Artist Interview – Amuse

Infamous Sydney Graffiti Artist Amuse

Sydney Graffiti Art Amuse

Firstly who are you and where are you from?

Just a jaded middle-aged man that used to be a hopeful son of the United States.

Now, relocated and recalibrated.

How do you think this affected you on your journey towards being a graffiti artist?

A journey? You make it sound romantic in some way.

You are a graffiti artist the moment you start making marks on something that is not yours and I started early and with crayons.

When/How did you know you wanted to be a graffiti writer?

When I saw some young dudes bombing when I was a kid in a car in gridlock traffic with my Dad in NYC. Broad daylight. Dad was hating on them… Still an indelible mark on my psyche.

Your favourite or most inspirational place/spot you have painted at?

I would consider every place I have ever painted a train ‘the best place’ at that time.

As a kid growing up in Sydney in the early 90s, the most inspirational spot was wherever all the other older guys were painting. There are a few but the gasworks in Wollstonecraft stands out because it was a gallery of masterpieces by some the best Sydney has ever produced and it was in the middle of suburban bush. Someone had to show you where it was and once you were there, you did not want to leave. Maybe it was the gas fumes.

graffiti artist Amuse from Sydney

Amuse graffiti writer

What/Who are some of the inspirations that drive you to paint?

Honestly I can’t tell you. The other night it was Easy E. Two months ago it was Rodney Dangerfield. Mostly it would be my crew members but I have said it before and I’ll say it again, I drive myself most of the time. There are influences everywhere but the fire has been burning for a while now without much need for new fuel.

Did this help guide you to where you are today?

We are all where we are at today as a result of the choices we have made and the luck that has fallen at our feet.

‘Help’ was the time I fell off the back of a train at full speed and my Polo shirt caught on a piece of steel and ripped down as I dropped and was pulled back into the back door, white as a ghost.

Tell us a do you have any memorable moments/stories/chases you could share from a painting mission?

A mission in a suburb in London was like something out of a dream. One Halloween night Nema, Banos and myself all slid through the green streets of an old English town, ducking under bridges listening to crickets and firecrackers going off everywhere in back yards. We found our way up into the armpit of 2 lines merging and sat there waiting for a country train terminator that was a regular victim. It was obvious by all the tags around the ‘waiting room’ we were sitting in. Eventually it rocked up and we all started to find our footing in the loose rocks. As soon as the driver had done a walk-through we ran up and everyone found their spots and marked up. I don’t know what it is but I love painting steel when the lights are still on inside (as long as you do not have to paint over the windows) and this model was all steel sections at the bottom. It was only about 8pm and aside from the occasional passing train, we had nothing to bother us and B and I spent around 45mins and knocked out our panels. Mine had a jack-o-lantern instead of a U as it was Halloween and was going to run shortly. Two of us packed up and did a few tags but Nema was doing something pretty massive and kept painting until the guard came, then he stopped and told him to fuck off and kept painting. Then they started to pull the train out slowly and no shit. He was running along next to it, still painting the key line. We all jumped out and went to get some beers, Nema just picked his 6 pack up and walked out with them. We went to the station and drank a few and waited for it to come back. Both these guys have some of the best stories I have ever heard. True veterans. Eventually it did roll in and we got shots with no platform. The evil jack-o-lantern looked awesome as did the other 2 panels. Hooting and hollering hooligans on a suburban platform.

There was no chase this night. Just a night where everything went right.

What direction do you feel graffiti is going these days with style?

What direction is style NOT going in now? Nothing wrong with a little variety. Gives the soup a funky flavour.

Sydney graffiti writer Amuse

Sydney Amuse Graffiti Writer

What’s the biggest misconception the general public have of graffiti artists?

Who cares. As Skeme said in Style Wars, ‘it’s for us’.

What are your thoughts on the whole graffiti vs street art?

I think street artists tend to forget that writers, throughout their lives, are deeply unpopular with the general public and therefor truly have to commit to being a writer, full time.

You live that lifestyle and bond with other writers through fame, shame, death, victory and personality disorders of all types.

Writers feel street artists haven’t paid their dues and their version of vandalism is valued by the community and ignored more often by the buffer.

Let’s be honest – council aren’t giving out many mural jobs where you can paint a piece.

They will always favour the pretty pictures and images that don’t scare the community (things they can digest/understand).

When street artists go over bombed walls they forget that the writers who bombed it first took some real risks to get their name up. When graffiti writers go over these walls, there is less anger as a writer has gone over the wall.

All of these factors create resentment which is why a lot of writers do not respect their work.

There are some cool street artists and they understand why writers get the shits.

Most street artists disappoint me though in the same way young toys do – they are uneducated on history and respect but even worse, they don’t care to learn.

What direction do you see graffiti heading in the future?

I see people writing on more shit, ha!

Egyptians and Romans did it thousands of years ago and Egyptians and Romans still do it today in Egypt and Rome. The only difference is the GoPros.

The future is more Insta props, more kooks, more drones, digital vandalism (hacking) and the birth of some of the most skilled and audacious writers ever.

Wall Artist Amuse

Sydney urban artist Amuse

If you could share a message with the next generation of graffiti artists, what would it be?

Learn the history of your city and learn the rules and be sure to learn these from a respected graffiti artist who has been around and lives and breathes it. Hang out with them and their friends and listen, formulate thoughts and ask questions. The internet will mislead you and the only way to really understand this is to seek out the knowledge – google is hollow. Lastly – pencil shavings and eraser rubbings should be on your floor as much as possible.

There any up and coming artists that we should keep an eye out for?

I wouldn’t know your personal taste so my only suggestion would be for you to direct your attention to the streets and trains and not on Facebook and Instagram where false prophets are built and destroyed. I liked it better when everyone was just painting so they were up, not up on the internet.

Any shouts out you would like to give?

Anyone that has ever loaned me a can. Anyone that has ever punched me in the face for a good reason (or not). Everyone that has ever bought me a beer when I was too drunk to know they had done it. Anyone that has ever bitten my style. Anyone I have bitten. Anyone who owns a store I would steal paint from. Anyone who has seen me writing on something and not tried to stop me or even better, has shouted ‘yeewwww’. And thanks to the best writers I know – SWB and KOS crews – keeping it clean in twenty nineteen