Trans1 - Graffiti Artist Interview

December 2009

Trans1 is a 'photorealistic' graffiti artist hailing from South East London with mad style and a signature monochrome palette. Trans1 began painting graffiti in the mid 80's and now represents the Dreme Skemez Crew and PWS Crew, photorealistic graffiti has never looked so good!

How old are you?

I'm 37.

Where are you based?

South East London.

When did you begin painting graffiti?

I initially started writing graffiti in 1983, but it was really just something I was doing as part of the whole B-boy scene. I'd say that 1985 was the true turning point for me. That's when graff became all consuming!

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

My older brother's mates were all b-boys and I guess, being younger, I wanted to fit in with them a little more. There were a couple of dudes that I kind of idolised and I think I wanted to be accepted by them. Once I got myself into the whole groove of writing though, I really liked the sense of just being out there, doing my thing. It didn't really matter to me if I was out there by myself.

How did you choose the name Trans1?

The name Trans1 came about from continually scrubbing paint and ink stains from my hands. Those stained hands could be a real give away and I needed to try and avoid unwanted attention. I used to scrub my hands with all kinds of cleaning agents such as white spirit and stuff. My mates used to knock me, telling me my skin would go transparent… the name just stuck.

Do you write under any other names?

Yeah for a few years I wrote under a couple of other fairly busy names. I pretty much started writing Trans1 around the end of 86 - 87 and wrote it along with the other names before sticking solely with it towards the end of the 80's.

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

I still represent DSZ Crew (Dreme Skemez) (pronounced Dream Schemes) founded in 1986. These dudes were legendary to me and in my opinion were light years ahead of their time.

I'm also down with PWS Crew who are a top bunch with some heavy hitters in the skills dept.

How would you describe your style?

Black & White, with shades of grey! I'm not sure I really have a style as it were? Dark and gloomy I think its pretty fair to say.

Your photorealistic work is amazing and very detailed, it looks so time consuming! How did you begin painting photorealistic graffiti, did your style take a long time to develop and do your pieces take a long time to create?

Firstly, cheers for the props.

For me, photorealism seemed like the right move to go for. I've been better known for my characters for years and felt that it was the most challenging direction for me to take from a progressive point of view. I've always believed that characters play a vital role in making pieces work and for a long time the scene seemed to almost drop them out. I really wanted to add that dimension back into the pot and wanted to put my own little slant on things by keeping the monochrome aspect a constant.

I'm probably of the same mindset as most about painting, in that I still have a long way to go when it comes to learning. I like my work to look ultra clean and to have plenty of detail and depth. This can ultimately mean a couple of extra hours just making things look as right as you can. Generally my pieces take between 4 to 7 hours depending on the scale and if all the initial proportioning goes to plan!

Where do you get your inspiration for your pieces and the characters you paint?

I have bundles of ideas in my head for the types of things I want to paint. Then I'll either try to take the right photo myself, or as is more often the case hunt through hundreds of images on the net until I find something close to what I had in mind. As a general rule of thumb, dark is good!

Where did you paint your first piece?

It was in an old pedestrian subway, which ran beneath the motorway. I had to walk about two miles to get to the right spot.

The piece said "Zulu" It was done in yellow, red and black auto paint and it was ugly as f**k! At that time, in the UK, there was nobody to guide you on the principles of painting. I remember going straight onto the wall with the black outline and trying to get the fill inside it without going over the lines. It was like a kid with a colouring book, but I'd never had the chance to see anyone actually painting at the time and so like most of us that started out back then, I just tried to figure it out as I went along!

I was 11 years old back then and it was a summers evening. Even though the piece looked like shit, the whole event set the stage for me. It was probably at that point that I really knew that I had found my calling.

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

I haven't had too many opportunities to travel through my graff yet, the expense of life has generally prevented this. It is something that I'd love to try to do in the future though. I'd love to be able to get away to a warmer climate and paint while it's cold back here at home, but short a cheeky little lotto win, I reckon I'll just have to keep reaching for the old winter gloves!

What are your feelings on the graffiti and street art scenes in the UK and London at present?

I think the UK scene is on a good vibe at the moment. Graff went through a shakey scene a few years back, but in my opinion it's in a really strong position for now. London has always been a bit of a graff Mecca for me as far as the UK scene goes and I think it's still considered a bit of a centre point these days for many. I think the street art scene is going strong too and people are warming to an acceptance of both elements coexisting as there own individual forms of expression.

Whilst the final medium of choice is the same (spray paint) the two forms remain very different, but when combined providing the mix is right, they can work really well together.

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

Commercially I haven't done too much really. I've painted a few nightclubs and other events, but nothing really that springs to mind. I'm always open to offers though.

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

Nah, I think I'm a pretty low profile kind of dude. Nothing earth-shaking yet.

It's just a nice addition for those of us that started out on this journey as kids from all kinds of backgrounds to be able to have achieved a standard in our work that galleries feel they want to allow others from outside of our immediate culture/community to be able to enjoy.

Trans1

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

I don't see a problem with it. Most real graff writers never start out with any kind of intention of having work shown in galleries, but how many of us ever thought it was even a possibility? I certainly didn't. Graffiti has been in and around galleries to some extent for many years now and I kind of think that's a good thing. I'd far rather see graff in its true environment, but equally I think that from a writers point of view it's a pretty big accomplishment.

It's just a nice addition for those of us that started out on this journey as kids from all kinds of backgrounds to be able to have achieved a standard in our work that galleries feel they want to allow others from outside of our immediate culture/community to be able to enjoy. I believe it's just another form of how graffiti has progressed. Having said that, if the gallery scene dried up tomorrow and there was no other money making opportunities to be had from graff, I'd still be doing it regardless. Whilst it's nice to earn a few rewards and a little exposure along the way, those things will always take second place when it comes down to my reasons for painting.

Have you ever had your work displayed in galleries and if so is there any one show which stands out from all the rest?

As I answer this question, I'm in full flow in preparation of my first solo exhibition. "Urban Soldier - off the wall" is being hosted by Graffik London in Portobello Road. Opening night 27th of November. It's all new territory for me, so I'm not really sure how it's all going to work out. I've shown a few pieces in a couple of other galleries previously, but this solo gig is a whole new thing. I feel a bit like a little tadpole in a huge f**king pond!

Hopefully it will all go successfully and will be a good experience. Like I said before, it's not really something I would ever have thought was possible, so for me it's more of just a different opportunity that graff has opened the door to.

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

Graffiti writing is in my veins. I couldn't claim to be on the hardcore edge, doing all the crazy stuff anymore, because I've been totally legit for so long now. But I know how strongly I feel about graff and I still see everything very much through a graff writers eyes.

I learned my craft on the street. I was self taught like many others. I didn't go to art school or college to learn how to write. I looked, listened and learnt. I took time to study the history and always had respect for the pioneers and the generation that built what we continue to build upon today.

People used to talk about really nice pieces and would travel from all over just to go and see them in the flesh. That whole unwritten law of respect, which was once commonplace, now sadly appears to have fallen by the wayside.

Trans1

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

I think at the moment graffiti and street art are seen as being commercially viable. There's a market in them for someone to make money out of. Sadly, this quite often is not the artists themselves. I suppose the media interest is still partly from the whole Banksy thing. If it opens a few doors to paint at some decent events and so on then it's all good, but I'd like to see real practitioners of our game reaping some of the rewards from this rather than a few arty kinds who have set up shop simply to make cash from the bandwagon claiming to be "full time Graffiti artists"! I'd be interested to see how 'full time' they feel about it when the money waterfall dries up!

Exposure via the internet has also played a part. For the most part it's a great thing, as it allows for writers worldwide to showcase there work and communicate with each-other. The downside however, is that pieces have almost become devalued. Once a burner would last for months, even years in some cases. Now they're crossed out in minutes. People used to talk about really nice pieces and would travel from all over just to go and see them in the flesh. That whole unwritten law of respect, which was once commonplace, now sadly appears to have fallen by the wayside. I think that's a real shame.

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

In its purest form I suppose you can't really argue that graffiti isn't vandalism, but equally it can't be denied that much of what is painted on the streets and trains is very much an art. Vandalism tends to create images of mindless destruction and mess. I think if you asked most people what the term vandalism meant to them, they'd think of yobs smashing the glass in bus stands or phone boxes rather than anything that most serious graffiti writers would add to the city.

Do you paint legal or illegal pieces?

I'm totally legal these days

Have you ever 'felt the long arm of the law' because of your art and if so can you tell us about it?

Yeah, but thankfully a long time ago down in 'Bumpkinsville', and after a few hours of serious scrubbing our debt to society was paid in full!

Had a few other very close shaves along the way though…

Do you try to keep your identity anonymous where possible?

Nah, no need these days.

As a youngster I took some ridiculously stupid risks in the graff arena, I suppose as a kid you think you're indestructible.

Trans1

What is the biggest risk you have ever taken for your art?

As a youngster I took some ridiculously stupid risks in the graff arena, I suppose as a kid you think you're indestructible. When I look back at some of the things we did, I reckon we must have been nuts and very lucky to have come away unscathed.

Where is the most obscure place you have ever left a tag or piece?

Plenty of mad spots, but one of the funnier ones was stampeding out a 200+ foot crop tag in a corn field in the middle of the night in the height of Summer. Seemed like a great idea at the time. But certainly not the smartest move for a heavy hay-fever sufferer I can tell you! Messier than any leak with flowmaster!

Which other artists work do you admire?

That's a list that would read like a phone book. I have masses of respect for writers past and present out there for a host of reasons. The obvious names of pioneers and legends from NYC scene would feature.

To name just a few from the UK:

• Astek
• Urge
• Noir
• Don
• Ebee
• Kak
• Pheks
• Shye
• Choci
• Keen
• Smug1
• Mac1
• Rocket1

…and this just scratches the surface. There's a whole heap of others from the UK alone, without even going global.

I pretty much have respect for all those doing positive things with what we do, in whatever capacity they are able to do it. Just being a piece in graffiti's history is something to be admired in its self. We're all involved. We all play our role.

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

I like painting with most people, as long as they're of a similar mindset and don't take themselves too seriously. Life's to short for all that bullsh*t and this whole thing's supposed to be fun.

What is your preferred medium for making marks with?

These days it's Montana Gold and a little bit of Belton.

What is your colour of choice?

Black, white and greyscale… all day long!

What is your favourite surface to paint on?

I guess these days, it has to be flat, smooth concrete, but any smoothish surface will do!

Do you have a favourite piece of all time?

Yeah, "Skemez" piece by Dreme Skemez in the summer of '86, to me that piece had it all. The day I saw it I just stood and stared for hours. There's obviously been masses of truly awesome pieces produced, but for me that Skemez piece is the one that just sticks.

Can you tell us one thing about you which most people wouldn't know?

Yeah, but if I did, then most people would know it… wouldn't they?

What kind of music are you into?

Old school hip-hop and electro. All things b-boy really.

What is the last album you bought?

DJ JS1.

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

My plans for the future are pretty simple really… I just want to keep pushing myself, keep progressing and try to paint with as many like minded cats as I can.

Hopefully to be a part of creating some devastatingly fresh walls, the kind of pieces that people talk about in years to come.

Aside from that try to stay happy… anything else other than that is a blessing.

Anything else you would like to add?

Shouts to all graff writers and supporters worldwide (and that means you EddieDangerous!). Keep blazin' the trail.

For further information about Trans1 please visit:

Trans1 Profile

Trans1 Flickr Photostream

• Bebo
• Del.ic.ious
• Digg
• Diigo
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon
• Twitter