INTERVIEW WITH STREET ARTIST JAY KAES

“What I will say is, be true to yourself, explore, don't be afraid to make mistakes and don't believe the hype.  "

We headed to Brick Lane, East London to meet Street artist Jay Kaes as he was finishing his latest piece which illustrated the negative impact social media can have on society today. We find it Bold, beautiful and full of intent. 



So who’s Jay Kaes? What’s your background? 

Hey i'm an artist who has the world as a canvas and seeks to give something positive back to society while expressing himself. I’m used to living in different cities around Spain. I Grew up around the 2000s , playing around with the skateboard, free styling music with my friends, traveling and painting Graffiti from a very young age. Graffiti introduced me to art that led me to study Fine Art at University and after that I decided to learn English to understand the Urban Culture from another perspective, so my best option as a European at that time was to establish my career in London and travel from there.

How would you describe your art? 

I always admired the pioneers of Graffiti in New York. Graffiti is a huge passion for me and I've dedicated 22 years of my life to it. First, I learned to paint graffiti taking influences from previous generations. I have a lot of respect for them, and now I incorporate what I have learned with technology as a tool to create something new from my own experiences. Since nowadays many of our practices and interactions almost necessarily pass through a technological device. Therefore, this is part of our contemporary reality. I paint pieces of art loaded with modern references and meaning. I am addressing current issues to contribute something positive to society. Currently I’m working on a creative process that focuses on the interrelation of art, nature and technology. It is about the change of human beings due to technology and its exponential growth, and the art especially reflects the human and natural ability to deal with these changes that affect the way we see ourselves as well as our vision of the future as a society.

In your opinion what makes a great artist and what advice do you have for beginners trying to get a foothold in the industry? 

In my opinion, good artists are true to themselves and develop their own form of expression that communicates in a unique way with the world surrounding themselves creating their own path apart from the establishment. It is difficult to give good advice as I believe that art is related to our own reality and that depends on the person, What I will say is, be true to yourself, explore, don't be afraid to make mistakes and don't believe the hype.

Is there a particular piece your most proud of? And why? 

It is difficult to choose just one, some of them are my favourites because the community they were painted on keeps giving me positive feedback, like “Rosario’s Granddaughter “ in Spain or “ Desde el barrio al Cielo” in Greece, The wall for Catch one in Los Angeles. ‘Equal” in Miami, “Opinion” in Belgium and many others. Some commission pieces are really good because they were really influential, making me meet people from all around the world like the wall for Louis Tomlinson commissioned by Sony Or the wall for Netflix .

What and where would be your dream commission? 

I’m a lucky guy , and already worked in a lot of dream commissions, to be honest, any commission people call me to be me , is a dream commission.

You have travelled all over the world with your art, where would you say is your favourite place and why? 

Again, difficult to choose one, I will definitely choose Miami during December because you can have a great time there. Los Angeles for the weather and light, Hong Kong for the dynamism, London for the work...But to me the best place to paint is Spain , I simply love it. I want to say thank you to all previous generations in Graffiti, the people I've met along the way, The Relax Man, The Ghost Writers and also to you Danny and the ones that read this interview for their time.


More images below from Danny Woodstock Photographer  




 











1 comment


  • Broki

    Maaakina 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼


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