WHAT IS ADAM INTERVIEW
““I’ve always been interested in graffiti. I always thought that it stood out, and made the city (any city) more unique and interesting.””
Your work has helped shape the thriving street art scene in Montreal. How did you get your start in the art world and what kind of transformation have you seen in the street art scene in Montreal over the last several years?
I’ve always been interested in graffiti. I always thought that it stood out, and made the city (any city) more unique and interesting. But it wasn’t until artists like Shepard Fairey and Banksy in the early 2000’s, that I started thinking about getting my own work on the street. I was always painting and drawing, and once I got into silk screening I began creating posters for the street. Those early posters were all about Canadian stereotypes, and I thought it would be fun to put them up in other cities and have it link back to Montreal. The thing I love the most about street art, is it’s DIY qualities, and the resourcefulness of the artists within the movement. I’ve seen a lot more people enter the street art scene in Montreal in the last 4 years than ever before. It’s cool to see it grow so quickly.
You typically choose Canadian symbols to incorporate into your work. How has Canada inspired your artistic vision?
Now I travel pretty often for my art, but in the early years, all I’d seen of the world was Canada. It’s all I knew. In 2005 I took a road trip all over Canada and visited all the provinces. I wanted to give Canada a voice in the street art scene, so I began making drawing and making posters as soon as I got back.
You are clearly fearless when it comes to artistic experimentation. You have worked with so many diverse mediums. Can you tell me what your preferred mediums are and what your goals are for future exploration?
I love silkscreen printing, it’s a medium I know well and it’s always been the driving force in making my imagery. I even apply silk screen methods when painting a mural, limiting my colours and starting with lighter colours first. But sculpture is definitely where I want to take my work. I might even try to combine it with printing… more to come on that soon.
You collaborated with the iconic Canadian brand, ROOTS. How did this amazing project transpire and what was your artistic inspiration during this project?
Roots contacted me as part of their celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary, they wanted to work with artists from each province and create an installation in 4 different stores across Canada! Actually, when they emailed me I actually wrote ‘..it’s about time, of course, I’d like to work with you.” lol. The project’s theme was ‘be nice’ (as in, Canadians are always nice), the goal was to create an art installation in the Toronto Bloor Street store window. I wanted to create a scene that was like jumping into one of my paintings. I create a 3D scene of someone taking a picture of some street art that celebrated Canada. They were really great fun to work with. I’ll definitely be doing more with them again soon!