Graff by Onea

“I’ve always loved the atmosphere of disused spaces, and enjoyed exploring them. Strolling, discovering a new location … I was pleased with this piece because it’s quite rare to find this kind of industrial goods lift door – very nice. When I saw it, I said to myself, “Even if I don’t have much time (I do most of my graffiti sessions during my lunch break), I’m still going to do something on that – it’s just too tempting.” I’ve never been interested in doing neat, tidy paintings that involve working on fine detail. I’m very fond of drips and leakage – and here, this accentuated the dirtiness of the location.”

The artist biography:
Having always been attracted to art, comic books and the fantastical universe of Mad Movies, Onea discovered his first graffiti images in the Hip Hop programme by Sydney in 1984, and made his first attempts at creating tags in the late 80s. From 1993 to the end of the 90s, he created graffiti regularly in Paris and the surrounding suburbs. Returning to painting after a hiatus, he encountered the members of the VMD group in the mid-2000s. In 2010 he took part in the project Un musée à ciel ouvert (“An Open Air Museum”), working alongside internationally renowned artists. He is still painting today, and still deriving great pleasure from it.