Hello My Name Is: Seleka

Name: Seleka before known as Kaps
Crews: I have no crews. The most important crew in my life, and still my best graffiti fellas are Porno Stars, crew that i found with Dems and Okan.
City/Country: Seville, Spain
When did you start writing: 93

What’s graffiti for you?
A way of express myself that show me the way of my life and the only thing in my life that i don´t need to get worry for it, it will ever stand there for me.

Influences?
To name a few, Phillip Guston, Tomoo Gokita, Katharina Grosse, David Carson, Pablo Picasso, Robert Crumb, Will Eisner, David Hockney, Basquiat, Kooning, Rubén Guerrero, Hervé di Rosa, Eltono… and many more! I get inspired everyday and can’t remember the names.

Tell us about your city, how is life and graffiti there?
First of all, we do have 300 sunny days per year. Seville is a city from South Spain with 1.500.000 inhabitants, and is a two faces city. The traditional one, that have the power, and it’s cause our city is internationally recognised and then there’s a big scene of youth culture with lots of agents doing their thing so right, and having a local scene in all ways that have nothing to envy from any other city of the world.Many people does not imagine how cool our city are until they stay here for a while. We have kind of easy live. We do like tapas and take our time to eat with friends very much. Graffiti and Hip hop culture have a great story, having the first writers, breakers and rap crews since 84, then in 89 came the greatest generation ever with names as Logan, Bimbo, Sil, Shirt… and many others old school great writers. I´m from the third generation of writers from the city, including names as Joe King, Nowe, Trach, Zoor, Srger, LaHe, Fafa… and we were the most active ones, we had publications as NSO in the 90´s or now we have Estilo & Cojones (EYCMAGAZINE), so we also have people that cares about spread the word of Andalusian scene. So, as i resumed here, we do have a great history.

What keeps you still writing?
I started when i was 10 years old, and this show me many ways of life that I will be never discover without this. I always say that you need a passion in life. I don’t care if you like cook bread or play saxo, but you need to have your own thing to do to keep you alive and mind healthy. Also, I work as artist and graphic designer, and most of my time as a gallerist with my girlfriend and partner in life and crime.I’m pretty much into arts, so i will never give it up. Sometimes I paint a lot, sometimes not that much, (In streets I mean) but I have been painting since almost 24 years ago, and I hope do the same for many more years.  What we all doing is just adding our piece to the big puzzle of art history and even if this is a tiny piece, it’s still a piece.

What first made you interested in graffiti and how did you end up on that track?
I was very young, so i get attracted cause my whole neighborhood were full of graffiti, and writers, so it was difficult to not get into it. I was so young, so also i guess that I get into it as a neighbor child that do something bad! I got to add that at this time there was a huge hall of fame in my barrio, it was that big that when i get back home with dirty hands, and my dads notice it, i only need to tell them where i came from, and they didn’t care that much, they only care about the junkies that gets around this area. So it was kind of easy to get into graffiti, even having my parents permission.

What trends are you seeing now in the graffiti world that you don’t like?
I like most of the things. I don’t really like that if you’re from Brazil, or Mexico, places with such a great history, mixing of cultures, and a great imagery, people do copy USA wild-style, and they use to do such a horrible things.In fact, I used to love wild-style, but nowadays i only like certain people doing it, and most of the time, the people that i like are the ones that do this classic stuff, but simplified. I also hate people that only paint faces. I don’t care if you paint photorealistic things, I love some people that do this, but please, we don’t need more faces. Use your imagination, with such great skills you can do much better and remarkable stuff.I hate people that is scared about what other writers or people will think. Best writers does not care about other writers opinion.  Also don´t like that nowadays the youth artists goal are work for big brands or expose and sell their stuff, and when we were kids our goals were have the respect and recognition of the older writers.

What do you do when you’re not painting?
Working so hard to keep alive a cultural project, you can check it at delimbo.com, working on public projects, cooking, reading, designing, speaking so much, taking care of our plants, or as every human person, hanging with my beloved friends and girlfriend.

Is it important that people see your stuff and you get recognition?
I was on that shit many years ago, as a teenager you can imagine how bad i want to be a king. Now I’m a low profile writer, and when i get in contact with writers for so long, i always remember why I’m kind of out of the graffiti movement and system. I don´t care anymore.

How would you describe your style?
There’s not that much to describe, i’m not a critic, so i leave this work for professionals graffiti critics (if there are), enthusiasts or haters.

Can you remember the first piece you did?
Yes! It was horrible, I was more nervous that time than first time that I fuck, so at this time I can’t enjoy as much as I do now, cause I did not understand at this time that graffiti must be fun, not pressure.

Future plans?
I think nobody will care about my future plans! Now you know a little bit of what I’m doing and why, so you know I will be painting, curating shows, and working so hard on Delimbo with my beloved Laura and our lovely team Abel, Marcos, Carlos and everybody that collaborate with the project cause believe in us.

Do you adapt your pieces and tags to the spot/surface?
I used to do that when I was a full time artist, but I paint most of the time for the pleasure, and can´t spend more than a day on it, so, a few times yes, sometimes i have an idea, and then i find the spot, so most of the times I´m at the wall with an idea before I know where I’m gonna paint.

What do you think about the new generation of writers in your city?
I’m not that much in contact with them, so I can’t have an opinion. I have a huge respect for BKE crew, Kernel, Lolo, Koctel, Furia, Xela, Hse, Yogur, Osier… but they´re not that new anymore…

Who do you paint for?
For the dead artists that believed in paint as medium for a better world and for those that looked beyond with his passions and life’s. I do what i do for me and for those that loves what they do.

What writers have inspired you?
Many! From the beginnings with people such us Moockie, Zeta, Caos, Logan or Bimbo, or with my Spanish generation fellas Dems, Sil, Vino, Rois, Okuda, San, Axel Void, Nano4814, Sex69, Sixe, Hifo … international as Egs, Viagrafik, Reso, Ecb, Nima, Loomit, Can Two, Daim, Os Gemeos, Twister, Ces, MSK, Tats…  and the Spanish new blood as Felipe Pantone, Sawe or Aryz inspires me a lot! Classic old NY graffiti, Barcelona Graffiti, Nordic graffiti, new ways of graffiti, i like most of things and of course all of them influences me in one way or another.

What are the best and worst aspects of graffiti?
The best the good people that you meet, the worst the bad people that you meet.

Can you ever feel tired of graffiti?
I’ve been painting since almost 23 years, so i felt tired a few times, but always where for others writers attitude. Nowadays, over time, all those writers passed away, so what i do now is only trust the opinion of my closest colleagues, and the people i really respect. I’m out of writers meetings and all that shit I’ve done before.

What do you hope people will think and feel when they see your stuff?
If you don´t have graffiti knowledge, or any art interest, you may can’t even feel what i would like to transmit. i would like that people look on my stuff as they look on a bonfire. I mean, you don’t really know whats happening there, but you enjoy it. Thats what I’m looking for.

FIVE FAVOURITES
Spray Paint: Of course Montana colors. All ranges, each for a different purpose.
City: Lisbon, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brighton, Granada, Cadiz and of course my city,
Markers/pens: Squeezer, no doubt. I love the Krink Squeezer, cause the size specially.
Surface: Flat wall.
Cap: The new black hardcore cap, the medium black fat cap with orange dot and of course the pocket cap.

Website: I don’t have anymore, Find me on FB Seleka Ilovetocopy
Instagram: @seleka