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November 9, 2003
Profile: O.two from rockGroup
Amongst the emails that were waiting for us when we got back to New York, was one from O.two. Along with David S and She One, the three are known collectively as rockGroup. It was O.two's concrete paintings that we absolutely fell in love with."Every piece is free- styled, so when I approach a wall I'm interpreting it for it's space and emotive qualities. There are elements that are drawn directly from original graff letter-forms, combined with new forms. They're camouflaged, or sublimated, but they're there. I leave that up to the viewer to figure out.
I don't like describing my style. That's the point of having a style, it should do all the talking..."... O.two
O.two - The Vitals:
Age: 23
Hometown: Secret.
Where do you now live?: Another secret.
How long have you been creating street art?: 7 or 8 years.
What did you do last night?: Drank whisky.
What is your favourite thing to eat for dinner?: Pasta.
Who is your favourite fictional character?: The director called Adam, in David Lynch's 'Mulholland Drive'.
What do you currently have in your pockets?: Sarcasm.
If you were given "more time," what would you do with it?: I'd probably end up wasting it.
Who do you love?: Jenny.
O.two - The A's to Our Q's:
Wooster: How did you get started in creating art for the street?
O.two: It started from skateboarding. Hanging around in dark alleyways and empty streets. I spent a few years tagging, never really piecing, then I moved to London, met She 1 and started painting pieces, from there we formed rockGroup. I never really felt piecing was relevant in my hometown. It was too small, there were no other graffiti writers, there wasn't really a culture of graff. It was just me and a couple of other kids I knew from school... that kind of thing.
Wooster: What other street artists do you most admire and why?
O.two: I've never known anyone who can kill a whole wall with one can of Buntlack like She1. From the U.K. writers like Req1 and Kid Acne. A lot of the original New Yorkers; Phase 2, Dondi, Sharp, Futura. Early French writers like Boxer, Bando and Jon One. In the states; Sabre, Pusher and Joker. There are too many to list.
Wooster: What's your favourite city, neighbourhood, or block, to post and/or to see street art?
O.two: Any cities. London and Paris are good. New York of course. I want to go to Tokyo. That's next on the list of places to visit.
Wooster: What inspires you now?
O.two: Blank walls. Girls in short skirts. Car chases. Japanese horror films. Rock and roll. Ducatti motorcycles. John Woo gun-fights. Techno music. Black paint; matt, gloss and satin finish... There's inspiration in everything if you look close enough.
Wooster: What are you currently working on? Can you give us a sneak peek?
O.two: I'm working on a new collection of canvases. I'll paint a wall wherever and whenever I get the opportunity. I'm updating my web-site and building a rockGroup site. We're are also putting together a short film...
You can check out more of O.two's work at his website, http://www.fadetogloss.com/
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