Name: Zorn
Crew: BK Crew
City/Country: Hamburg, Germany
Started writing: 1997
What’s graffiti to you?
Graffiti is freedom and it’s one way to express myself. It’s my attitude towards life to override social rules and norms in some parts of my life.
Influences:
Late 90s Hamburg-South Graffiti, my friends and all the people I met along the way. Nowadays it’s a mix of classic graffiti and graphic design.
Tell us about your city, how is life and graffiti there?
Hamburg, the most beautiful city in the world… It rains all day and summer only lasts one week but we are among the happiest people in Germany. Hamburg is a city with a lively graffiti scene. My favorite discipline train bombing is at a really high and professional level. S-Trains and commuter trains continue to operate, even when they are painted. The important people know each other and which spot belongs to whom.
What keeps me writing:
Passion, my friends, the Vandal Squad and the smell of S-Train yards.
What first made you interested in graffiti and how did you end up on that track?
When I was a kid my friends’ older brothers did graffiti, they had a big community of writers, rappers, breakers and DJs. A tight circle of friends who met each other in an abandoned factory. I started graffiti and became a part of it… The most powerful impact in my graffiti life was when I met Moses and started painting trains with him.
What trends are you seeing now in the graffiti world that you don’t like?
Today graffiti mainly takes place on the internet. It’s a curse and a blessing at the same time. You can get a lot of inspiration and information about artists, spots and ways how to do things. But everybody else can do the same. It has lost a bit of its magic and mystery.
What do you do when you’re not painting?
No comment.
How would you describe your style?
Straight letters with high contrasts and illustrative elements. I try to reinvent myself every time.
Can you remember the first piece you did?
For sure I can remember, it was a silver piece on a train line with Koral. A real burner.
Future plans?
I’ve a lot of tasks and projects for the future. Watch out!
Do you adapt your pieces and tags to the spot/surface?
When i’m really ambitious and it makes sense I do, I like the contrast of raw concrete walls and colorful letters with little background.
What do you think about the new generation of writers in your city?
The same problems every generation has, every young writer thinks he is the new king after bombing 5 trains, after the first beating and learning that they are just another little writer, time and endurance will tell who is still in the game.
What are the best and worst aspects of graffiti?
The best: Trains are a mobile canvas rolling through cities.
The worst: nobody cares about graffiti, except for the police and prosecutors.
Who do you paint for?
First of all for myself, my friends, Instagram and the United States of America.
What writers have inspired you?
Deak, Zwek, Diskoe, Koral, Teck9, Rage and Moses.
Can you ever feel tired of graffiti?
Yes, every time I see the next pseudo wild style farmer style. Most writers limit themselves and do the same shit since forever.
What do you hope people will think and feel when they see your stuff?
I hope they think “what’s next?”
FIVE FAVOURITES
Spray paint: Montana Black
City: Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Markers: Krink K-63
surface: Trains
Cap: Standard Cap
Instagram: @zorn_one
