Wednesday, July 11
El Sinboy
What has been your best experience painting so far?
When Ripo and Above came over last year.
In Bucharest, there's a huge building which used to be the Ministry of Labour during communist time. Most old government buildings had been broken into, but nobody had gone in this one and three years ago, we went in through a window, it was fantastic... There's a very good story too: at some point, they wanted to build a heliport on the roof so they pumped some cement and more cement and more cement until the foundations of the building fell apart. The building collapsed a bit on one side, not completely but everybody had to leave the building and it was boarded up. So when we went in, there were all these desks still with papers, with post-it notes saying "I'll be back in 5 min"...
It's a very tall building in the center of Bucharest so we had a great view of all the town and we just bombed the place, we painted all over the rooftop. Then bit by bit, more people got to know the spot and for one or two years, it was bursting with energy.
When Ripo and Above came, we did a huge roller piece on the rooftop, we were on a small ledge above a 14 storey drop. The piece was visible from all of Bucharest, some people even started calling it the Sinboy building.
Why in the streets?
Because I'm really tired of this monotony, this monochromatic state we live in. There's so much art that could be out there, on all these unused spaces. Cities could be bursting with colours.
I like the exploration side of it too. Walking around in a city, finding all these corners that most people don't go to, using rooftops which have incredible views, but nobody ever goes up there. There are tunnels... well, there's so much unused space in a city.
Are you trying to convey a message?
Depends, sometimes I am, sometimes I do a piece with a concept, relevant to the location and sometimes I just do a nice colourful piece that reuses some old wall. I like using garbage, stuff I find on the streets. My message is usually humourous, comments on society, my views on how we function with cultural references.
Who would you like to collaborate with?
Sooo many people... Here in Barcelona, I'd like to meet up with Pez, the 1980 crew. I just like the way they paint, it's so physical, you can feel the paint on your hands just by looking at the piece.
What are you main sources of inspiration?
I grew up in Madrid next to the very big wall of fame in Barrio de Pilar, so I grew up seeing a lot of Suso. Everyday when I got back from school, I'd check out that wall, it was my first introduction to graffiti.
I also find inspiration in cartoons, illustrations, comics, action figures (I have a large vintage Star Wars figures collection); I've kept everything from when I was a kid.
Any plans for the future?
I've done a lot of characters lately and I think I need to evolve, do more conceptual stuff. I'm a bit disappointed with the whole art world lately: what is it worth doing it for? For example, at the moment, a musical piece moves me more than a visual piece and I'm trying to figure out why that is, if I can change that.
www.sinboy.ro
When Ripo and Above came over last year.
In Bucharest, there's a huge building which used to be the Ministry of Labour during communist time. Most old government buildings had been broken into, but nobody had gone in this one and three years ago, we went in through a window, it was fantastic... There's a very good story too: at some point, they wanted to build a heliport on the roof so they pumped some cement and more cement and more cement until the foundations of the building fell apart. The building collapsed a bit on one side, not completely but everybody had to leave the building and it was boarded up. So when we went in, there were all these desks still with papers, with post-it notes saying "I'll be back in 5 min"...
It's a very tall building in the center of Bucharest so we had a great view of all the town and we just bombed the place, we painted all over the rooftop. Then bit by bit, more people got to know the spot and for one or two years, it was bursting with energy.
When Ripo and Above came, we did a huge roller piece on the rooftop, we were on a small ledge above a 14 storey drop. The piece was visible from all of Bucharest, some people even started calling it the Sinboy building.
Why in the streets?
Because I'm really tired of this monotony, this monochromatic state we live in. There's so much art that could be out there, on all these unused spaces. Cities could be bursting with colours.
I like the exploration side of it too. Walking around in a city, finding all these corners that most people don't go to, using rooftops which have incredible views, but nobody ever goes up there. There are tunnels... well, there's so much unused space in a city.
Are you trying to convey a message?
Depends, sometimes I am, sometimes I do a piece with a concept, relevant to the location and sometimes I just do a nice colourful piece that reuses some old wall. I like using garbage, stuff I find on the streets. My message is usually humourous, comments on society, my views on how we function with cultural references.
Who would you like to collaborate with?
Sooo many people... Here in Barcelona, I'd like to meet up with Pez, the 1980 crew. I just like the way they paint, it's so physical, you can feel the paint on your hands just by looking at the piece.
What are you main sources of inspiration?
I grew up in Madrid next to the very big wall of fame in Barrio de Pilar, so I grew up seeing a lot of Suso. Everyday when I got back from school, I'd check out that wall, it was my first introduction to graffiti.
I also find inspiration in cartoons, illustrations, comics, action figures (I have a large vintage Star Wars figures collection); I've kept everything from when I was a kid.
Any plans for the future?
I've done a lot of characters lately and I think I need to evolve, do more conceptual stuff. I'm a bit disappointed with the whole art world lately: what is it worth doing it for? For example, at the moment, a musical piece moves me more than a visual piece and I'm trying to figure out why that is, if I can change that.
www.sinboy.ro
Labels: interview
1 Comments:
Anonymous said...
That first picture is with the great Obetre and Vagabundos. Marolles represent!