Saturday, October 16, 2010

Stencil graffiti artist hits GFG

An exhibition has opened in the Good Food Gallery which has its genesis in an elusive artist's loss of employment in the architectural sector as Ireland's economy crashed, writes Brian Byrne.

Going only by the acronym ADW, for 'attack with a deadly weapon', the former animator first took out his frustration by creating art on Dublin streetscapes in the graffiti tradition.

According to Jackie Tyrrell, who spoke on his behalf at the official opening of the exhibition, ADW still retains the public forum as his main medium, but he has also translated his work to individual canvases.

His inspirations in the graffiti ethos are the iconic works of Blek le Rat and Banksy, but ADW has his own particular personality in his painstaking stencil work.

We'll be bringing a full report later, but in the meantime your editor strongly recommends going to the GFG for a look.

The pieces aren't expensive, so don't be afraid to invest in an artist who will likely go global. Already viral in his native Dublin milieu, his work is also being noticed further in European capitals.

Pictured above are Jackie Tyrrell and GFG owner Suzanne Carey with a piece specially created by the artist on a section of the back wall of the Good Food Gallery car park.

(An expanded version of the above article, written for the 'Kildare Nationalist', is available beyond the photographs below.)

AWDatGFG
AWDatGFG
AWDatGFG
AWDatGFG
AWDatGFG
AWDatGFG

(BELOW IS THE EXPANDED VERSION OF THE PRECEDING ARTICLE, WHICH APPEARED IN THE 'KILDARE NATIONALIST')

If you think you've already seen some of the paintings in the current exhibition in the Good Good Gallery, writes Brian Byrne, then you probably are in the habit of walking around Dublin streets. The art is by 'ADW', an elusive street painter whose work is mostly found as illegal 'street art' on buildings in public places.

The tools of his art are paint spraycans and carefully-designed stencils, and each is a story in itself, depicted with a quirky and sometimes barbed humour.

To preserve the artist's anonymity, the exhibition was launched by Jackie Tyrrell, a longtime friend of GFG owner Suzanne Carey and a researcher of the interaction between graffiti and architecture. Jackie made contact with many graffiti artists during the production of a thesis on the subject. She says 'ADW' has been gathering a lot of intention since he started out only three years ago.

"He lost his job as an architectural animator when the Celtic Tiger began to fail, and decided to make his own commentary of the social and political aspects of our times in this way. He is a very observant man. He is in the moment of what is happening, and that spurs his work on."

She makes the controversial suggestion that there are buildings that 'ask' to be used by graffiti artists. "There are buildings which we are compelled as artists to spray, mainly those that evolved in the 70s, the modernist era. It is basically the style, the shape, the format. The line formation and the materiality of the building compels ... I don't want to say abuse ... but obviously from the origins in 'tagging', it was an assault on the buildings."

Jackie notes that, 40 years on, what started out as a revolt against this form of architecture has evolved. "There has been a progression, and in art terms it is now a more grey area than it was at the beginning."

A feature of graffiti art is that it extends from the 'easier' locations to some that are downright dangerous. It appears to be part of the competitive element of the practice. "It seems that, basically, the artist gets extra kudos amongst his peers depending on how difficult the location is. In some cases they will suspend each other over the sides of bridges by their ankles, or on ropes, or reach out of the side of windows of buildings as far as they can. The further, the bigger, the more intelligent or the smarter, or the more quickly you can be, the higher in the ranking you go."

When she became aware of 'ADW's work, she found it difficult to make contact with him, and only succeeded after 'harassing' him with calls and emails, establishing her own 'street cred' in the field. "He doesn't reveal his identity, doesn't do interviews, even though he is now doing work on canvas as well as on the street."

Jackie slides away from making a direct judgement on the illegal aspect of ADW's artistry. But she admits that she has liked graffiti since she was 12, taking photographs of it when she came across what was to become 'eagle art'. "This is a universal message for my society and from my moment, and when I'm looking back from my future and telling my story, these are very much connected to now. I think it's really a recording of our times."