I have studied fine art in the past and I find a lot of inspiration in art. I still browse the profiles of arts practitioners from many different creative practices. Yet one practice that is largely misunderstood in contemporary art is aerosol art. I feel there are some great avenues explored that don’t involve the visual art side of aerosol culture. People will initially think of hip hop which is broader than people think. Hip hop culture visits and is channelled through many other genres that at first seem unrelated. The undercurrent of Afro-futurism for example and outsider art hook straight into hip hop in unexpected ways. I suppose that mentioning hip hop can relegate most people to certain stereotypes. There are always connections underlying any practice. Say for example the work of Antony Hamilton and his futurist inspired dance choreography comes from hip hop and hip hop comes from futurism. His work is an example of bringing many elements together. One of the reasons I mention this is if you think of the work of Zapgalaxy or some fairly unknown aerosol painters that seem unrelated they both carry, in their ‘drawing’ a world that is just as much about observation as design.

The process of making a drawing or outline brings many observed and imagined connections together which when painted on a wall brings forth even more connections. In a world full of visual cues and competing visual detritus we suddenly find ourselves confronted with strange and uncanny art forms like aerosol art. Our minds which are full of adverts, devices, and so much visual information, can’t be helped that art in any form takes on so many cues. Drawing an aerosol design seems to bring the idea of connections and synchronicity together. There is an encapsulation of experience held together in a two-dimensional diagram that at times hints at a third dimension and what can remain only a cue for observations made and described. I am not an art theorist so I probably haven’t used art theory terminology to describe what can be called a simulacrum. At least I think that is the right term. It is more subtle though as it deals with semblances that come from a variety of media and observable design in general.