Thirsty Bstrd: Create or Die

Now that I have known you for a couple of years, I can clearly say that you have a tongue in cheek humor in your art. Where did that premise begin for you? First, that's what I love as a spectator. I like any art forms with an underlying purpose, especially when it's done with a humorous note. That's also how I see the world around us and that's the way ideas naturally emerge for me.

I want my work to be fun and entertaining. For me, I like to play with powerful symbols and popular images and make them look funny or weird. For the audience, I hope to provoke and generate a certain emotion. I believe in creativity as a tool to awaken consciousness- and humor is a powerful tool.

Are you a fan of Banksy? How did his art influence yours? You got me! I am clearly a Banksy enthusiast. Whoever he or she is. Banksy’s artworks are part of my cultural background for years and years, as well as many artists, musicians and filmmakers of his generation. This is the kind of art and use of creativity I'm particularly sensitive to. I had the best time in Dismaland! Some of his most famous artworks have been made 15 years ago. So it's now part of pop culture and the creative language of many people. It's actually part of mine. I use his work as pop references, on the same level as Star Wars or the most famous logos. As a self taught artist, I have been drawing in a spontaneous way since childhood and I have a tendency to use the same tools as people I admire the most. Lately, I'm obsessed with the art of sampling in hip-hop music. I had a reflection on how to make it as relevant for graphic art.

You work with many different mediums. What is your preferred medium of choice? I would say stencils. As it's what I mainly do, it fits with most of my ideas. But as a real jack-of-all-trades, I have many more things to explore. I would be bored doing the same thing over and over. I also have a great deal of interest in screen printing. I meet a lot of printers committed to their job and they are open to sharing a lot about these techniques. I find it to be very interesting.

Please tell our audience about your pieces both in the Urban Art Fair and Krause Gallery. The "In Case of Bankruptcy" series is actually a commentary on the market value of Banksy's work and more generally contemporary art. It shows a faithful reproduction of one of his artwork in a plexiglass box with the message "In Case of Bankruptcy Break Glass". Those pieces get good responses from the audience. It makes people smile. They would love this piece to be a true Banksy and break the glass!

What is next for you? I just got into a summer pop-up exhibition in Shoreditch, London and my artwork will be part of several art fairs for the next few months, in Paris, the UK and in the US. I'm also preparing different projects with art galleries I work with, and working on new artworks to continue spreading the word : Create Or Die!