Street Art News Japan x STATIC Interview

SAN: Please tell us a little bit about your background and how and when you got into the art field.

Craig: Following the foundation art course we both did after Sixth Form college, Tom and I took different paths which led us to Edinburgh and Liverpool respectively. In Edinburgh, Tom spent 3 years doing a Fine Art course and I spent 3 years in Liverpool where I completed a Graphic Communication course. Both of us learnt very different skills and processes that we would later put to good use when we started working together as STATIC, but before that we spent a year doing things totally unrelated to what we wanted to do. As a result, when the opportunity came to set up our own studio we jumped at the chance and have not looked back since.

SAN: What is the most important thing for Static to make your artworks?

Craig: We like to mix ideas and imagery together to create something new and visually exciting. The important thing is having a strong starting point and then taking it somewhere unexpected, blending references and familiar elements together in a way that will connect with our audience. We’ve always been interested in telling a story through the images we create and it’s always interesting to hear how people interpret some of the themes and imagery we use in different ways.

SAN: What is the artistic process of working in a duo? I think it’s different from working alone.

Craig: Even at art college we were sharing ideas with each other so it’s difficult for us to say how working as a duo is different to working alone. It’s now 6 years since we started working as STATIC and the way we work has changed with the studio spaces we have worked in. Our current studio in East London, has allowed us to work on bigger pieces and has enough space for our third member, Millie the Beagle, to join us every now and again.

‘Moments of Clarity’ series

SAN: Working by hands or computers! Which is more comfortable for you? And why?

Craig: Our work combines elements and layers that are built up and created from mostly spray paint and acrylic, with a few other mediums used depending on the surface or series. We’re happiest when we are working with our hands and directly in contact with the piece, either by screen printing or spray painting, as this is when the actual piece is created. A lot of our work goes through a process that involves image manipulation and creation on the computer and then it is either cut as a stencil by hand or made into a silk screen. It’s only when you start choosing the colours and printing or painting onto the surface that the piece comes to life with textures and subtleties from the layers that overlap and fit together. Because of this, we’re always looking to explore new ways of building images and the surfaces we print onto etc which means our work evolves and pushes us to experiment beyond what we’ve done previously.

SAN: Who influenced you the most in your art? Any current favourite artist?

Tom: New influences come and go but there are a few artists that always inspire me and who progress with every body of work, I don’t have a favourite artist but a few that I really like and look forward to seeing new work from are Connor Harrington, Ian Francis Eelus and Blu.

Craig: Coming from a more graphic design back ground, I’ve always loved the work of Faile who have created a really strong visual language that is identifiably theirs. But, I’ve always found it amazing that people have been using art as a form of expression and story telling since the dawn of time and I’ll take any opportunity I can to visit shows and exhibitions by a range of artists to appreciate and interpret the thought processes that they have gone through to create the final piece; be it an oil painting, a screen print, a sculpture, photograph or charcoal drawing on paper, each one is different and has a completely new attribute that I’ll make a note of and try to introduce in the next piece we work on.