Upon his arrival, Freak was standing by our offices on the 8th floor looking for what’s known in the Graffiti world as the “Heaven Spot”. It’s a term that refers to those daredevil graffiti pieces which are painted in places that are difficult to reach, like rooftops, overpasses and freeway signs making them even more difficult to remove. He was pointing at a couple of billboards where you can see the stairs leading to them, and just from that determined look in his eyes, we know that he already had paved the path for a piece!
*Freak’s creatively artistic streak has always been evident from such a young age, and he describes how he began with graffiti sketches like practicing letters in his notebook during school classes when he was only 14-years-old. He says, “I was just attracted to [graffiti] as a young kid. I also like the aspect of free art; art in the streets for everyone. You don’t have to pay a fee to go to a gallery or a museum. But that was then, this is now.” We’re seeing his work not only in the streets and on walls across K-town, commonly with his graffiti crew SKC, but on canvases as well! Nowadays, the art direction has clearly switched for this creative.
Freak’s transition from being a well-practiced graffiti artist and into becoming a well-versed, multidisciplinary artist began a little more than a year ago. He felt like taking on this challenge to diversify his creative skills in order to stand out in the art world, “I got to know people that were more into the art realm than into the graffiti realm, and I really took towards that,” he says. It was also the competitive part of it, as he is the type of person who likes to compete against his artistic friends, so the appeal to branch out peaked then and there.
According to Freak, there are two types of graffiti artists, “Basically, one of them is the vandal who is the person that only likes to scribble on walls, they like to destroy stuff.” Keep in mind, graffiti vandals are typically anonymous, and Freak may have been one at some point before emerging into the art scene, which is why he prefers keeping his name behind closed doors. He continues by explaining, “Then there are people that like it for the art, and that was mostly me, I like the art side of it.” That’s why he sees himself as both a mixed media artist as well as a graffiti artist, where these two realms flawlessly merge into one.
It made sense to him, and in looking back at his graffiti idols, which include the likes of Saber, Kaws, and Revok, they too settled into the broader art world and experienced a similar transition. “I can’t just stay doing the same thing over and over until I’m 40-years-old, I like to branch out and work on different things,” he says. We’ve also seen that within his various collaborations, whether it was with brands or with fellow artists, selling canvases and putting art in homes as well as on the streets.
Most recently, his collaboration with creatives like Kickstq is all everyone could talk about in town! They previously worked together for a really cool customization event at local concept SNKR store. Curated by Kickstq, Freak artfully created customizations on several pairs of Air Max sneakers from Nike, and he is pushing towards designing more t-shirts, so we’re keeping an eye out for even doper collabs in the future!
As much as we’re seeing more art on our city walls, the community still lacks more graffiti artists in Kuwait. Not just that, Freak himself says that “In the graffiti world for sure we don’t have enough support for each other. I have ‘3en’ and ‘Numb’ who are part of the SKC crew, we’re supporting each other. But unlike Europe or America, we dont have support in terms of having a ‘legal yard’ where artists can openly spray walls with graffiti.”
There’s also the exception of having permits from restaurants, coffee shops, and stores to create graffiti art, and that’s essentially how many graffiti artists are doing their work legally these days, through these types of commissions. It’s interesting to note that, how back in the day, if you’re getting paid for a piece of graffiti, you’d instantly be labeled as a sell-out, “But at the end of the day, everyone needs to support themselves the best way they can.” says Freak.
Most notably, the recent demolition of the Al Sawaber towers had a huge impact on all artists, Freak reminisces and describes how this ignored space used to be a thriving playground for creatives, “We used to paint there all the time. The community was much better when Sawaber was still up, but now that it’s taken down we don’t have a place to graffiti a lot and just be ourselves.” Nevertheless, Freak is looking forward to the future, he is after all only 26-years-old. He has plenty of time to experiment and see his artwork displayed in galleries and museums, but also still represent himself out there in the streets, where it all began.
With a creative mind of an artist like Freak, we know that his work is just going to keep growing and constantly evolve, and we also credit this drive to his background in architecture, as this adds an entirely new dimension to his work. “Because I’m an Architect, I would like to design shoes for Nike and Adidas, and industrial stuff too,” he says.
Freak believes his best qualities lay in his ability to generate creative content, and we’re all on board this creative’s journey to witness those ideas as they come alive! We can’t wait to see what he does next.
TRUTH OR DARE QUESTIONNAIRE
How would your mother describe you in one word?
Affectionate and adventurous.
How would you describe your mother in one word?
Kind.
What is the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked?
“Is it done?”
What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
Impulse bought Cy Twombly’s catalogues (they’re not cheap lol).
What is your theme song?
A Lil Uzi Vert or a Slipknot song.
What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented?
Forgiveness.
Where would you like to live?
Italy.
What is your dream retirement location?
Holland.
What is the first famous quote that comes to your mind?
“Less is more,” and “Less is a bore.”
Which animal best describes your perfect partner, be it in business, or in life?
A chameleon.
Do you miss anything from your childhood and if so, what is it?
To be more carefree.
If you could change your name, to what would you change it?
If I could change my name, I wouldn’t tell you. It would be an alias.
How would you describe your handshake, in one word?
Firm.
What is the toughest part of your character?
Being a Taurus.
Who is your favorite historical figure?
Salvador Dali.
What in the world do you least desire?
Untrustworthy friends.
What do you think is lacking in the world, which [if there were more of it] would make the world a better place?
Love and recycling.
Why do you think most people who do, like you?
Good listener.
Finish this sentence: “Happiness is…”
Everything.
*Graffiti Freak didn’t wish to disclose his name for legal reasons. For more information, follow @graffitifreak on Instagram. Featured Image taken by @hyper_ali on Instagram.
All images courtesy of Graffiti Freak.
