The Big Issue - UK (2020-03-09)

“Istartedpaintinginthestreetsaround1996.AndI was

about17.

My influencesatthetimewere my bigbrotherMatt Eaton,

becausehewas thebestletteristgraffitiartist/designerIknew,

and peoplelike Doze Greenand Mode2.

My styleevolvedfrom 20years of experimentation,figuring

outwhatI’m goodat, and whatIlike painting.And for along

timeIhad to give myselfmultipleidentitiesto executeallthe

kindsof art Iwantedto make.So, on one hand,Ihad adesign

studioto satisfythedesignerinme, TrustoCorpto exercisethe

mischievouspranksterinmeand my own personalpaintingall

atthesametime.

Iwas atapointwhereIhad to makeaboldchoicetowards

pursuingmy fineart full-timeand forgettingeverythingelse.

Inorderto behappydoingone thing,Ihad to take alltheart I

likeand pushitinto one place,soIcouldsatisfyeverypart of

me.Ihad to makethatboldcommitmentand juststickto my

guns.Luckily,theresponsewas positive.And thatallowedme

todomoreand moreand moreof thatthing.You gotto follow

your gut.

Graffitiisabouttellingtheworldthatyou exist. And what

betterway than to write your namehugeon awall somewhere.

You’reableto bypassalltheinstitutionsand justsay, fuck it, and

paintyour shitoutdoors.It’s thegreatestway to expressyourself

on theplanet.

No one’s gonnabelieveinyou unlessyou believeinyourself,

and noone’s gonnainvestinyou unlessyou’veinvestedin

yourselfto thepointwhereyou’reaviablecandidatefor the

nextlevel. So, inorderto showpeoplewhatyou’rereallycapable

of, sometimesyou have to fund ityourselfand showtheworld

whatkindof artist you are. Alotof my biggestbreakshave come

after I’ve self-fundedabook,self-fundedatoy, self-fundeda

mural.And once I’ve done that, theworldhasrespondedina

positiveway. Waitingfor thephoneto ringdoesn’treallygetyou

anywhereand historyfavoursthebold.So you’vegotto bebold

and justdoityourself.And thatendsupbeingprettyexpensive.

Ihave anever-endinglistof placesaroundtheplanetIwanna

paint. I’d love to paint in South Africa. I’d love to paint in Senegal.

And Antarctica,there’ssomeabandonedwhalingstationsI

want to paint,and there’sabunchof abandonedWorldWar Two

structuresallaroundtheplanet.There’ssomethingaboutthe

beautyand decayof forgottenarchitecturethatIfeel lendsitself

well to my sensibilitiesinmy work.It getsoldpaintingbigcities.

In citiesyour work islike adrop inthebucket,butyou can have

muchmoreimpactinsmallercommunitiessometimes.

Itry to choosemuralopportunitiesthatare permanentso

thatmy art can work like tombstonesfor mewhenI’m gone.

Andfor mostartistsour greatestdreamisfor our art to live on

beyondour years. So my mural work is my greatest opportunity

to dothat.”

TristanEaton’slarge-scalemurals,acollageofpopimagery,

canbefoundindozensofcitiesacrosstheglobe,fromParisto

Shanghai.HisworkalsofeaturesintheMuseum of Modern

Art’spermanentcollectioninNewYork

Interview:LouisJensen@SprayingBricks

Photography: @lisafranchotphoto

HISTORY FAVOURS THE BOLD

09-15 MARCH 2020 BIGISSUE.COM|p 31