DMOTE

How and when did you get into writing graffiti and what was your personal and the social situation in Australia at that time?
I first started writing in 1985, I was breaking before that. I was at the time living in a small town. In that town breaking was introduced through the movies and film clips like BEAT STREET, BUFFALO GALS and a sixty minutes documentary about the FLOOR LORDS – much the same as Europe and the rest of the world at that time. I would later move to Sydney where I met long time partner PRINS at high school. He was the first writer I met and being already into art, the progression was natural that I would start writing.

If you take a look at the graffiti movement on your continent these days, what do you feel about it compared to the early days?
It seems to have plateaued in the last few years and got more commercial. Style has not progressed at the same rate it did in the late eighties, and less great writers are born.
In the city I come from it is at its worst right now. The criminal element is more dominant than anytime before, that doesn’t bother me too much. I do it for me. It goes through waves; every city has its glory days and its low points.

You are well-known for productions with different writers all over the planet, especially all over Europe. How come you travelled that much?
I just wanted to get out and see different places. My first connection was LOOMIT, who I met in Australia and then MATE from Switzerland. I then travelled with long time friend KASINO to a jam in Mainz/Germany where I met CAN2 and others. I stayed in Germany for a while and painted a lot, so I met a lot of people, and when they started to come to Australia they would stay with me. MATE later introduced me to HOW and NOSM who would become my best and most loyal friends from overseas.

What are your best memories when you think of all those trips?
One memory stands out the most: It was the trip to Croatia and Bosnia in ’97. This was with SHARK (Dortmund/Germany) and KASINO. We had met the guys from ZGB KAOS MAGAZINE at URBAN SKILLS JAM in Switzerland, then it was SHARK’s idea to go down there. I was genuinely scared knowing nothing about these war-torn countries. I wasn’t going to go, but I knew if I didn’t, I’d regret it and miss out on something special. The city of Sarajevo was in tatters and the cit had stopped. Every part of that journey was memorable.

Are you still in contact with people you met along your trips? I could imagine that a lot of people you met stopped doing graffiti at one point. Are there relations that are stronger than just “to paint together”?
You know, there are not many that contact on the regular. I try to maintain contact but with distance and e-mail address changes most of the time these contacts get lost out there.
I wonder about a lot of writers I’ve met where they are and what they‘re doing right now. The real good friendships I hope will always last more than just to paint.

As we mentioned in our introduction, only a very few Australian mags hit the european stores. What is the situation with graffiti media in your area? Are you informed on what’s going on, or are you not interested at all?
Well graff media has really become the Internet for me. It’s refreshing to see a well produced graff mag these days – there’s something about holding a mag in your hand. There are a lot of good books produced these days also, that cover the latest. I’d like to think that we are up to date with the world and what’s going on.

Do foreign magazines reach Australia or is it just the other way around: You guys also don’t know what is going on in Europe?
I think because we are so far away, you probably know less about us. European mags do come here. We have great bookstores which carry as good a selection as I’ve seen in Japan or anywhere.

Let’s talk about your name, your letters, your style … Is there a story behind the name DMOTE?
Not really a meaning to the name. Like most writers I just like the word. I was just a toy when I came upon this name.
The writer I looked up to at the time was STYLES, he was older and a king. He was writing two names on the trains: MOSKE and DMISE. I wanted a name that looked like these tags. I took the letters from his tags which flowed and went together, and came up with the closest version I could, DMOTE.

I think every writer has kind of a love-hate to the letters. What are the characteristics of your name? What do you like most and what do you hate?
I think my name is a hard one to do. I have always done better outlines for other people. I have a formula now that I don’t stray from that much. D into M is tough. I always have troubles.
I would describe your style as an original NYC graffiti style. Do you think that’s what it is?
Yes, I have always looked at the style from Brooklyn/Bronx/Manhatten in the early to late eighties, as the style “evolved”, finished.
I try to implement my own moves and flavour to this basic form and technique, from the outline, 3d, to the accessories and composition.

What are the most positive parts of doing graffiti?
Well, for me I would have to say meeting so many people and travelling. Graff has always been an open gateway to the world – to be able to go to Croatia, Germany, Italy or Canada and stay with complete strangers is a rare occurrence. I have had many opportunities with my art now as well. People stand up and take notice in the business world because of the effort that we put in over years for free. That effort builds a background to a person that a graphic designer or conventional artist doesn’t have.

What are the negative parts of doing graffiti? There must be some, if we can trust the governments of the world, aren’t there?
Man, I am trying to live in another country right now and I wish I never got arrested.

What’s the importance of graffiti in your life? How or why did it change from the beginning to now?
Graff is as important as it ever was. I have just slowed down due to work and getting older. Besides graffiti you are also known for doing other kinds of art and graphics. Some of them can be seen on my webpage www.dmote.com.

What exactly are you doing and do you think it’s the logical consequence of your career as a graffiti writer?
I have been working mainly in fashion for the past 5 years. Designing ranges, graphics and art projects. I work freelance as well. I work now in L.A. for the clothing company RVCA.
I also work on paintings and have a solo show in Melbourne at the end of the year.

What are your paintings about and how does your graffiti career reflect in your paintings? Is there a connection between your paintings and you graff works?
My paintings are about life and death, sinners and saints, my journey. I don’t paint graff in my paintings anymore. I still carry elements from graff and definitely the energy and movement of the streets is there. It will always reflect in some ways my involvement with graff and underground culture.

How come you went to L.A.? Why there?
I had reached a point in Australia where I couldn’t really go that much further with my career. It was a good time for me to leave as well: The first time in my life I had no ties and could just get up and leave. I was offered a job at RVCA (www.rvcaclothing.com) as a creative director, so California is where that opportunity took me.

What’s graffiti like in L.A. these days???
SEVENTH LETTER CREW (MSK, AWR) runs thing here – REVOK is the man here right now.

What are your plans for the future?
To go back there one day.