Interview with New Zealand's Graffiti Artist, Askew One

Are you familiar with such movies as Breakin’ or Breakin’ 2 Electric Boogaloo? I’m sure some of you are like me, when you hear the word graffiti, you think of break dancing and hip-hop. Well, I’ve become familiar with the work of Askew One, a graffiti artist from New Zealand; the hip-hop culture was and still is a great influence in work. I found through our interview that Askew One is a freestyle artist; he allows himself to use the “can like a brush” to openly express his thoughts and ideas. As you view his work, you can actually see the how free an artist he is; the locations vary as well as the lines, curves, and flares of every letter and word. Check out Askew’s work and his interview with Homebody Blogger. Your comments are appreciated.


1. First, Askew One, I want to thank you for the interview. How’s life?

No problem, life is good thanks.

2. You go by Askew One, care to share your real name? By the way, what’s the story behind the name Askew One?

For me, my real name isn’t so important when discussing my art; it has no real bearing on that body of work. I chose Askew as a tag when I was 14 years old because I thought it had a both a cool meaning and it’s balanced aesthetically too. I think when choosing a name, that factors a fair amount, for me it was the symmetry of the letters and the way I could paint an ‘A’ to balance the ‘W’, The ‘S’ can compliment the ‘E’ and the ‘K’ can sit in the middle.

3. I read that you were born in Palmerston North and moved to Auckland. Tell me how do the two cities differ and what was the significance of that move. What did it mean to you?

The move to Auckland was a truly pivotal moment in my life. When I look back over my experiences to date and especially those that have been really important in shaping me as an artist, most of them could only have happened in Auckland. When I think about how I might have turned out if I stayed in Palmertson North, I can only imagine a really different outcome. To elaborate on why is probably necessary, especially if you aren’t from New Zealand. My parents were into punk rock and the things and people I was exposed to in Palmerston North, well for lack of a better description, it was very ‘White’. It was the early punk scene but there was a growing skinhead element and a lot of my parent’s friends were heading down that path. I only really knew one Maori family, had one Asian friend at school, there was a major lack of diversity there at that time. Then we moved to inner city Auckland, a really diverse but predominantly Pacific Island neighborhood in a mid 80’s set amidst the initial explosion of Hip Hop culture here. It just blew me away. I wasn’t immediately aware of why exactly because things like the racial factors etc didn’t really occur to me. Later when I looked back at the contrast of my two home cities and found it was more just the energy, the vibrancy, graffiti on the walls, everyone trying to B-Boy and Pop It was a great time to grow up in my part of Auckland. It was before the gentrification of the late 90’s and early 00’s and although my area was tough and run down it was the perfect playground for a generation of kids obsessed with Hip Hop. The cultural diversity of my area just brought so much depth, understanding and excitement to my life, I feel it really shaped me on so many levels.

Mischief Night

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4. When I think about and see graffiti, hip-hop, rhyming, and beat-makers come to mind. I discovered that you used to MC before you got interested in graffiti. Could you elaborate on those days? What or who influenced you to MC?

Yeah, initially I was really into the music side of things. My stepfather is a musician and some sort of collector of instruments; old drum machines and other bits and pieces. As a kid I played piano and was really drawn to performing, singing, acting and dancing. I also tried writing my own songs and orchestrating routines and shows with the local kids or at school for the talent quests and special performance nights. I was a strange kid actually, just really into being creative in any outlet available to me. It was really encouraged and at the time I first started listening to Hip Hop music seriously (actually introduced to it by my stepfather), I was also trying to make beats with my keyboard, which had a sequencer in it and an old drum machine, which I would manually sync to the music. I was maybe 11 at the time, still in Primary school (Elementary). I kept an interest in this right until I started high school and beyond, forging a lot of my long-standing friendships through a mutual love of making Hip Hop.

5. How did you become interested in graffiti and when did you create your first piece?

I always gravitated to the graffiti aesthetic and drew very Hip Hop inspired art from a young age. I used to admire the "Smooth Inc" around Morningside as a 7 year-old kid. Actually participating in writing was only an extension of being into the music side of things. We just chose tags and got up with them whilst drunk and heading from A to B. It wasn’t a primary focus for me until a bit later. I started doing tags at age 13 or so, progressed to making my first serious attempts at pieces at about 16.

6. When did the merge of your love for hip-hop and graffiti take place? How does the combination affect your artwork? Do you prefer one form of art to the other? Do you have any other interests besides music and art?

It was through a love of the music side of things that I started to participate in graffiti, not just appreciate it or draw inspiration from it, but actually write. For a long time it was an exclusively ‘Hip Hop’ thing for me but now I would say my musical and artistic tastes have broadened, evolved and progressed. I love music and art of all types and draw inspiration from everything I see and hear. At some point, when you make beats and dig into many other genres of music for samples or inspiration you start to mature and appreciate all types of expression. Asides from music and art I love eating well, keeping active, I pay attention to politics and world events; I love animals and draw a lot of positivity from spending time with my pets. I really love aspects of my country and especially West Coast beaches, which are by far the best I have ever seen in the whole world so far.

Rockin' Spacies
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7. Your work is very bright and colorful, with what looks like an individual story behind it. In your own words, how would you describe your graffiti work? What is your art and expression of? What is the main message that you are sending to those people that view your work?

It took a long time for me to find my own voice within this style of painting and then start to identify a ‘bigger picture’ if you will. When I paint I am thinking about my actions on so many levels and trying to draw on so many things simultaneously. Firstly, my work exists in the real world so it must, either comment on, compliment or defy the surface or environment in which it is painted. Often I choose my locations in advance and look for certain characteristics that I know will photograph well. I want to say something valid with my work, connect with people or make some social or political commentary even if only subtly. Then a big focus for me is the stylistic development of my letters. I could never be content to sacrifice the letters from my work as a means to reach or please more people, even if that would ensure me an easier path to cracking the galleries or pop culture market. I ‘write’ graffiti, and by identifying writings key defining aspects I feel I have found and embraced what sets it apart from and also makes it unique in the context of it being an art movement. It’s still essentially about writing your name.

8. Could you describe your creative process? What inspires you? How do you choose a location? Do you sketch your concept first…?

As I explained in the earlier question I spend a lot of time selecting locations based on a lot of different factors, ultimately trying to think about the end result, which is really the photograph. I have almost felt at times that I’ve put an impossible standard on the types of places I like and dislike and that can feel restrictive in a way. I think I counter that in the way I tend to paint my pieces once there. Although I draw a lot on paper, it’s more to develop or extend my artistic vocabulary. It’s like arming yourself with ideas to draw upon at any time and to apply for the appropriate situation. I freestyle everything I paint and those that know me or have painted with me know it’s a very loose and expressive process for me. I paint fast, often the first thing that I sketch on the surface is what I keep to, rather than over perfecting anything and I also tend to paint everything, even the final outlines with the fattest caps on the market. I do this because it allows a lot of variation within the line work, even one line can go from sharp and skinny to fat and flared out, back to a sharp ending again. Rather than defying the medium and trying to paint a perfect graphic or finely airbrushed looking effect, I want to use a can like a brush to give inflection to a line and a sense of expression.

9. Two of my favorite works are "Mischief Night" and "The Fall of an Empire." What is the story behind those works?

We don’t really celebrate Halloween; the British colonized New Zealand so we follow their traditions mostly. Things like Halloween are such a part of American culture and due to the amount of US television and music we have here, a sort of mimicry of anything deemed as US pop culture has occurred over time and usually happens in some sort of naive or half-assed way, Halloween being no exception. We actually had quite a different plan for the ‘Mischief Night’ wall, it wasn’t supposed to be on a wall at all, we had a way more grand plan for it but some drama took place that I can’t really go into. We had Host18 from Brooklyn and Rime from LA with us, hence the title of the wall because we don’t even know what Mischief Night is out here! Haha! The fall of the empire wall is inspired by the current world economic crisis and some correlations between that and a combination of biblical prophecies and paranoid conspiracy theories. The other artist I worked with on this is Dyle 52, who mostly writes Saves these days in tribute to his devout Christianity. We chew the fat a lot about certain issues and often from polar opposite angles on things but certain current events rang true for both of us on this one.

The Fall of an Empire

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10. I remember a time that graffiti was considered illegal and looked down upon; graffiti was not an art form. Is that still a reality? If not, how has graffiti as an art form changed?

Graffiti is still and will always be illegal by nature. This is another defining characteristic and essential to it’s purpose and importance as one of the most interesting art movements of the late 20th and early 21st century. That is not to say I personally have a problem with painting permission spots or work intended for the gallery, which is also essential for the survival of artists on an individual level. Graffiti needs to be in opposition or resistance to this consumer driven and capitalistic society where the property owners and bureaucrats are king and the poor and lower class people feel voiceless and marginalized. Unless you can see any of those changes happening in society I doubt illegal graffiti will disappear any time soon.

11. It seems you have been in the game for a while. What other artists have you worked with? How have they affected you creativity?

I have had the honor of either meeting or painting alongside so many of the most inspirational people. Too many to name really, but all of them have had a profound effect on me and I’ve drawn so much from those experiences.

12. I’ve read that you are an entrepreneur. What are some of your past and current endeavors?

Entrepreneur, yes, successful businessperson… No. haha! I’m like a lot of entrepreneurial characters, I’m an optimist and overly idealistic. I do things not because I’m driven by a desire to make money but because I think there is a genuine need to do them. In my time I have organized festivals, flown over and hosted many international artists, been co-owner of a commercial art business which ran a gallery for emerging and street based artists, run, edited and designed New Zealand’s first internationally distributed graffiti magazine and started an independent Hip Hop record label. All of those things listed have made me a successful person on some level but have come at a huge financial cost to me and ultimately made me a business disaster! I would say both the Tax Department and my bank don’t like me that much and I struggle to bring in more than about $11,000 NZD ($6,360.79 USD) personal income a year, which is actually less than I could make on the unemployment benefit, so go figure!

Newton Hotel
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13. Is there money to be made in graffiti art? Do you sell any of your work or get hired to create various custom works? Have/are any of your works (been) displayed in galleries or exhibitions in the U.S.?

There is money to be made, but not everyone is going to make it so it’s not like it’s a viable trade like being graphic designer or sign writer. If you approach your art like that, become a commercial artist, you can make some good money in the short-term but what you may find is your long-term integrity will become so damaged that you will struggle to make it as an actual artist as such. Before I found myself as an artist in the true sense I used work on a lot of corporate work with a range of well paying clients but the compromises, their need to leach integrity from me to sell unnecessary things to children, their ignorance and inability to truly appreciate what it is that my peers and I do just left me feeling jaded and without a folio of work I’d be happy to show anyone. I still freelance as a graphic designer to subsidize my living costs and support my creativity, but that is something I have to keep very much separate from my art. I have exhibited quite a lot over the years but not much outside of New Zealand. I hope that opportunity comes my way one day, at least to do it well and at little financial risk to me because as it stands, even to express yourself is rarely free.
14. As far as your work, do you have any big projects in the works for 2009?

2009 is looking pretty open for me right now; I only have one major project in the works currently, which is a book project, focused mainly on my past 2-3 years of work. It should be available early next year. My motivation to do it is mainly to really showcase my thoughts and process and hopefully generate both an international awareness of my work and generate some kind of passive income that can afford me the luxury to continue communicating my ideas and existing as a creative person. As I get older and realize I still don’t have a lot of what my peers have in a material sense, such as their first homes or even the means to be a serious provider for their families I know I have to do something to ensure that all this time spent was of some value.