Wild Walls: IT'S ARTISTA
Mixing Eighties graffiti styles with Pop Art and the natural world we live in, Artista has mastered her own method for murals
You know when you have seen a piece by Artista. The cartoon surrealism meshed seamlessly with fine art makes her style instantly recognisable.
Now based in Hastings, Kayleigh Doughty came to our attention for her mural work at Allen’s Barber Shop in Gravesend and we were intrigued to find out more.
You may have already seen Artista’s work, which has been featured in TV and film sets for the likes of the Discovery Channel, as well as for brands like Red Bull, Barclays, Netflix and Ford, while also having her art showcased at the Tate Modern and The Design Museum.
Hi Artista, where exactly did your artistic journey start? Was it a hobby going out and practising your graff, or was street art something you studied?
The journey started after I won my first major art competition at just four years old – for the duration of my youth I was then encouraged to paint, which became the centre of my world growing up, alongside sports activities such as cross-country running and football. My art career started six months after I graduated when I went on to win the Young Tate Prize. I was always inspired but didn’t ever participate in any type of graffiti. I went from fine artist to mural painter in the space of 10 years on the streets of London.
You have worked with some major brand clients – was there a lightbulb moment when your work got picked out and blew up? Who was your favourite to work with?
My favourite clients to work with were not necessarily the ones that helped bring eyes to my work, but more those who made me feel supported and valued while working with and for them. To me, painting is a way of life and with any job the best outcome is the enjoyment and not the fame that comes with it. You really have to have 20 years of working with a broad spectrum of brands to really understand this. Like they say with any industry, it’s not as glamorous as it seems – whether you’re painting for a TV advert or sat doing an office job, it’s the people around you that make the job fun and exciting. That was my lightbulb moment and why I have turned down some clients in the past, too.
Do you have a favourite piece?
I don’t have a favourite finished artwork, for me it’s really just impossible. I have favourite aspects within the pieces, though. I painted a springbok recently and it’s been my favourite animal to paint and learn about so far. I feel very connected to them, being that they’re not in any real threat of becoming extinct any time soon due to their ability to camouflage and jump (spring) nearly seven feet into the air, which they also do in their spare time for fun as a celebration of life and survival. They are enduring and elegant creatures and I like the fun aspect of their behaviour, along with other elements painted in my work such as the Gameboy, toast and the leaves and googly eyes that surround these subjects.
Animals have been a big part of your work; is this a passion of yours originally, or was it something that happened organically?
Painting animals organically happened through a mental shift. I was obsessed with pop culture and had painted various portraits of people and popular household items and food such as toast, ice-creams and candy. As I grew, I developed a deeper connection with nature and the life within it. I know this change in artwork caused a massive backlash as people who supported me just wanted to see a continuation of flying toast painted around London. For me, it was important to transition not only as an artist but as a person and to showcase the fine-art skills I had acquired 10 years before becoming a mural painter, which nobody had seen.
What is your proudest moment as an artist so far?
Looking back on 15 years of painting as a self-directed artist and feeling blessed to be still working as a painter while being able to evolve my style and find new ways to contribute, inspire and add colour to society. Having been diagnosed 25 years ago with ADHD, I really want to stress not only the mental struggles I’ve had to face personally but the importance of the positive traits that have come with having a so-called mental disorder. Hyper-focusing on what I really enjoyed helped me to succeed and grow as a person when most people doubted my ability.
Could you explain to us what the Hastings Takeover project is?
The Takeover Collective project started in Soho, London, in early 2017. I helped manage a collection of empty buildings across the city, which I used to create affordable studio space within the buildings for other spray-painters and musicians to work from. During this two-year period I formed the collective that ran from an unused office building on Poland Street in Soho, where I encouraged fellow creatives to put on exhibitions as well as collective group shows. As we moved, the name changed to East LDN Takeover when I held a one-year residency in Whitechapel and ran several workshops and a group show for creative and animal rights. I’m currently working from Hastings, so the title is now Hastings Takeover, which at the moment is operating straight from the pier.
INSTA: @its.artista WEB: Itsartista.co.uk
