Writer Interviews

 

AEON : F1C FLIES SDM

 

Can you tell us a bit about your background?

I write Aeon. I’m in SDM, FLIES, F1 and FOES crews. I grew up writing in Melbourne but I’ve travelled a lot and painted in lots of different countries and I think that travelling has changed the way I go about my graff.

 

How did you choose your tag, any special meaning?

I went through a lot of tags in my early years. I used to watch Aeon Flux on SBS. One day I was sketching in front of the TV and I did an Aeon sketch and really liked the letters. Before that I had a lot of good tags that I struggled to write well.

 

How did you get in to graffiti?

I was into art as a child and I always liked graffiti. I used to catch the train down to Belgrave to see my Dad on the weekends. There wasn’t much for a kid to do on an hour long train ride except look out the window. My brother and I used to point out pieces and talk about the graff all the way there. I have vivid memories of seeing DMA and PBP panels and insides. When I was in about grade 5 my brother and I started pinching markers and doing tags around the place and inside trains. During that time we were into skateboarding. After a while skating took over. For years I lost interest in actually doing graff. I did tags and throwies here and there. I was right into the scene and I hung out with heaps of writers and did sketches, took photos etc. But it wasn’t until about 1996 that I started piecing and taking it serious.

 

What is it that you love about graffiti that keeps you writing?

I love creating stuff and I've always been into art. I like to see my stuff in the street and on the train lines. I like it when other people tell me that they saw me up in this place or that place and I love the felling of completing a nice piece.

 

Tell us about your style and how it has developed over the years.

I grew up looking at lots of old school New York graff and early Melbourne graff because that was the stuff my friends had. Then I travelled around the world and my ideas on what was fresh started to change. I saw so many different styles and painted with lots of different people. Now I try to have as many styles as possible.

 

Who have been your major influences?

In the beginning it was Tusk2, Duet, Sarg, Zode & Nurock because I was spending a lot of time with them. Then through looking at old photos I loved Sena's stuff. Now days I like Image (Poland), Anie and Aroe (England), Roger (Germany), Dems (Spain), Vans and people who do weird stuff but do it well. I also like fresh simple styles. I'm getting sick of complex wildstyles. They aren't for me at the moment.

 

Two friends that really inspire me are Tres and Pilfer. They always make me look at my graff in a different way.

 

What's your view on the street art scene in Melbourne at the moment?

I think that there is some good art being done but there is also way too much biting from overseas artists. There is also too many stencils taken from photos off the internet and out of books. They are just duplicating someone else's image. I think people need to come up with their own stuff. Street art can be good when done well. But there is not a lot rocking my boat at the moment.

 

Paint brand of choice

Export, Ironlak and roller paint.

 

Cap of choice

Grey black dot, New York fatties

 

What music motivates you to paint?

I listen to a lot of hip hop. But I really like to listen to jazz and blues when I sketch and paint.

 

Memorable mission moment

I was at a party in Brooklyn (New York), with a few writers. There was a mad wall outside the kitchen window. It was a rooftop facing Brooklyn Bridge. We grabbed our paint, climbed out the window and started painting. Halfway through our pieces it started snowing. We finished them and got back to the party. The next morning I caught the train back to Manhattan and realized how much of a prime spot we hit.

 

Any tips you're willing to share to the next generation of writers?

Try not to get stuck in a style. It will get you nowhere. Try lots of different styles and you will progress faster. Use anything you can get your hands on to paint. Don't think that you have to always use good paint. Quite often the pieces you do with minimal paint turn out to be the best.

 

Anything else to add?

Shout out to all the Flies crew, F1 boys, SDM, Foes, all the people I’ve painted with and anyone who likes my stuff.
www.myspace.com/aeonsdm

 

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