Panik
London’s streets are a great platform to get noticed, that’s why everywhere you turn you end up looking at pictures of David Beckam in nothing but a pair of briefs on or that girl from Desperate Housewives telling you she’s “worth it.” But that’s the boring side of London street visuals: another side is graffiti and there is as much it in London as there is billboard advertising. Sweet and Sound spoke to Panik, co-founding member of world-renowned graffiti crew ATG and rooftop king about his work, rivalry in the world of street painting and why this form of art is an important way of going against the conforms of society.
So how did you get into painting?
When I started at secondary school everyone had a tag and my area was painted up by all the big names from the 90’s. Skating also played a big part in getting me into the game. I used to skate all around the city and see the same names from brixton to Camden to Ladbroke grove, which used to amaze me!
You are well known on the street art circuit as the “roof top king”. Is this a part of your work that you enjoy more, and how long have you been doing this for?
Painting rooftops is where I really made my name so it will always be something I go back to. I started painting rooftops in 2003. It was a side to the London scene which I hadn’t really indulged in… I love climbing up to them and I love having my name way above everyone else and rooftop pieces generally last much longer as they’re harder to clean.
Obviously for legal reasons, your identity is a bit illusive. Do you think this adds to you art? If your work was aloud to be displayed freely on the streets without having to deal with the hassle of the police, do you think you would still be as focused on displaying your work this way?
The graffiti game of getting up is all about taking space and making it yours whether the law allows this to happen or not. When you see someone’s name painted across the city surfaces from trains to roof tops to the streets, its a sign that the people of the city still have a say and have control over our surroundings. The fact that it is illegal and anti-system definitely fuels graffiti writers to go out there… Your getting one up on society by painting the streets whenever wherever! You control how far you take it and you determine your own fame. If graffiti was legal everyone would be doing it and there would be no way of separating the kings from the toys… To go all cities and to be respected within the graffiti community takes a certain drive that not everyone has inside.
I have seen your “Panik” tag on walls everywhere from Rome to New York. Where else have you been in the world to paint and where do you feel is the most important place you have done?
I’ve painted all over the world really and no matter how remote the spot, someone from back home always comes across it… It’s funny how small the world seems after you start leaving your name everywhere you go. I love painting Amsterdam: it’s almost becoming a second home for me… Berlins probably got the best scene in Europe so painting a few bits out there was lively. Painting New York is an experience I wont forget in a hurry but whether out in Europe or in the graffiti mecca of NY I feel the most important place for me to paint is old London town… Other cities impress me but London’s the city that made me. therefore painting other cities will never be as important to me.
Can you you tell me about the other styles of work you do apart from what we see on our streets?
Generally out in the streets im bombing more… Just getting my name up into the fame spots: you can catch my style but when I put on a show in a gallery you’ll see me go much deeper. I also work with faces and message allot more when im creating work for shows. I like to paint my faces out in the streets as well but I am rooted in the graffiti bombing scene so thats generally where I reside when it comes to painting the streets.
What collaborations have you done with other people solo and with ATG?
Over the years I’ve painted spots with too many people to mention, whether in London or Europe. One of the beautiful things about graffiti is the way it brings people together. Although we have collaborated in the past, ATG has always been a very tight thing. Sometimes you take things further and have more impact if you just keep yourself to yourself and get busy!
You had your own solo exhibition in March earlier this year which went down a storm and received great reviews. Do you plan to do another solo show soon?
I’m gonna be doing another solo show soon so keep your eyes peeled. That’s something I will definitely be focusing on.
Do you get into much rivalry with other graffiti collectives?
If you’re properly involved in the London scene then beefs a normal thing. The whole emergence of ‘street art’ in the last five years in London is all very nicety nice and quite separate to the world of people out painting the streets and train lines in the city. ATG took things to a certain level in London which was hard for people to digest. Jealous haters around town that see and hear our name and bitch and whine to their friends about how were not all that have always been a part of ATG. At the end of the day we didn’t get into this to get a round of applause and a blue peter badge. If you don’t like us then great! Generally the people who try and start beef with us are people who hold no weight, so it’s all
just bullshit blowing in the wind. Sometimes healthy rivalry keeps things moving.
How big is the graffiti scene in London on the worlds scale?
Things get cleaned so quickly in London that it may not always appear to have a big scene to outsiders looking in. But London was the first city after the states to adopt graffiti culture so we have a rich history and very defined style. Generally allot of people who consider themselves active writers or street artists in this city don’t actually do much at all. If everyone who considered themselves a name painted week in week out, London would look a whole lot different… But we always have our key players around town that keep things bombed and I doubt thats going to change in a hurry.
What’s the next step for Panik and ATG?
ATG’s poppin off in all directions these days. We’ll always be banging out stuff on the streets but now we run a clothing line and put on big mash-up parties… We started as a bunch of kids bombing, and over the years we’ve remained a tight unit so those 3 letters now represent a whole London family of artists and musicians. Personally I’m gonna be working on putting on big shows worldwide over the coming years but it’s hard to speak for ATG as a family as we’ve got our fingers in a few different pies these days so it could go anywhere! but it’s onwards and upwards for sure.
Interview and Photos by Shane Connolly
