The world of street, stencil and graffiti art has endured a
constant battle with the issue of public property and the right to
expression. More often than not, it garners public attention
because its symbols and themes (passionate yet anonymous pleas to
society brought on by dispossession, inequality and frustration)
are equated with sheer vandalism. Nonetheless, it finds a natural
partner in forms of urban music such as Hip Hop and these
sub-worlds of art, music and other modes of creative expression
band together to form an urban culture whose styles may differ from
one city to the next, but whose roots are invariably the same.
Stencil artist, DJ and long-time Grey Lynn resident and patriot
Component has been practising long enough to watch the slow
gentrification of his home suburb and the more stark
commodification of his musical passion. As he explains, "Hip Hop
culture has been going through a metamorphosis, transforming from a
mouthpiece for the dispossessed to a hideous cartoon used to sell
everything from soft drinks to porn." However, rather than
channelling his disgust and anger into bitter outlets,
Component seeks to illuminate the positive aspects and
opportunities of the urban growth and gentrification and its
parallel in Hip Hop, bringing together the authenticity of the past
with the immediacy of the present. Component's work is
thematically varied yet stylistically linked; Subjects range from
odes to fallen hip hop legends to political critiques on censorship
and conformity; Boba Fett standing guard on Ponsonby Road to Queen
Elizabeth II rocking the turntables. Component's solid line work
and eye for detail ensure his pieces leap out from canvases and
brick walls alike and his choice of stencil and spray as a
painterly medium makes equal use of his early training in
printmaking and his love of graffiti.
Both the suburb of Grey Lynn and the culture of Hip Hop may have
been changed forever by commercial interests, but Component's
attitude and art captures the old-school spirit of both
communities, recontextualising it for the present day. True to his
passion for his suburb and his art, Component chooses to shares his
skills and knowledge with others, running workshops on art and
DJing to enable others to find their voice.