You are the first sticker artist I’m meeting here in Vancouver.  What motivated you to get your stickers up on the streets?  There were hardly any stickers up in my hometown, and getting my stickers up seemed like the best way to display my artwork. Getting art up in public spaces is great exposure. I live in Victoria, but I get my artwork up in Vancouver, too.  It stays up longer here than in Victoria.

What inspired you to create street art?  My first inspiration was the work by the Brazilian twins, Os Gemeos. I discovered it online a few years back, and it changed my whole idea about street art – and its possibilities.

What is your first graffiti memory?  When I was younger, I kept on seeing a particular piece on the streets. It was a simple throwie that said DF. It stuck it my mind because those are my father’s initials.

Have you any preferred spots to post your stickers and paste-ups? Any place where people can’t easily access them.  Behind steel grating works.

How do you get your materials? I buy them at office supply stores and occasionally at graffiti shops. I saved up money from when I was working. Unlike street art, I don’t think shoplifting is worth getting busted for.

Do you represent any crews?   DMT. It’s small and has lost some members, but I never lost interest in representing it. It stands for Dimethyltryptamine, a natural, extremely potent, psychedelic and it represents the style of many of its members’ artwork.  And more recently I joined an art collective called the Holochron, which focuses on cutting-edge West Coast artists working in all kinds of mediums.

Have you ever been arrested? No, but I’ve had some close calls.  I had to be really careful about the time of the Winter Olympics. Vancouver was trying to be as graffiti-free as possible.  I try to look like a respectable member of society when I’m getting up. To cast suspicion off me, I sometimes wear a tie.

What is your family’s attitude to what you do?  They seem indifferent towards graffiti and what I do on the streets. But they’re supportive of my goal of working as an artist.

Have you ever exhibited your work? It’s been up in tattoo shops and toy stores. But I prefer the street as my gallery.

Have you had any formal art training? I studied for one year at an art college and I learned Japanese for a year.

Japanese? Yes, I’m very interested in the Japanese aesthetic.  Not what the words mean, but how they look.

Who are some of your favorite artists? Tokyo-based Trevor Brown, DAIM and Camilla D’Errico – who is here in Vancouver.

Any other passions? Music production

What do you see yourself doing in five years? I’ll still be doing art, of course. And I hope to be working as a graphic designer or doing anything where I get paid to be creative. I want to have a job where I can happily support my creativity.

That’s the best kind of job anyone could have! Good luck!

Interviewed by LoisInWonderland