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Mr. Tronix is a street artist from Wolverhampton making a lot of noise. Check out the official interview he did with Tricksta.
So at what age did you start doing artwork seriously?
I’ve been drawing since I’ve been conscious of it! I was seriously into custom cars when I was a kid and started out drawing them a lot and then in the 80’s I got into Herbie Hancock’s ‘Rokit’, Afrika Bambaata, and then I got my first Street Sounds Electro compilation and from there started painting graff. Ken was my street name back then and my first project was a couple of fairground rides when I was still at school. I’ve been taking it much more seriously over that last ten years though.
Where are you from and do you think where you live helps or hinders you on your creative journey?
I’m from Wolves and there’s a lot of good people in this town, and the likes of Tricksta, Late, and Juttla keep blood in it’s veins, but a lot of other good graffers, artists, and musicians leave eventually… like a drain. Tempa and Goldie to name a few have both left, I don’t blame them, I just think the hindrance comes from this; there’s never been the concentration of elements hanging around to collectively put Wolves on the map. There are a lot of good things happening again now and there’s some good nights where there’s live MC’s and good British hip hop is being played and produced around the place. There are a few dubstep nights too.
For those that don’t know you can you tell us what you’ve been up to with your artwork?
Well it’s been a long road, and it’s gone a bit mad recently every bit of interest in art has been fuelled by my love of graff and other artforms. I’m heavily influenced by Escher to name one that springs to mind… graff wise, SEEN was an early influence, but just looking at graff inspires me. Music’s a huge influence as well. You rarely get one without the other. Done too much stuff to mention it all, but got out some album covers and fliers for nights in the area and sometimes decorating club interiors, bedrooms and homes. I’ve sometimes painted live at hip hop/dubstep nights. I do tattoo designs. Been doing this for a while now and started doing exhibitions and work with the youth on street art projects and skate parks etc. Everything’s proper kicked off since my solo exhibition. And been on commissions, tattoo designs, much bigger murals, live pieces and now about to launch a clothing label, and selling prints of my drawings, canvasses etc. Right on the beats too, which is like an audio version of the art I come out with.
What’s the response been like to your work?
Generally good. I’m constantly surprised by how much people like my work. When I was younger I thought art was something everyone could do, so never thought it was anything special. In a way it’s a natural thing for me to do, but the feedback’s been great, and it’s worth getting it out there now I’m ready.
We hear you have plans to start a clothing line too with designs that you’ve done?
Yeah, I’ve done some of the fashion stuff before but it’s now I’m doing it myself. I’ve been working on my own designs for the MRT launch. Coming shortly. A lot of the designs will be taken from blackbooks, so a lot will have a raw feel to em. All original work specifically for the clothes.
Will the clothing label launch this year and will it be just T-Shirts?
Yes it will be this year and I’m planning to be producing hoodies branching out to other merchandising.
Will you be selling prints or canvases?
Yeah, limited edition prints and bespoke designs. Canvasses and so on. I’ve been doing a lot of live/big murals etc. and love that side of it. So I’ll be offering that as a service for festivals and bigger jobs in clubs and interiors etc.
Have you done any exhibitions yet, if so where and what feedback did you get?
I had a solo exhibition back in may, which kicked a lot of things off…been busy ever since I’m still working on commissions from it now and yes, I got great feedback all round. There were people who came from all over Britain to see it, and. I’ve just been featured in my 6th group exhibition. Over the last two weeks I’ve painted a skate park, and a live piece on one of the, main routes into Wolves city centre. It was on a Saturday daytime so I got massive exposure. Authorities demanded I paint it out, but I have more plans to paint more around the city. And hope to get to do work in other cities in Blighty,
So do you paint on walls or is it just on paper?
I like both really. I love drawing, and painting equally, so sometimes it stays on paper, but I’m really into working big, so a lot of the time its walls I want to paint. I like freestyling on walls too more fluid and free.
Apart from the artwork you also produce music. What kind of tip are you on?
A weird one. It goes with the style of the work really. I was massively into World Class Wrecking Cru and Scott La Rock, KRS1, Newcleus, stuff like that early on, then through Wu etc. The harder stuffs better and really into dub. So influences from all these things have appeared from time to time. I do prefer instrumentals…I can make up my own mind about where the beat takes me then. To me music and art are strongly connected. Now I listen to Madlib, Dilla, Dubstep, Company flow and the more futuristic stuff like APC, Ras G, Lorn, Samiyam and a lot of stuff from the Brainfeeder type stuff. I love the mix of rough and smooth, so like a bit of distortion and echoes and drops/skipped beats etc. Shiny just aint doesn’t do it for me. It’s got to have a rough shitty edge. Goes with modern life.
If you had to describe your artwork in five words, what words would you pick?
Difficult that. I like to do pictures you can look at and see, and then when you look at it again you see something else, or other things in it. I suppose the 5 words would be…Illustration, 3D (at times), detailed perspective geometric and organic. Soft with sharp edges and street.
Street art and graffiti used to classes as vandalism, now it’s more commercial and is big business. Do you think its good thing or bad thing that art is exploited more?
I think people do what they have to do to feed themselves, but an artist should be doing his or her own thing alongside the commercial stuff. A precious thing that the other work funds. At the end of the day we’ve all gotta eat, and so to me there’s nothing wrong with that. You can’t tell me I should be stacking shelves. I’ve already done that. Vandalism by definition is the destruction of a work of art, so painting a bus shelter, or a boarded up shop is not vandalism. The vandalism comes in when the art’s painted out so there’s an irony there somewhere? Eventually everything moves up from the underground to join the mainstream… but then there’s space for the underground to move forward. A natural progression of things. I avoid mainstream like the plague so as soon as something becomes popular it’s then time to stop doing that thing and move forwards. I’m not after exploiting myself but do need to support my own progression in some way. With the beats and the art there’s a future to explore, and it’s the fute that interests me and the journey into it.
Do you have any influences with your artwork?
Escher. Hieronymus Bosch, Os Gemeos, Daim, Loomit Tats cru, Egon Shielle. Ocampo and Loads more. Escher’s a dead give away but the others inspire me to develop my own style further, so there’s a more subtle hint of the other influences.
What are your main ambitions with your artwork and where would you like to be in five years time?
I just want to do as much stuff as possible really, and to be able to afford to continue... so in 5 years’ time I’d like to be doing twice as much stuff than now and five times better. Or five times different, there should be a progression, and would love to paint whole buildings.
Interview by Tricksta
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