04. OCTOBER 2011
SHE ONE PHOTO SERIES
James Choules fascination with typography began with the album covers, merchandising and band artwork of 70’s heavy rock. Scratching logos into his school desk, painting on the back of his leather jacket or creating the logo for his secondary school hard rock trio, his natural ambitions with drawing found a new outlet with the discovery of New York subway graffiti.
Suddenly the concept of being able to turn drawn letters into huge colourful murals was the way forward and in 1985, adopting the alter-ego SHEONE he began to make his mark on the streets and subways of London. It didn’t take long before James began to sideline the usual multicoloured and
Heralded as one of the forefathers of the UK’s graffiti scene, SheOne has been working with Addict for a number of years now and we are proud to announce the release of a new line of t-shirts designed by the man himself. This collaboration with SheOne is unprecedented as it’s the first time we’ve printed photographic images onto our clothing, so in celebration we thought a brief Q&A was in order.
Setting the model for many graffiti styles adopted by artists working today, SheOne began adapting the conventions of New York subway graffiti in 1990 and brought his unique brand of conceptual, abstract art to the streets of London. 20 years on he is still at the forefront of the international graffiti scene and continues to bless buildings, walls and your clothes with his striking trademark style.
When you first started painting it was during a period of time when the NY graff style was seeping into the UK; do you think your work would be very different had you begun painting more recently?
All the reference to heavy metal music on the trains made perfect sense to me at the time. I was inspired by New York City itself, Martha Cooper’s photographs and the cinematography of Charlie Ahearn were a one way door into another world, I just had to pick up a can and step through.
Your style of abstract typography is instantly recognisable but has obviously evolved into what it is now over time, do you think you will continue to adapt it further or has it reached it’s pinnacle?
The history is built in, you can make out the ghosts of Zephyr, Revolt and Dondi style in my letterforms. I still basically paint wildStyle, just on my own terms and there is no natural conclusion or stop point, it’s always changing. I believe it is an artists job to make something that has never been seen before; lets see how it looks in ten years.
You’re involved in a lot of live art, do you prefer the pressure of painting that way or spending a lot of time over a piece in the studio?
I like the condensed time frame of live painting, instant decision mark making is always healthy. I actually feel more pressure in the studio when it’s just me and a blank canvas.
You’ve described the way you work as ‘without pre-conception’ and you start somewhere and see where it goes, tell us a bit about why this works best for you.Heralded as one of the forefathers of the UK’s graffiti scene, SheOne has been working with Addict for a number of years now and we are proud to announce the release of a new line of t-shirts designed by the man himself. This collaboration with SheOne is unprecedented as it’s the first time we’ve printed photographic images onto our clothing, so in celebration we thought a brief Q&A was in order.Setting the model for many graffiti styles adopted by artists working today, SheOne began adapting the conventions of New York subway graffiti in 1990 and brought his unique brand of conceptual, abstract art to the streets of London. 20 years on he is still at the forefront of the international graffiti scene and continues to bless buildings, walls and your clothes with his striking trademark style.When you first started painting it was during a period of time when the NY graff style was seeping into the UK; do you think your work would be very different had you begun painting more recently?All the reference to heavy metal music on the trains made perfect sense to me at the time. I was inspired by New York City itself, Martha Cooper’s photographs and the cinematography of Charlie Ahearn were a one way door into another world, I just had to pick up a can and step through.Your style of abstract typography is instantly recognisable but has obviously evolved into what it is now over time, do you think you will continue to adapt it further or has it reached it’s pinnacle?The history is built in, you can make out the ghosts of Zephyr, Revolt and Dondi style in my letterforms. I still basically paint wildStyle, just on my own terms and there is no natural conclusion or stop point, it’s always changing. I believe it is an artists job to make something that has never been seen before; lets see how it looks in ten years.You’re involved in a lot of live art, do you prefer the pressure of painting that way or spending a lot of time over a piece in the studio?I like the condensed time frame of live painting, instant decision mark making is always healthy. I actually feel more pressure in the studio when it’s just me and a blank canvas.You’ve described the way you work as ‘without pre-conception’ and you start somewhere and see where it goes, tell us a bit about why this works best for you.
over pictorialised aesthetics of traditional graffiti and concentrate instead on the lettering as subject, abstracting the letters into his own system of personalised strokes. His trademark bold black and white expressive markings have translated onto canvases and galleries worldwide.
This series by She One marks the first time we’ve ever produced Addict photo print tees. The images, from She One’s private collection showcase his distinctive and highly original trademark style in situ. Shop She One Tees
It’s just drawing with a spraycan. I know I am going to paint letters so it’s a case of making them directly onto the wall and playing the nuances of the wall in your favour. I am not interested in doing colouring by numbers. You’ve described the way you work as ‘without preconception’ and you start somewhere and see where it goes, tell us a bit about why this works best for you. It’s just drawing with a spraycan. I know I am going to paint letters so it’s a case of making them directly onto the wall and playing the nuances of the wall in your favour. I am not interested in doing colouring by numbers. You’ve been working with Addict for a number of years now on a lot of apparel design, what is it that appeals to you about having your work reproduced in this way?
Getting Up. I have seen people wearing my camo jackets all over the world, to me it’s like having a canvas walking down the street, people don’t have to know who I am to wear it, but to see that someone has responded to something I have created is pretty humbling.
Addict and yourself have recently collaborated on producing a set of ‘Photo Tee’s’, the first time they’ve ever printed photographic material onto their clothes. Can you tell us a bit more about them?
Photography is fundamental to graffiti, it’s why I started and it is how it is usually experienced. I wanted to present some works from my travels that would otherwise have just remained in my personal archive, because they are from places that the public would not normally have access to. Also I wanted to present something personally original rather than just another graphic tee.
Anything else in the pipeline on the clothing front?
Painting a denim jacket for myself.
What else are you up to at the moment art wise?
Working on exhibition pieces in the studio, various group projects, and some international rattlecan emptying on the cards this year. Taking photos, always taking photos.
Heralded as one of the forefathers of the UK’s graffiti scene, SheOne has been working with Addict for a number of years now and we are proud to announce the release of a new line of t-shirts designed by the man himself. This collaboration with SheOne is unprecedented as it’s the first time we’ve printed photographic images onto our clothing, so in celebration we thought a brief Q&A was in order.
Setting the model for many graffiti styles adopted by artists working today, SheOne began adapting the conventions of New York subway graffiti in 1990 and brought his unique brand of conceptual, abstract art to the streets of London. 20 years on he is still at the forefront of the international graffiti scene and continues to bless buildings, walls and your clothes with his striking trademark style.
When you first started painting it was during a period of time when the NY graff style was seeping into the UK; do you think your work would be very different had you begun painting more recently?
All the reference to heavy metal music on the trains made perfect sense to me at the time. I was inspired by New York City itself, Martha Cooper’s photographs and the cinematography of Charlie Ahearn were a one way door into another world, I just had to pick up a can and step through.
Your style of abstract typography is instantly recognisable but has obviously evolved into what it is now over time, do you think you will continue to adapt it further or has it reached it’s pinnacle?
The history is built in, you can make out the ghosts of Zephyr, Revolt and Dondi style in my letterforms. I still basically paint wildStyle, just on my own terms and there is no natural conclusion or stop point, it’s always changing. I believe it is an artists job to make something that has never been seen before; lets see how it looks in ten years.
You’re involved in a lot of live art, do you prefer the pressure of painting that way or spending a lot of time over a piece in the studio?
I like the condensed time frame of live painting, instant decision mark making is always healthy.
I actually feel more pressure in the studio when it’s just me and a blank canvas.
You’ve described the way you work as ‘without pre-conception’ and you start somewhere and see where it goes, tell us a bit about why this works best for you.
it’s just drawing with a spraycan. I know I am going to paint letters so it’s a case of making them directly onto the wall and playing the nuances of the wall in your favour. I am not interested in doing colouring by numbers.
You’ve been working with Addict for a number of years now on a lot of apparel design, what is it that appeals to you about having your work reproduced in this way?Getting Up. I have seen people wearing my camo jackets all over the world, to me it’s like having a canvas walking down the street, people don’t have to know who I am to wear it, but to see that someone has responded to something I have created is pretty humbling.
Addict and yourself have recently collaborated on producing a set of ‘Photo Tee’s’, the first time they’ve ever printed photographic material onto their clothes. Can you tell us a bit more about them?
Photography is fundamental to graffiti, it’s why I started and it is how it is usually experienced. I wanted to present some works from my travels that would otherwise have just remained in my personal archive, because they are from places that the public would not normally have access to. Also I wanted to present something personally original rather than just another graphic tee.
Anything else in the pipeline on the clothing front?
Painting a denim jacket for myself.
What else are you up to at the moment art wise?
Working on exhibition pieces in the studio, various group projects, and some international rattlecan emptying on the cards this year. Taking photos, always taking photos.
