EPOS - interview
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1. Please introduce yourself and tell us something about yourself.
Hi, I stared with graffiti in 1996. It was a real attraction, it felt like nothing I had been doing before; I will never forget the beginnings. It was mysterious, even mystic to see the city covered in inscriptions and personal codes that I hadn’t noticed previously and all of a sudden they were jumping out at every corner all over the city. I felt a growing urge to become part of this game. I painted my first metro train in 1999 and that’s how it all started. This set off an avalanche... adrenalin, sweat, stress, paranoia, endorphin, energy, satisfaction; it was an unbelievably intense experience. At that point I knew I was living life to the fullest...a total adventure. I left everything behind – school, Scout, athletics, public art school, though; at the same time I discovered all the aspects of these in graffiti. I gradually developed a deep relationship to urban landscape – the organism which you are a part of and which you recreate. You live at night crawling the city’s bowels, the dark recesses, railway arteries, you feel it pulsing and breathing. I build on these experiences, they are important to me. My way of thinking has changed, I am older, wiser and I don’t have as much energy as I used to have.
2. As one of very few people in the Czech Republic you constantly push the boundaries of graffiti. Your most recent successful work is the trunk at the metro ventilation. How did you get that idea and how did you carry it out? Can we actually still call it graffiti?
I feel that graffiti is sort of over for me, which is not to say that I would stop painting at all but I gradually shift my activities towards different directions. This process has started some time ago, it is a thirst for other things that fulfil me. You have to give up certain things to take on some others otherwise the old things will set you back (I make use of what I have learnt about graffiti and it will definitely appear in my new work). Life is a journey and I feel that it’s about time to move on.
The idea to create air object arised one year ago, when writers intensively worked on subway stations, when the only way to get there, was through the air shaft. So I got the idea to use the air energy. It is a very complex project that will take longer than I expected. I plan several installations at various places around Prague. The installation at Dejvicka was in fact a test version. I was wondering with what size I can work and how the object will respond to it. The objects will be geometric in shape and they will be designed for particular ventholes with the aim to change the architectural aspect of them. I initially came upon rather obvious idea of placing the inflatable letters around the city, at first the name and then words concerning this project such as air power etc. But eventually I gave up the letters entirely. I didn’t mean to reject working with writing and text but in this particular case I feel more freedom and bigger action space when working in this environment.
3. You were enrolled in the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design on the bases of your recent works. What do you expect from the studies?
I look forward to the next stage of my life. Many of my high school classmates or friends who are the same age are just finishing their university studies. For me, the time is now; I’m more mature so I have no regrets. There are still many blank places for me and one should always try to make use of his potential and head towards self-improvement for his whole life. This is a great opportunity for shifting my horizon of perception further in many respects. Also, I definitely want to go on an exchange program and study abroad.
4. Which world city would you chose to live in if you couldn’t live in Prague and why?
There are a lot of cities I would like to visit but only a few that I would like to live in permanently. I love Prague from the bottom of my heart and I don’t regret living here at all. I also like the context of its location. We are a post-communist country that was formerly part of the border dividing the East and the West - a good position for observing the world affairs from a broad perspective and from a detached view point. In Berlin, the situation was even more tense as the border - the Berlin Wall - was cutting right through it. That’s why Berlin attracts me but in the first place, it has the most progressive graffiti scene with a lot of people with great overreach. The city offers many opportunities and it is not a megacity such as London which is a bit too much of a hustle and bustle, it could get me depressed. So Berlin is the city of my choice :-).
5. Do you have any closing remarks?
Names fest! Many thanks to Honza and everyone else who made it happen.
I hope it’s going to kick Prague’s ass!
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