Every single one of Asbestos' pieces has a whole lot of character. Lately, most of his energies have been going into one of a kind portraits on plywood or tile, which he then affixes to public walls. Because every piece is so obviously hand-crafted and carefully placed, the pieces seem intensely personal. I asked him what he was hoping to achieve and here's what he told me:
"I feel it's all about the personal touch. I get such a kick out of seeing graffiti that has a that personal touch, whether it's a tag, some random toilet graffiti or a beautifully painted piece. I still love the artists that put up masses of stuff and poster or paint their way all over the city, but I'm trying to do something different. I want each painting or dolls head that I put up to be hand crafted and unique, so that it's a moment of discovery when you find it out in the wild. Each of my portraits or hands pieces are painted with that idea. I want to put something out on the street that shouldn't be there, that looks a bit out of place, but also adds to its new environment."
As anyone could guess, hand-made one-of-a-kind paintings are a pretty hot commodity. And since they're not painted directly onto walls, Asbestos' work is basically a thief's wet dream. "The last time I put work up in London 3 of the 5 paintings were gone within the week", he said. "All I can do is make it more difficult to take them down."
And while he's clearly concerned about preserving his work, nobody can accuse Asbestos of egotism. "Hey, you can't get too high and mighty about what happens to your work when you put it up on the street, it all fair game." he said. "It's up to me to make it as hard to get to so that it last as long as possible. It's a game of cat and mouse and the more I put up, the more I learn how to make them last. I hope that anyone who has taken my work, did so because they really liked it and not because they wanted a few quid to get a new pair of trainers."
So what exactly is Asbestos doing to fight thieves? "Best case scenario is to find a spot high enough so that's it's damn difficult to steal the piece"
"I use a few different commercial glues and cements to fix the pieces, or I'll use some no more nails if I don't have my usual stuff. I have a few secret bits of equipment that I've manufactured to put them up, they're extension poles that fix together so that I can get the piece as high up on a wall as possible."
"But if it does get taken down, I'd prefer it was thrown in a bin rather than have someone try and make a few quid out of it."
After all the cat-and-mouse business, it probably feels good to do some work that won't disappear in a week every now and again. But even in commissioned work, Asbestos finds a way to keep his art ultra-personal and totally ephemeral. In 2005 and 2006, Asbestos trekked up to Sweden with a few other artists to participate in the creation of the Ice Hotel.
In 2005, Asbestos made ice sculptures for the hotel alongside D*Face and Mysterious Al. In 2006, D*Face and Asbestos were asked back to carve an entire room.
"We spent two weeks putting together our gentleman's club with the chairs, bed, fireplace, books, paintings, door and paneling were all carved out of ice. It's an amazing medium to work with because it's really easy to carve and has such a great reaction to light. You can do some crazy stuff with it. The experience of working 10 hour days in -10 degrees sounds like a nightmare, but it was a hell of a lot of fun."
And what's the future going to hold for Asbestos?
"I'm really loving the painting I've been doing over the last few years and I'm getting into a groove at the moment. So there's going to be a lot more of my paintings popping up on a street near you."
And what about years and years into the future?
"I'd love to set up an institute for graffiti that would give artists studio space and funding to carry out their street work. The sooner the better!"
Huge thanks to Asbestos for the pics and words. Check out www.theartofasbestos.com to see more of his work.
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