Before doing graff I really enjoyed reading comics like Mad magazines from the late 70’s to the early 80’s. When I was 12 or 13 I got my hands on some early issues of Heavy Metal with stories and art by Vaughn Bode, Rich Corben, Liberatore and Moebius, lots of sex, lots of blood, killing and drugs. I was also inspired by titles that were released by Kitchen Sink, Rip Off Press, 2000AD - comics that were a little more interesting than dudes rolling around in spandex. As a kid I didn’t really get it, but I liked looking at it. Those were some of my early, early influences.

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I remember going into a joint in Perth called Hollywood Or Bust in the late 80s. The back carpark was pieced out. I didn’t quite make it to see the dudes battle on the day, but there was one wall in particular, a production by the original members of TFC. There was a Shime piece, a West Coast piece by Showbiz and there was a Buen piece on the end. That wall pretty much hit me straight between the eyes. It was above every level of anything I had seen before. You can see images on album covers, or in books like Subway Art, or clips on TV and think that’s graffiti but when you’re standing in front of a mad production and can actually see and touch and really look at a wall like that, it has an impact beyond seeing an image in a book. It becomes more tangible. I still look at photos of that wall and think “oh shit, that’s so good”. Eventually I ended up painting with TFC, and still put it up to this day.

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People have always generally got something good to say, but I do like it when I meet the one percent of dudes who get right up in your face and tell you they would prefer to see a wall covered in black tar rather than a colourful mural. I like meeting those people because it gives me an opportunity to educate them about what I do as a painter. Using a spray can might bring up negative connotations for some but I’m just out there doing my thing. I like it when someone comes up with something bad to say because it reminds me of the way it used to be, but times change I guess and now there are a lot more positive responses.

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Artists make art, they have exhibitions, they show stuff in galleries. From a young age I had work in group shows. At a base level graffiti belongs on the street, it becomes a different thing when it gets shown in a gallery. The hardest thing is not losing that spontaneity and energy, and maintaining the integrity of your work in a gallery situation.

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I think life in general is a big test, at different stages I’ve been at my wit’s end as to what direction I’ve needed to take when I’ve hit the crossroads. If you dump that much of your time and effort into something you believe in, I think it reaches a point where it just becomes “you”. A considerable amount of sacrifice comes with that.

There have been times when I’ve wanted to chuck it all in, it’s been like a cursed gift. What you are good at doing can also be the thing that drags you down. But even during the most painful times being creative becomes a way to get something off your chest. Generally it makes for the best work.

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There was one time when I felt like everything had fallen apart, and I pulled out a case from under my bed. In that case was my first blackbook and one of my first mix tapes, and when I put that tape on and looked through my blackbook things started falling back into place again. It took me back to that point where I was so young and innocent, before I had had a cigarette or a drink of alcohol, when graffiti spoke to me in a way that inspired a pure energy, and it’s interesting to try and tap back into that energy as I progress through life. To try and view the world through a child’s eyes again.