There are your run of the mill writers and then there are guys like PEACE.
PEACE does it all: trains, walls, canvases, stickers… hell, he’d write on anything. In any style. In any way. At any damn time. And refreshingly, he is unashamed to both follow the usual rules of graffiti and break them as he sees fit. He will paint a train one night, then host his own art show the next. He will gain major cred through one name, then drop it and move onto another to push himself.
(Picture below of some art by PEACE)
With ole PEACE constantly moving, changing and as discussed, writing; now is the perfect time to get to know the lad, by reading the Art Talk interview below…
Basics/Getting to Know
Name + D.O.B?
No names, Summer boy
City, State n Country you’re from?
Far North New Zealand, beautiful middle of no where.
City, State n Country were you currently reside?
Sydney, all day.
If you don’t like it. Leave.
(Picture below of some trains by PEACE)
Describe a memory from some stages of yr life ….basically trying to piece together your pivotal moments. Concerts, art, action-figures, girls, school, crime… ANYTHING man.
Brah, everything. I remember everything…
* age 5 – beginnings:
Tupac died
* age 10 – continuations:
Realising to be your own man, cigarettes and fuck school
* age 15 – getting serious:
Fights, playing AFL, finished HSC %75 avg, diploma, travelling the world, bongs, pingers, gym, girlfriend, moving out, opening a business, personal training and massage therapy.
Writing a book about child abuse.
Lost 24kg.
Trained in being a life guard.
* age 20 – young adult:
First exhibition.
Girlfriend.
Gym.
Avoiding jail, travelling the world and opening business.
Releasing book.
* age 25 – meanderings:
Boy I’m 23
* age 30 – adult mode:
Will be living on a beach with my girlfriend, travelling the world in either my own jet or in my own apartment in a plane.
* age 35 – adult continuations:
Painting, retired, painting.
Bunch of kids in school.
Massive house for all my friends to stay at.
Personal motto?
Smile cunt
Art + Graffiti Questions
Why the name “PEACE”?
Read the book The Art of Peace, that’ll sort your shit out
Favorite other artists and why?
Set, Keep, Rotes, Roachi, Grime.
Shit, i even like artists that don’t like me, seeing how much they get up, what spots they hit. Impressive.
What i grew up around was getting bashed was a lesson and the art is all that matters. You can’t see eye to eye with everyone, everyone gonna think what they gonna think. But you just stick to your art, then that will be what breeds real friendship, family.
(Pictures below of PEACE’s blackbook)
Worst aspect of the art hustle?
There is non, you getting coin you getting coin. You make bank, your making bank. You wanna sit around and hate and criticise others for it just cause you not? Then you either use that motive to make bank from your art yourself or you ain’t shit.
I ain’t in this for money, in this for cash to pay for paint.
Best aspect of the art hustle?
Everything
When and why did you first start making art?
Kindergarden with everybody else. Haha
Dropped a tag under a bridge at 9, neighbors dad caught a dude who was 16 and made him rub it off with his hands under a bridge so the risk factor was there from jump cause this old guy was scary af. My child hood best friends dad. Big mother fucker.
Any pivotal artistic moment/influence?
An old writer telling me tout my smoke out while i painted.
Shit, stay focused, those fumes are bad enough.
(Some in the wild works by PEACE)
What are the best and worst parts of living and being an artist in Australia?
Fuck bad parts, you feeling like you living bad then sort it out. You an artist, make an art form about how your life can be all good. Suss that. That’s a fuckin art piece.
And the payment/commission from selling that art piece is that you don’t gotta self at all. Ain’t no bad in being an artist, figure a 100 percent win.
What are your thoughts on the general Australian scene today?
Man if i wanna look at something shit and pick out what i think is shit in our art scene today, then I’m already surrendering to feeling that moment of hate. Shit, i used to hate that these days that how notorious you are over stands principal of a throw up goes over a tag and a piece goes over a throwy yadda yadda yadda but now its if you fame, you up more than the person you capping/capped than that is the new principle.
So i learned to like that principal and justify that, that shit’s fear. Its like you can factor in age, how long a writer been round for, time and skill but lets face it. This graffiti, you up, you up!
You got right, you the man of the moment getting up then you present. You present more so than any old schooler, you gotta run congruent with the moving of time. Kings, get up, stay and up and are always active. Anyway.
Do you consider your work to be ‘art’, ‘design’, ‘vandalism’, re-hashed crap?
Art. Sitting down with colour pens like a toddler than painting a spot you looked at for days.
Man we just a buch of kids.
“Vandalism” What? Words given meaning by corrupt justice systems. Please. We all criminals, yo mumma break a speeding law i bet ya. Everyone breaks laws. fuck cops. “Fuck the system” who da fuck you think you pay bills to though huh. You best forgetting labels, or even feeling conditioned by law. Cause you are, over see that shit, smoke some DMT or drop a tab and realise those words don’t mean nothing.
You enjoy scribbling on a wall, knock yourself out.
In the graffiti scene there is a friction between what seems to be a desire for recognition – namely placing stickers and art all over public spaces – and a reluctance to be interviewed, set up an online presence and all of those other ‘normal’ art hustle things…
… “Desire of recognition” that is how you understand in order to rephrase it to ask that question. Which further puts the thought of why writers do what they do. Writers will do what they do end expression through stickers, whatever wherever will always exist/ generate more ‘vandalism” hahaha.
Online presence, that’s just another form to be enjoyed by an artists who’s getting shits and gigs through doing what they do and for as to their own personal preference as to why they do it hahaha.
…What are your thoughts on this schism and the reasons why it exists?
Give a kid a can of paint.
(Pictures below of some stickers by PEACE)
Describe the method of making and materials used for a ‘PEACE’ work? (dot point all o.k.)
* your large pieces?
Spray paint
* your throw ups and tags?
Spray paint
* your works on paper?
Immediate resources
What does an average day out getting up involve for you?
Daily basis – sticker – a tag and emptying a can of paint somewhere
How, in your opinion, has the rise of platforms such as Instagram impacted the life of a street artist, and the scene in general?
Most peoples immediate thoughts are for ego. Read a book called “Thinking – Fast and Slow“. Get back to me.
I use Instagram to store photos and see what i can give for some one to learn. Hope that makes sense. Followers/following yeah whatever, personally. i don’t follow. Women – yea sure. Subconsciously, of course i follow a style.
But follow, for me to follow someone else. Nah fuck nah, i ain’t came this far in life to “follow” Haha.
Ig, i hope you making money haha
(Some in the wild works by PEACE)
What advice would you give to the next generation of writers coming up?
Do your thing, “When all is said at the end of the day” SHUT UP AND KEEP LISTENING. Learn. Learn and learn. I even feel a tad bit ignorant as to how i’ve worded things in this interview but that’s the next thing. Don’t give a fuck.
Be good to yourself.
Be good to your mother.
What do you think the general public’s perception of graffiti is and why?
Who cares, another perception said is another ego centric expresser trying to push a point of view.
Enjoy graffiti.
What is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you when out painting?
Ha. hahaha. Seen sex, bluffed partys, raids, party hopping, met girls, made friends and everything else.
You burn through names faster than a lad smokes a bong… Why is this man?
Well, this is graffiti, an art form, progressing through letters, words … is respect to the art form.
Nick name gained from it, who cares.
Enjoy yourself, play around with the letters. Let the letters speak the words. Let the words express them selves.
Opinions from others? questions such as “but no ones gonna know” well good, glad.
Just trying to enjoy an art over here and all these other motherfuckers wanna talk. haha.
Care to list some of your favorite places to paint… and also explain why it is that you dig em?
Everywhere
Odds n Ends
What role did toys play in your childhood?
They didn’t. Says hard cunt trying to eliminate the meaning behind toy.
But nah, Action man, I’m the Action man, got my girl , got my life .
Fuck you haha
Who was your 1st crush and why?
Kissed a girl on the first day of school, got sent home. Blonde. Blonde.
Does sex change everything?
Bruh you fucking kidding me.
Go travel the world, have sex with every girl of every race, have a 3some, have sex on cocaine and have sex high. Then, once you done that. Find yourself a girl you can talk to about everything, Find yourself a girl who been with you when you had a bath tub full of cash or to she n you had nothing or to whatever your “now” is.
Find a girl who suck your dick like you ain’t been around for a year…but its been a day.
Find yourself a girl you can eat the puss of everyday, un showered or fresh. Find that girl who you share sexual energy with and then fuck off every other fake hoe who suckin your dick while you out.
Ladies find a man who make you smile, got a plan.
Sex fucked up everything, graft or sex or both, balance, graft but sex fuckin yeah.
(Pictures below of some PEACE works on paper)
Please describe your latest dream in detail…
Getting raided, you know why that’s a fucking dream.
Because it would prove paranoia too but shits all good.
Have you ever tried psychedelics of any sort? And what was the experience like?
Haha er thang.
Honestly, i recommend the same.
What does ‘lad’ culture mean to you and why?
Me, mother fucker. See. A lad, the lads i grew up around. The lad i call myself. The lads i run with, were the lads who everyone else called lads in high school but us lads. We had the freshest nautica, we had the train keys, we had the jobs, we have the jobs still, we had guaranteed career with still banking on the side.
Everyone who sat back and thought “scum lads” won’t go anywhere. Well i tell you what, you give a kid, a “lad” an idea of fresh and that kid will make that life happen.
Growing up, real lads caught on to what was chill and sweet and how to be, lads at heart. BOY YOU EVER HAD A GABBER CIRCLE ON A YACHT WITH 8 LADS DRESSED IN FUCKING BOAT SHOES cause we know that’s how society works, we caught on, but you hear a lad talk, they swear like a sailor, they fight someone twice the size of them, we fuck the maddest bitches and get bank.
Sorry. Passionate n shit.
Please describe what you think the Australian Psyche/Zeitgeist is today?
Tall poppy syndrome. Sorry hate to say it.
Is what it is.
Which 1990’s era cartoon, would you most like to see in a tribute sex toy, and why?
** Please sketch a prototype as well. **
Marge, she a hot ass mum holding it down.
(Picture below of the PEACE tribute Marge Simpson sex toy)
Who would win in a fight and why: an tatted up Australian bogan on his way home from the pub Vs. A rowdy lad with backpack full of cans?
** Please draw the battle in all it’s violent beauty! **
Lad if he uses his legs and bogan if he just gets a good one in.
(Picture below of the epic battle)
Favorite band(s)?
Loveboy 86
Favorite TV show(s)?
No tv
Favorite sport(s) + teams?
ALL BLACKS
Favorite movie(s)?
Forest Gump
Favorite books and comics?
Anonymous.
The Art of Peace.
Thinking:Fast and Slow
The Future
Any collaborations in the works?
Nah
Any major projects you want to hype?
Listen to loveboy 86
Links
* PEACE – Instagram
