura 2000
• Paul Klee
• Twist (San Francisco)
• Crok
• Bansky
• Delta (Amsterdam)
• Shok One

Do you have a favourite piece of all time?

Not just one. "Knowledge is the Key" (1994) with Mear; "Return of the Supermacks (Blaxploitation)" with Solo One and Dane (1998); and "Voices of Persuasion" with VOP and Prime (2001) all dropped nicely.

What is your preferred medium for making marks with?

Spraypaint.

What kind of music are you into?

• hip-hop
• funk and soul breaks
• jungle

What is the last album you bought?

Common - "Finding Forever"

What can we look out from from Stylo and the VOP Crew in the near future?

Life can get in the way of graf as you get older but it will be 20 years of VOP in 2008, so we're going to try and sort a few things out for that.

Anything else you would like to add?

The more art I see of all kinds, the more think that the best graf writers can compete with anything the so-called fine art world can do. Have faith, the props are slowly coming.

For further information about Stylo and the rest of the VOP Stars Crew please visit:

www.vopstars.com