EXHIBIT

INTERVIEWMISHFIT

Luke Powell: What makes your workstand out from the crowd and whatare your influences as an artist?

Mishfit: They’re feminine, bright and el-egant…I hope! My work is definitelyless gangster and more geisha. My female characters aren’t your typi-cal big-boobed “chicks with guns”,they’re a bit more wily than that!My inspiration comes from a big mix ofJapanese art, tribal culture and cere-monial dress, art novae, the weird andwonderful things that grow in nature,strong female characters, edgy mes-sages and stark contrasts. I wrap all of this up into vibrant, but sim-ple pieces with flowing lines and acheeky undertone.

How did you first get started instreet art?

I’ve always been a scribbler. I guessyou just get to a point where you’re outand about, drinking and clubbing withyour pens on you. Before long you’re leaving cute robotson the backs of every toilet door andwhen I did this they got a great re-action, with some bar owners evenkeeping them when they redecorated.It just went on from there really, stick-ers, spray paint, paste ups etc.

Can you remember your first piece?

I can remember my first sprayed piece,it was on the side of the warehouse I

lived in, in Melbourne. Back then, my can skills were basicallynon-existent, but there were some re-ally supportive artists out there who justencouraged me to get on with it.

How did you first get involved withGrafik Warfare, and what is it likebeing the only female member?

I used to share a studio with the artistsSNUB and Matt Sewel and they defi-nitely inspired me. When SNUB set upGrafik Warfare it was just a naturalthing for me to join the crew.As for my gender, it doesn’t really comeinto it. I might be a bit shorter than mostof the guys, which is a pain whenyou’re trying to paint up high, but

BRIGHTON-BASED, GEISHA OBSESSEDSTREET ARTIST MISHFIT HAS GONEFROM DRAWING “CUTE ROBOTS” ONTOILET DOORS TO WORKING WITHONE OF THE MOST RESPECTEDSTREET ART COLLECTIVES IN THEUK. WE FIND OUT WHAT MAKES THE33-YEAR-OLD ARTIST TICK.

47 SUB-URBAN AUGUST 2012

Top: TB & TC 2010.Left: ‘New England House’. Right: ‘Love Is ABlood Sport’.

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you can always jump on someone’sshoulders!

Where do you prefer painting? Havethere been any locations that reallystand out?

Painting at festivals is hilarious, butpainting in the abandoned HellinglyAsylum was pretty crazy and has to bethe most memorable place. The last time we painted there, whichwas just before it got flattened, we hadto show the police the way out as theyhad gotten themselves lost in there!

What do you think street art bringsto an urban environment?

It can really brighten up dark andmanky corners of the city. The act ofpainting itself is generally great for thecommunity as it gets everyone inter-ested and interacting. People feel like they have a voice andit gives them an alternative visual stim-ulus other than commercial advertisingwhich generally dominates the urbanlandscape. In short, I guess it gives aplace more of a personality and getspeople engaging with where they live.

What is the street art scene like inBrighton?

It’s been really interesting here inBrighton. It’s a pretty arty town any-way, so the graffiti scene got a good

reception from the locals. There are now quite a lot of interestingprojects involving local street artists - in-cluding some from Grafik Warfare – andthe council. There are even stencilworkshops for youth offenders and as aresult of these projects, local residentsseem to be more interested in commis-sioning their own pieces, which is great.

Finally, if you could create one pieceanywhere in the world, what would itbe and where would you put it?

I’m totally obsessed with geisha, so Iguess it would have to be a giant Mishfitgeisha in Kyoto!

Visit: http://mishfit.com/ for more info.

MY WORK ISDEFINITELY LESS

GANGSTER ANDMORE GEISHA.

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Top left: ‘Stormbot takes to the water’. Top right: ‘MishBots invadeDalston’. Bottom left: ‘Red head’. Bottom right: UPfest: Pussyfoot/Mooncat?

Photographs by MISHFIT

INTERVIEWSEPR

When did you first become involvedin Bristol’s street art scene and howhard was it to get noticed in the earlydays when the scene was still emerging?

Sepr: I would say the first pieces of art-work I produced and put 'out there'would probably be old punk gig flyersand illustrations for various zines. I didn’t start painting walls out andabout properly until around '99-2000! I became involved purely by trying toparticipate in the one way I knew Icould. Friends would put on gigs, writeor play in bands or DJ. I could draw andenjoyed it, so that was my contributionto whatever scene existed at the time.

So would you say the music sceneplayed a big part in the developmentof the city’s art movement? Havethere been any other contributingfactors?

Just from my own experiences all themusic and art scenes seem to have ex-ploded and received a lot of exposure. Without sounding like an old man, theInternet and social networking siteshave obviously played a massive partin this. Bristol now has a scene that a lot ofpeople seem drawn to and its exist-ing reputation for art and music hasbecome even bigger.

So there are more artists to competewith? Is that a good thing?

There are definitely a lot of peoplepainting in Bristol, which is good as itkeeps you on your toes. If you stoppainting for a short amount of timethere are a whole load of other artistsready to paint over you. I do think that sometimes quantity takesover quality though. When I was start-ing to paint, I learnt in places like Dean

Lane, Bedmo or underneath the M32motorway which are pretty muchhidden away from the general pub-lic except for a small handful of nerdygraf types. Now people are learning to paint inplaces like Stokes Croft, which is verymuch out in public for everyone to see.Whilst this is generally a positive thing,it can take a nose dive at times, with thestandard of work being pretty poor andpeople who would’ve previously craftedtheir skills over time on train lines or intunnels, are now learning outsidepeoples shops and houses.

Are you aware of what the publicthink? And what do you prefer,would you rather have no art thanbad art or the other way around?

It’s a difficult subject to get your headaround because what is more prefer-able? Streets with no art on, except the

FROM DESIGNING GIG FLYERS TOPAINTING SOME OF THE MOSTRECOGNISEABLE STREET ART INBRISTOL, 30-YEAR-OLD SEPRREVEALS THE UPS AND DOWNSOF BRISTOL’S ‘ART REVOLUTION.’

EXHIBIT

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Top: Mikeycanvas. Left: Samosa. Right: Whalebaby.

vile images strewn across billboardadverts, or streets covered in art that isjust lazy and not that good? Who decides what is good anyway?Having artwork on people’s doorstepshas divided people for sure.A lot people love it, a lot of people alsohate it and a lot of people seem so ex-posed to it that they don’t even notice itanymore. Each person has to make their ownmind up and act in the way they see fit.

How have Bristol City Council reacted tothe art scene in the city? As an estab-lished artist, do you have much to dowith them?

I’ve not been involved with the councilvery much, but they do seem to be re-alising that Bristol has a lot to offer interms of art and that this can be usefulto them. They are made up of a lot of different

minded people so it’s difficult to say.Over the years I’ve seen the councilspend a fortune on removing graffiti forno real reason except to be seen asdoing their job properly.Then on the other hand they havehelped to organise events like See NoEvil, which was beneficial to both sideson different levels. They do seem to be coming around tothe pretty fucked up idea that they canuse the same people they are handingout fines or prison sentences to, to dowork for them - for free - to attracttourists to the city. It’s a bizarre and complicated situationreally, but if the council are the onlyones saying what is and what is not okto paint on our city walls then I think itwill become pretty boring.

Do you consider yourself as an artistor an illustrator?

Both, It depends on what I’m workingon. If I’m painting something no one willever really see which I won’t benefitfrom, apart from in a fun or creativeway, then I would say an artist. If I’m de-signing something for someone forthem to use for their specifications thenI would say Illustrator.

Do you work full time as an artist?

Just about. I paint and make artwork fulltime, but have had to make massivesacrifices in terms of what I can affordto do. I definitely couldn’t live what a lotof people would consider a 'normal life'on what I earn! Who knows what willhappen in the future though, I know if Idon’t try and be an artist full time I willdefinitely regret it.

To see more of Sepr’s work visit:http://www.sp-sepr.co.uk/

IF YOU STOPPAINTING FOR ASHORT AMOUNT

OF TIME, THEREARE A WHOLE

LOAD OF OTHERARTISTS READYTO PAINT OVER

YOU.

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Top: Rasgluten. Bottom: ASK Wall in Bristol ‘11.

Photographs by SEPR