Thanks for taking the time to feature on newurbanera.org

Firstly can you tell us a bit more about yourself and how you became an Graffiti artist?

As long as I can think, I paint. In 1995 I started painting with spray cans and developed my technique since this time.

What about your name/tag where did that come from?

there is not really a reason behind the name CASE. Its a simple word compares to my surname in real life. Its a anonym and often used word too. The try is to make this simple word famous and anonym at the same time 😉

to

Can you tell us about MA`CLAIM crew members and how the crew was formed?

The crew was formed in 2000 after a long time working together with my mate Akut, the male part of herakut. We grew up in the same town and had this idea to create a character crew. At this time around 1996/97 mostly graffiti crews was still lettering which is good. We had that idea to be a bit different. At this time I started painting photorealistic, well  according to circumstances Cause the spray paint at this time wasn’t on that level like nowadays. The paintings I did at this times was just black, white and in greyscale. In 1999 together with Akut, I met Tasso via our friend Rusk. Tasso got the same idea about forming a crew contented just figure painters and we start working together one year.

Rusk was always beside us and in this time the first colabopieces was born. We decided to choose the name Ma’Claim. Its a slang word for My Claim like my area specially my area were I can find my own gold.

You seem to have mastered hands like no other artists what made you focus on hands when they are so difficult to paint?

See if I look back to the pieces I done, since the beginning hands are always my favorite forms. I never thought about that. Since my short time in Egypt in 2011 I realized that Hands are the most popular sign of mankind and it doesn’t look like a face. So people always interpreting simple forms with a face. Two dots are almost a face. Hands are different, they’re mostly beautiful in almost every perspective and they always have energy and dynamic. Finally they represent the touch sense, the main way to connect our brain with the real world. And they allowing me to create what I think, which is a great thing!

Do you think graffiti art has a place in galleries or should it be kept on the streets?

Thats a question for a gallery owner. My experience why not. Urban art, Street Art, Graffiti all those names are terms for one big thing: Expression by rabbles or mobs. See, Otto Diks is a german Artist from the area called Neue Sachlichkeit, This guys painted people who came from the lower street class, worker, gambler… Dicks said, the people he paint would never understand his art because they never learned or studied this. And what we have with graffiti and however you call it is, that people who never studied and learn art become artists right? for example, I know tax lawyers who going out at night to paint, thats great innit?!

How do you see the future of graffiti art?

I don’t know. As long as people painting illegal it will be moving forward. Its not an appeal but my point of view is that tagging is the source of creativity of graffiti/ street art

How  the scene in Germany at the moment?

Good connected!

What is the largest piece you have painted to date?

Its a 10 stage building in Magnitorsk a industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River

 

Do you have a place where you would like to visit and paint?

Not really, I’m open for every place.

Is there any projects in the pipeline?

Currently I finished my solo exhibition in Munich, going till end of May. There will be a couple of travelings in Europe and a nice project including the whole east train station in  Frankfurt in July.

Any memorable moments you would like to share with us wile out painting?

Egypt was the shifting point for me and my view to the power of the street art movement. It showed me that  the use of Graffiti is depending and bounded on the place and on the situation of a area were its born into. Its a honor for me to join this situation.

Finally what advice would you give to newbie’s getting into the scene?

Its hard to get inspire and easy to copy! Choose the hard way to be solid!

k