The subway writer Jonk from Madrid has been interviewed for the blog Pintar O Morir. Apart from presenting a very interesting reflection on how train and metro painting has evolved through the generations, he also shared an incredible story.
‘In the old times people left alone the spots for some time before returning, you let them ¨rest¨….. now people go all the time, at all hours (…) When I started this I liked to mess with the security guards, cleaning personnel and drivers, there was a war going on between us and them… Now some people pay or barter for painting a mural or whatsapp for information with guards and maintenance staff so they can let them paint… I think we should rethink if anything is acceptable when it comes to painting a car. For me the essence of graffiti on trains is its illegality, the satisfaction of doing a good mission circumventing security measures and creating a mess for the guards or police…‘
‘The first time I painted in The Tube, I got caught red-handed, still they let me keep the photo and told me the next time I´d spend a month at the joint. I turned a deaf ear XD and continued painting with the same signature, and one day I was about to enter a garage I saw 3 security cars burning tires on the side, almost next to me; I thought running was useless and I started thinking that a month of intensive English was not actually such a bad idea. The police were already beside me as they had seen people running, they asked me to show them what was in the backpack. I had sprays of course and shears, the perfect first class ticket for a great holiday. Suddenly that famous bulb went on in my head, so I said I was a lost tourist in a residential neighborhood at 3 in the morning .. lol!, and oh!, I had seen kids with bags running around the corner of the first street on the right! Was I sure? Absolutely! Yet I had to show them the backpack, so I opened the small pocket of my North Face and there was only a bottle of water and a handkerchief… without further ado they ran in the direction I had told them. In complete disbelief I just kept on walking aimlessly, a bus passed by and I got on it feeling reborn again!‘
2 What do you think?
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