Looking at quite a few of his larger pieces, I think that they would have been very difficult for just one person to accomplish in the best of circumstances, never mind having to remain out of sight of the authorities, and incognito to the wider public.
Can anyone, be more qualified. ?. I'm not so sure. You either like summat or you don't. Most art in my view at the top end of the scale is bought more as an investment. Especially by private buyers. We can all marvel at the skill. But still not like summat. It's been mentioned before. Some artists have thrown summat together and given it away. So the name is more important than the piece itself. We have a couple of Bob Parker prints. Paid hundreds because we like em. Some would think bonkers for a print and not an original. Some of the stuff at tate modern I would throw straight in a skip. If the artist was unknown and worthless.
I’m going back 20 years, but there was the story of the Gaza Strip division wall painting. Where he was rumbled by the Israeli authorities & had to disappear down a manhole into the sewers. He abandoned the paints, it was all about saving the stencils.. I’m pretty sure he works alone, but does have a network of ‘safe houses’, when the law is persuing.. I think he’s brilliant. It’s all about the ideas & the daring execution..& his stencilling is actually very skilful..
Great story! Amazing if he did the Gaza Strip piece alone, although he must have quite a few people involved on the logistics side.
my personal theory on the larger pieces is that there is some level of collusion with the authorities. whether that's road closures, erecting screens or whatever. could be completely wrong like, but how on earth do you pull off pieces such as 'anti-brexit', without anyone at all noticing?
Early 2000s I was involved with this place called the Foundry, an outsider arts pub in Shoreditch. I was there late one night after hours, when there was a knock on the door & this fella came in out of heavy rain with a racing bike & rucksack. He had a pint of Guinness & was soon on his way. I asked Jonathan the ‘landlord’ of sorts who he was? He said had I seen those stencilled rat paintings in the area? I had & that was the fella who made them. The place was a ‘safe house’ for him, but I think on this occasion, rain had stopped play.. True story..
Absolutely. And when it comes to the pieces abroad, does he travel with his stencils and paints or acquire them in his destination? You'd think they'd be pretty noticeable on an airport security check!
This reminds me of when we were visiting certain filming locations from Breaking Bad in Albuquerque. Most places were welcoming and had took on a certain recognition of the part they had played in the popular TV series, however, the couple who live in Walts house discouraged visitors by putting up plenty of signs and patrolling the front porch regularly.