In this series, we write about art that can be found in public space. This time we spoke to graffiti artist Ph1.
Portugal
“I grew up in Riachos in Portugal, a remote rural village where not much happens. I remember passing trains covered in graffiti. One artist I remember well is Dips, one of the first artists whose work I saw on the trains. His works were not even carefully executed, but to me it was already beautiful, the shiny silver works passing by on those trains. This made me very curious; I started and never stopped. I was so excited, I wrote my own name in blue, red and black on the wall. Everyone around knew it could only be one person. I was caught very quickly. That wasn't a good start, haha. So now my graffiti name is Ph1."
Graffiti with and without letters
"I was working on text graffiti for three years, but I was pretty bad at it. Now I can make beautiful letters, but at that time I was not satisfied with it. In the beginning I had no internet. I discovered Black Market, a Spanish magazine, with photos of Western European countries such as Spain and Germany, and I saw not only graffiti works with letters, but also a large dragon and drawings of women.This magazine gave me the first impression of graffiti without letters ."
(Dead) animals
"I was always curious about animals and I remember that I used to draw a lot of flowers and animals. Flowers because my grandmother taught me to draw flowers, animals because I loved them so much. I also remember catching insects. I was that one child who finds a dead insect, takes it home and then looks inside it to see how it works This curiosity is a big driver in my creative process I collect animal skulls to draw them it can help you if you I want to draw things like that. I want to put things like that on the walls, make them visible to everyone. but polished. The subject may be morbid, but then I make the drawing colorful and lively."
Illegal graffiti makes for messy work
"Going to Groningen meant a new start for me. The Dutch culture is very different from the Portuguese. In Portugal I had my own car, I took my stuff and drove for miles to work. Here in Groningen it is so different; here I have a bicycle. For the Dutch, that's nothing new, but for me it's quite an adventure. Grab your bike, full of spray cans, and then go somewhere. That's a bit more difficult than by car! In the Netherlands there are no hidden or abandoned places.In Portugal you can go to an abandoned factory, stay there for a whole week, put up your tent and camp there.It is a sign that the country is not doing well, but it creates nice places for graffiti.In Portugal these places belong to nobody, nobody can arrest you if you paint there.
In the Netherlands you are punished much faster in that regard. It is ineffective, punishing people for dyeing. A good alternative to the arrests would be to give street artists space to work by making it legal. When graffiti is illegal, artists act fast and wary. This also makes for messy works, which are less appreciated. If graffiti is legal, people can take the time to make something beautiful because they won't be punished. That way you get nicer works. Even when I'm an old man, I want to keep painting. I always will, I have to stay true to the graffiti. Of course it's illegal, but you want to live."
Ph1's works can be found throughout the city and on his website.