Montana Colors Australia offers us, in this video, the possibility to accompany a famous writer from Sydney, to a freight train yard. We are referring to the one and only Phibs, a veteran of the Australian scene -with a more than recognizable style- remains active today. Taking full advantage of this opportunity, we have interviewed him to bring Sydney’s past and present a bit closer to those of you who are a little far away.
Phibs has made both the streets and the galleries his own, and is a fantastic example of how to succeed in both worlds. Perhaps that’s why he discusses art and balance.
What does painting a freight train offer you compared to other surfaces?
Doing graff is a lifestyle and an ‘itch’ that I need to scratch on the regular. Whether it’s a legal wall, trackside, or a freight, it gives me a sense of self satisfaction, adventure, achievement, and enjoyment.
I try to paint at least once or twice a week. I consider it a release and almost therapy. As much as I still like the idea of painting suburban trains, it’s just not worth the headache that could jeopardize a lot of other important aspects in my life today.
Age and the responsibility of a family must be considered these days. Whereas once-upon-a-time in my younger years, it would not have been an issue. I’m sorry to say, I’m not as ‘hardcore’ as I once was. Freights are relatively easier to paint. Though, not to say that they don’t have any, or no risks involved.
The fact that they are always on the move is definitely an attraction. Whether freighting wheat or coal, the wagons will end up in different corners of the country, taking your work to a different audience. They are rarely buffed, which is also appealing. You can often figure out where a freight resides based on the work that is on it.
What is unique about the Australian freight scene compared to other places in the world?
I’m not sure if they are unique compared to other places, but maybe it would be the distance some of them travel.
Australia is a huge country with a lot of deserts in the middle, and all major cities are based on the surrounding coastline. So, some freights must travel hundreds and hundreds of kilometers to reach their destinations.
Also, maybe the shape of the wagons. Australian freights are perfect for painting, as most of them are smooth. I’ve noticed freights from the USA and Europe have a lot more ridges and obstacles on the wagons, making them more of a challenge to paint.
“I’d say that’s the true nature of graffiti – no rules… no limits… no boundaries.”
Can you tell us when you started painting?
My interest in the graffiti scene started in the mid 80’s, though I was slow to fully emerge and become active in the Sydney scene. In the early days I spent more time bombing trains and track sides as well as photographing/documenting works around Sydney and Melbourne.
My work was pretty toy back then and nothing amazing.
It wasn’t until the 90’s that I developed some sort of style that I was confident to paint, and I became more active and known.
Being schooled by Dmote and Prins – who are both well-known pioneer writers from the lower North Shore of Sydney – I had big shoes to fill and had way more confidence in painting characters before developing a relatively worthy letter style that I could call my own.
Being mentored by older generation writers was more common back then. It doesn’t seem to happen as much anymore. Having experienced knowledge handed down was important.
With the rise of social media – Instagram in particular – and many publications, as well as an abundance of quality aerosol brands and products made specially for graff writers, it is more readily available for people to pick up for themselves.
Which Australian writers from that era are still active today?
There are heaps of older generation writers still very active today.
People who were the pioneers and influenced me before my time, I’m glad to say.
If I had to mention a few from my time:
Taven has had a resurgence and is absolutely destroying Sydney’s tracksides currently.
Unity, Dont, Skore, Caibs, Shute, Snarl, Days, Zombie, and Roske come to mind and are still very active. I’m sure there are many more I could mention here, and sorry if I’ve missed some names.
What are the BEST aspects of the graff scene?
Let’s start with the best. As mentioned earlier it’s great to see so many older generation writers still so active and passionate about painting.
There are many events and graff jams organised these days which are firstly really fun, and secondly, strengthen the graff community, giving the older and new generation a chance to meet and make bonds.
The graff scene is much larger these days. Whether legal or illegal, there are always people out there getting busy. And, thanks to the dreaded social media, it’s much easier to find writers from other corners of the world to hook up with when traveling overseas.
” …(back in the days) I really loved how unique and creative the early letter styles of piecing looked.”
And the WORST?
The worst for me, will always be the politics.
It is part of human nature and it will always be part of it, whether in the graff scene, or other aspects of our society. Senseless capping of quality work and small minds unable to rise above.
I think it’s completely fine to have a different opinion or point of view, but it doesn’t mean it has to start a war or end in violence.
What are you missing from the old days and what not?
I’m not really missing anything from the old days, but if I had to point out something – I really loved how unique and creative the early letter styles of piecing looked.
It was because we didn’t have the exposure of what was getting done overseas. So, we were mainly looking at people in our own cities to get inspiration. Back then, things seemed more experimental.
Who are the most outstanding writers in Australia today? And your favorites?
There are SO MANY outstanding writers – it’s too hard to mention them all.
I’d say, if there was one whose been constantly blowing people’s minds, including my own, it would be SOFLES. Unbelievably talented and also a humble, nice guy.
How would you describe your style and where does it come from?
From a young age I have always been interested in the natural world around me, so animals and plants are a constant inspiration when painting characters.
Attention to detail, abstraction, and bold clean line work are other recognizable traits.
Appreciation for the traditional New York Subway Art letter styles is common, but I also really enjoy switching things up and creating new experimental abstract ways of painting letter forms.
For me it’s important to always try different ideas out.
Even if the first attempt is a failure, it helps evolve [the work] into a different direction, keeping things interesting for myself, first and foremost.
“I think when looking back at Australia’s earliest (80’s) graffiti, a unique style was more obvious, due to the lack of influence from other countries, and a scene that was more inspired by what was going on internally in its own backyard, rather than overseas.”
Art and graffiti – what’s the secret to not blend one into the other?
I actually purposely try to blend them together and consider them equal.
A lot of my recurring symbols and characters that I paint as a so called ‘art piece’, will also be seen intertwined with my graff work.
I worked out pretty early, that to stand out from the rest of the bunch you needed to have something noticeably different to what others were doing.
The curl regularly seen within my work, whether a piece or character, is an instantly recognizable symbol associated with what I create.
Do you think there is an Australian style?
Graffiti is predominantly pretty generic, but to the trained eye, you can tell where certain letter styles or pieces are from. It could be very subtle – like a letter connection, arrow, or a tag style that could give a hint.
I think when looking back at Australia’s earliest (80’s) graffiti, a unique style was more obvious, due to the lack of influence from other countries, and a scene that was more inspired by what was going on internally in its own backyard, rather than overseas.
Of course, it was still based on the New York subway scene but moved in a different direction. Instagram and social media have undoubtedly made work from other countries more readily available to see and has influenced popular styles used today.
If you had to choose between giving up painting graffiti, or give up art, what would you choose?
I hope that day will never come, as they are both equally important aspects of my life and what I do. And tell you the truth, I see them both as the same thing – ‘art’.
I guess there’s a big part of graffiti which is about breaking the rules and if I was told to choose one or the other, I would probably try to make my graffiti look like art or make my art look like graffiti. Like a naughty kid, if I’m told not to do something, I will most likely push the boundaries and do it.
I’d say that’s the true nature of graffiti – no rules… no limits… no boundaries.
2 What do you think?
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