“SURE is from the best city in South Africa, Cape Town! Born and raised in Cape Town and painting graffiti more actively than your average since 2006 with a lot more to come! Streets highways and trains have never been the same. Representing 40Hk crew, and the infamous drinking crew TRD. In such a small scene, with so much security, policing and gangsterism its important to have people push as hard as Sure to keep things moving in an every day struggle to stay up!” Toe007-40hk
Please tell us your name and how long you’ve been painting?
I write Sure, 40hk, and been writing since 2006.
Tell us about the scene in your country/ city.
The scene in our city is small but growing. I feel that one of the main problems we have is that writers find the easiest way of getting up is through the internet. So instead of going out and painting fresh spots, they paint played out walls and just post the pics the to net. That being said there are a few guys coming up who have been steadily bombing and pushing others to step it up.
What scares you when going out painting?
As a writer in Cape Town though the main problems we face when going out is the immense amount of private security. Apart from the police and metro police we have about 8 or 9 private armed security companies who are active in all areas of the city. Crime is a major problem in our city so people are extremely vigilant of whats going on. Not to mention the dodgy people to seem to hangout on most street corners.
What are your goals?
No long term goals really. Would really like to travel but right now I just gotta finish college.
How do you manage to balance graffiti life with a ‘normal’ life?
I think i should make that one of my goals… haha. its mostly just slugging through the day on minimal sleep and drinking far to much coffee…
Can you tell us the worst things that happened to you while painting?
The most recent thing that comes to mind is security jumping out of train we were busy with and trying to stab one of the guys I was painting with. Myself and Toe managed to get away but did get pelted with train stones in the process.
And the funniest?
One of the funniest and most disturbing things I’ve seen was while Jers and Aley were down. We were checking out a layup during the day and we walked past a homeless guy. We were about 3m past him and we turned around and he had taken out his dick and started wanking! He knew we were there and didn’t give a fuck! So naturally Jers takes out his camera and starts filming the guy. That was pretty fucked up.
What do you think about graffiti in the rest of the world?
There are so many levels to that question, but overall I feel that the level of graffiti both in quality and concept is being pushed and taken well past what I thought was possible.
Influences…
I’m influenced mostly by shapes and bold letterforms, but I know that to some level I’m influenced by everything, be it the stuff I love and I am inspired by or the stuff and people that I fucking hate.
Shout outs!
Thanks to you guys for the interview and to everyone doing something in Cape Town, Toe Cros Disk Raze Pastel Wer Lozr, also the 40hk crew, TRDz, and those crazy motherfuckers Jers and Aley for making me feel like a tourist in my own city.
2 What do you think?
HI,My name is Ros, I've been painting for little over a year you could say but not with that name I've been painting numerous names but have settled on one, my country is South Africa, Cape Town what got me into graffiti was the streets in Cape Town being so dull and boring, I want to bring color to the Urban city of Cape Town.What i find scary about painting is that i might get caught, which is the one of the main risks of doing graffiti but its more of the being caught unaware,having no one to watch out for you while you paint.My goals are just evolving at graffiti, finding my unique style, getting my name up, other than that its just school. I deal with my graffiti life well because I mainly go out painting on the weekend and regain sleep by sleeping it off during the next day(Sunday) but since i do go out painting also on Sunday, i am dazed but drink coffee and a red bull and are ready for a school day (Monday).The worst thing that has happened is being chased in a forest at night by ADT, then hiding in a bush for 10min before running home.The funniest thing that has happened is ,spraying paint in my face because the paint can was turned the wrong way round,that was a very long night for me. Graffiti in the rest of the world seems more popular than it is here in Cape Town, I think that Graffiti is forever progressing and is becoming a very popular art form in the world.My influences started in grade 7 where the grade was learning about graffiti art ( more learning of bansky a street artist) but that made me very interested in the art of graffiti so i started drawing just letters instead of people, Then my school managed to get Mak1one to come to my school and discuss graffiti ,that's where it became more than an interest, and now i just want to do more graffiti, but I need direction so that why i commented to get a graffiti mentor or some help because i hate painting alone and want to be part of a crew for safety reasons my parents wont allow me to paint because i do it alone,but my parents says it will be different if i was in a group.To warn you before you interview me in person or we meet , im young, under drinking age.But please do contact me if you go to shelf life just ask one of the employees to give me your number to me (a kid who has his parents buying him spray paint, who always wheres a grey hoody with elbow pads and has blond hair ) or contact me via email james123mar@gmail.com.
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