Hello My Name Is: Neat
Name: Neat / Yoga
Crew: PIX, DINMA
City/Country: Sweden
When did you start writing? 1999
What’s graffiti for you?
So many things, hanging out with good people, travel, the feeling of creating something that’s completely meaningless to others than myself.
Influences?
The simplicity of Scanian graffiti and Danish wild style.
Tell us about your city, how is life and graffiti there?
I’m from a small town in the mid southern parts of Sweden on the east coast. It used to be a pretty cool scene there in the mid 90’s, with crews like ATC & HCW. In the late 90’s me and Geist started by ourselves without having any connections in any way. After a while we met other kids around town and it became a lot more fun when we started to think more strategic and competed of spots all over. When we got bored of our town, we traveled around Sweden painting and got to know new people with similar ambitions. It didn’t take long until we all moved to different cities, around Sweden and abroad. Nowadays, Malmö is a base for some of us.
What keeps you still writing?
The missions, the flow and the smell of all those places. To just stop writing would be like loosing your glasses, hard to focus on other things.
What first made you interested in graffiti and how did you end up on that track?
I used to travel a lot by train to Denmark as a pre-teen and crews like OHS, NER, SW, FYS, MOA and especially Kegr caught my eye. Danish graffiti is one of the reason and I still flip through my well-thumbed first issue of Magic Moments to find that juvenile eagerness. It was the life style and the constant search for new surfaces and to develop something of your own.
What trends are you seeing now in the graffiti world that you don’t like?
When I grew up it was very clear which region in Sweden you belonged to, style wise. It’s nice with so many styles, I guess that kids pick and choose. I’m not a hater, do whatever floats your boat.
What do you do when you’re not painting?
Listen to some good tunes and spend a lot of time in my studio, being creative in other ways.
How would you describe your style?
Sharp and simple with poppy color schemes.
Can you remember the first piece you did?
Haha oh yes, at first I was not really a fan of spray cans and mainly did small throw-ups with markers! But in ’99, me and Geist were bulking cans and beers under his bed, this was before we even discovered Montana or anything like that. We found this trackside wall and brought our Motip’s, to sketch up our pieces we used my sisters crayons, I have no idea why but I guess that it seemed logic at that time. My cans where empty when I’ve done the filling of half the first letter and had to go back a couple of times to finish it, exhausting first mission.
Future plans?
Hang out with my dog and friends to cook up some sweet gorgonzola pasta. Spend some time in the woods and perhaps some traveling.
Do you adapt your pieces and tags to the spot/surface?
I’m not a tall dude and rarely bring a ladder when I paint freights, so I have to. To adapt pieces to a surface with a door opening or something like that in the middle is fun though, it adds more creativity.
What do you think about the new generation of writers in your city?
I don’t think that there are any writers at all back in my home town, unfortunately. In Malmö there’s more going on, people moving in and out, it adds even more style to the style capital of Sweden.
What are the best and worst aspects of graffiti?
I’ve met a lot of fun people, traveled and seen places that I wouldn’t have done. Silly hierarchies, realness and gossip makes my eyes bleed.
Who do you paint for?
I’m a collector, so mainly for myself but it’s fun when people notice it.
What writers have inspired you?
As a kid I walked around in Copenhagen to spot burners by Sabe, Kegr and Thek among others. Apart from the Danes I think that my crew buddies have been the most inspiring. Geist have always been the illest with lettering and colors, Ken24 is one hell of an illustrator. I guess we’ve developed a crew style.
Can you ever feel tired of graffiti?
I get psyched about graffiti in landscapes that have a lack of it, Sweden is perfect in that sense. Last year I lived in Berlin and hardly didn’t paint at all, more rave’ing though.
What do you hope people will think and feel when they see your stuff?
I have no idea, people interpret it differently I guess.
FIVE FAVORITES
Spray Paint: …and buckets of scrap paint from the local Flügger
City: Copenhagen
Markers/pens: Crayons
Surface: Raw concrete
Cap: Pocket cap
Instagram: @jagette
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