Gary
By Jiroe
Gary isn't the type of graffiti writer that comes across with brag and swagger, he is the king of understatement. He is also a perfectionist but what may scare many of you that know his accomplished work is that he really does consider himself just starting to get to grips with painting.
Despite his humility Graphotism felt it was time to immortalise some of his pieces and try and scratch the surface of what motivates him. Step forward one of the the benchmark writers for English wall painting…
Where and when did you start?
I have pretty much always lived in Brighton so this is where I started. I think the first few things I painted must have been around 1998.
What got you into writing?
I travelled to San Francisco in late 1997 or ’98. It was and still is a Mecca for skateboarding which was my real passion at the time. This was the first time graffiti grabbed my attention. There’s always been a very healthy scene in that city but there was a lot going on around that time. Coming back to the UK I was looking out for graffiti. There was plenty about but only a few names stood out. If anybody knows anything about graffiti in Brighton in the late 90s they’ll know who was doing what. If you don’t know then there’s something to research. I was playing truant quite a lot and just traveled around the area racking crappy paint and pens with a few other friends. Around this time I met Aroe and Nylon. They were painting in a famous spot in town and were good enough to humour me at first but after a while I guess they realised I was dedicated.
Has being from Brighton with its strong writing history been important for you?
In comparison to much of the UK, Brighton has had a strong scene. It was valuable starting out in this town as other writers tended to be encouraging and the general attitude is laid-back. This, combined with a lot of talented writers meant it was a great place to grow up and start out in graf. It’s a tiny town, it’s far too small really, but for such a small town it does have an important history, in UK terms anyway.
The FULL interview with GARY appears in issue 56 of Graphoism magazine - click here to purchase your copy http://www.graphotism.com/nc/shop/cat/graphotism-books/
