In the street art scene it isn’t unusual for a street artist to specialize in a given form of expression. Some love the paste up, others are a dab hand at stencilling and others still love the curve and relish of a good old fashioned aerosol can. But for some street artists the humble sticker is the chosen form of expression, not only easy to apply but also durable if you’re willing to invest a little money in your art.
Suspecto is such a street artist. His work – which has thick square lines and unique yet identifiable characters – appears out on the streets as a variety of stickers. Skulls, dismembered cartoon heads and shifty look men with even shiftier beards are his usual fare, his name rendered in big bold block lettering. Yet in the studio, Suspecto plays with paint and stencil, working on canvas and Qees (giant paintable figurines), his work polished yet incredibly playful.
Suspecto took some time out to chat to Perth Street Art about his craft.
Define street art.
I would define street art as any form of art that utilises the urban landscape as a canvas for expression.
Where does your name come from?
It came from early work I did that focused on characters that were suspicious and had ulterior motives.
What drew you to street art?
I have always been drawing and painting throughout my life. I like the fact that street art can provoke thought and reaction from those who encounter it. People may love it, hate it or be indifferent towards it. I was drawn to it due to this and also because it was a creative outlet for me that had no restriction.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
I find that my work is evolving all the time, but at the moment it incorporates strong colour and bold lines.
At present you seem to work primarily in stickers – why stickers?
Stickers were just a way to get my designs mass produced and then distributed easily around the place.
I notice that you also have a Flickr account – as someone who creates street art how important do you think it is to document street art?
Well I use my Flickr account as a way to interact with other like-minded artists from around the world. There seems to be an increase in public awareness of art on the street and this is leading to more coverage across all media platforms. It is just as important to document street art as any other art movement before it.
What’s next or on the horizon?
I am working on putting together a website www.suspecto.com and later this year I hope to put together an exhibition of some of my more recent work
To check out more of Suspecto’s work go online and visit www.flickr.com/suspecto.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
