Five questions for five flicks 

Featured artist - SPICE

Instagram@banditqu333nspice

This week we interviewed the first female writer in this series, SPICE from Sydney.  She is a true B-Girl & has been painting and loving hip hop since the 80's and it shows in her pieces, she burns hard! We caught up with her for a quick chat and asked for her favourite five flicks.

1. What got you into graffiti?

I got into graff from the whole poppin/breakin era. Apart from practicing my backspins and battle routines with my brother haha, as a kid I was always drawing. It was in a few of the first US breakdancing videos and film clips where graff first grabbed my attention and my love affair with it began.

2. How would you describe your style?

I'd describe my style as hard edge with a bit of funk! I really love to focus on connections and how the letters interlock with each other.  The balance and swing are also important to me.

3. Do you have a good chase story?

There's a few funny stories from earlier years, but something more recent was while I was in Germany. I kind of sacrificed myself in order for a friend to get away. I played dumb as a passer by, but the 7foot tall undercovers were not havin it and one grabbed me. I fought so hard to make my escape and ran as fast as I could, dumping my stash along the way. Not knowin where the fuck my friend or I was, I managed to hide for what seemed like hours, in some dingy toilet, ridding myself of any further evidence and trying to call my friend. Luckily he was ok and we worked out a plan on finding our way back to where we were staying.

4. What was the Sydney scene like in the 80's when you first started writing and who were your main influences? 

My main influence has always been music. Some seem to believe my brother Kuwi/QE influenced me in writing, but forget to realise that we started our graf and HipHop journey at exactly the same time. We were each others 1st bombing partner but as he was 5yrs older than me, he was out there more actively than me. He was who introduced me to a lot of the music that has, and continues to be that influence on me from day one.

The scene overall back then was so much fun! I just cant explain how energetic it was. It was us against the transits, not us against each other. There was unity over jealousy, quality over quantity, respect over bullshit. We had our crews n territories, our fights, egos and battles, but at the end of the day we were one big family that ALWAYS came together for a drink in the park, a party at the end of another ones line and Sydney DefJams.. I think theres a lil bit of that still around these days, but power over walls, ego and self segregation, seems to really hinder it.

5. What motivates you to keep painting?

My passion for it! I just cant see my life without it!  It may sound weird but its kind of like a best friend..always helping me get through the worst times in my life. When im down I sketch.. when I paint, all my worries escape me and all my mind is focused on in that moment is painting my piece.  Ive always said "painting is my medicine" so I guess u can call it a drug n Im addicted lol. I used to paint on average about 3 times a week.. sometimes knocking a piece out before work. Due to recovering from a few major surgeries, the paintings slowed down n i havn't even been able to paint once this past yr :( n that's really fucked with me...hence why my insta page is flooded with sketches lately. #sketchtherapy