I H AV E A RESPONSIBILITY TO
TALK ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS
THAT AFFECT MY PEOPLE
“Iwas 22 whenI startedpainting.I wanted
to start after Isaw thepiecethatEtamCru
didcalledMoonshine,it’s my favouritemural.
My work startedingraphicnovels,soitwas
allsuper-graphic,blackand white,
comic-typework.WhenIpickedupspray
paint,Ibasicallyhad to learnhow to colour
thingsbecauseIhad noclue. It was asteep
learningcurve,and itkindof brokemy brain
for alittlebitbutitwent quicklyfrom a
flatgraphicstyleto morelike painterly,
graffiti-influencedwork.Just from painting
inthestreet.
Ineverwas apoliticalpersonbeforeI
pickedupstreetart, ittook meafew years
to even feel empoweredenoughor feel like
Ihad sculptedmy voiceto aplacewhereI
couldsay somethingor findaway to doit.
Ithinkit’s importantto beaware.Ithink
it’s kindof acop-outto paintinthestreets
and nevereven considertakingastanceon
anything.Especiallybecause,asawoman
of colour,Ihave apositionand kindof a
responsibilityto talkabout certain things
that affect my people.My driveis less focusedon the idea of
gettingup and moreaboutbeingactive.
You have to continuouslypaintin the
streetif you wantto keep your voice
relevant,freshand keep it interestingto
you and also just to be part of what
you’redoing.
One of the best thingsaboutpainting
large-scaleis that you can’t do it from your
studio,you have to do it constantlyin order
to stay activeand keep your musclesfresh.
But also, muralpaintingand graffitiis cool
becauseyou just constantlyhave to be a
part of it in orderto stay relevant.You can’t
just sit back and let whateveryou’vedone
for the past six or sevenyearscarry you.
It’s constantlychanging.So there’sthat,
but also mostlyit’s just me wantingto
constantlyget betterand makesomething
betterthan whatI madelast time.
I thinkthere’ssomethingaboutan artist
who’sneversatisfiedwith whatthey’re
doing.It’s like a cursethat keepsyou going.
If I were startingagainI’d probablytell
myself to just be less stressed. But at thesametime,it lit a fire undermy ass to be
as stressedas I was. I wouldset goalsfor
myself.I’d painta muraleverymonthor
somethingand even thoughthat’skind
of bonkersit taughtme how to use spray
paintand how to hustle.Thosewere really
goodtimesthat I’m glad I did whenI was
youngerbecauseI don’t wantto do it now.
I’d ratherconservemy effortsto paintlarger
piecesthat are betterplanned.
I’m not that into repetition.Some
peoplewouldarguethat I shouldbe more
into repetition,but I get boredeasily.
You’llnevercatchme paintingthe
exactsamething.Sorry.It’s not aboutan
ego thing.It’s just I fuckinglove painting
bigger.It’s a biggerchallengeto work
spatiallyon a largerscale,especiallyif
you’renot projecting. It’s a better workout
for your brain."laurenys.com
@squid.licker
Interviewandimages: Louis Jenson
@sprayingbricks09-15 MARCH 2020 BIGISSUE.COM|p 37