They Used To Do It In The Clubs

The early work of Mauritian-born Mode 2 raised the bar for European graffiti more than any other artist of the time. "Writing" is not quite the right term for his art, because while Mode 2 places himself in the writer and hip-hop tradition, his work is figurative in nature. In the mid-1980s, he worked with the crews TCA (The Chrome Angelz) and CTK (Crime Time Kings) and collaborated with his partner, Bando (the top writer of the time), to create classic works like "TCA Lucrezia" and "Aerosol Art". His futuristic figures seemed to have come from a parallel universe of spray galaxies – and in fact they did. These figures were immortalized on the cover and within the pages of "Spraycan Art", the New Testament of graffiti (following "Subway Art", the Old Testament). Today, Mode 2's work points in the opposite direction: retrospection, nostalgia. Firmly figurative work shot through with muted colors takes a hazy look back at a golden age. The days of "Crime Time" – even if they only ever involved smoking a few joints in a club – have passed.