get talking x hwj
Jerome Davenport: G’day mate! Before we get into the nitty gritty, how are ya? You’re now based in Melbourne after moving home from London, How were the lockdowns during covid?
HWJ: Yeah I’m good mate! Just came to the end of a huge few months. Went to London in September and painted a wall over there for Jealous gallery, was in a few group shows here in Melbourne, and my solo show is up right now in the Yarra Valley (Wine region on the outskirts of Melbourne).
So yeah things have been crazy to say the least, but I like it that way so it’s all g.
JD: A few years back we met outside a little cafe in London and that meeting led us to do some collaborative pieces, eventually a beer label and shirt designs. Tell us a bit about how that happened?
HWJ: This is actually a great story and one I still tell today. It was a bit of a sliding doors moment. My girlfriend and I had just moved to London, and she booked us a street art tour as she knew it would be something I would dig, and a good way to get to know the city and the scene. On the tour one of the stops was Quaker Street Art Cafe (shoutout to Mo!).
They had a little art wall/showcase and I thought I'd get in contact to see whether I could hang anything there. Mo got back to me and suggested I come to one of their shows to meet, discuss the options and see the space. My girlfriend ended up being sick that night and couldn't come along.
I was naturally a bit nervous about going by myself being fresh to a new city like London, but I just thought fuck it, and went along solo anyway. That's where I met you outside when Mo was like 'You're both from Aus, you should chat' haha. We got along pretty much straight away, and this led to us painting what is still one of my fav collabs to date. Things have just snowballed from there, with the t-shirts last year and most recently the beer label with Pirate Life. Man, it's been an awesome ride.
I'm always so stoked that it fell the way it did. Before that I had struggled a fair bit to get my work out there so I'm always grateful to you guys for everything you do for me and artists in general. We need people like you in our corner to showcase and bolster the scene, so big ups to you ay! Looking forward to more sick projects with you legends.
JD: We’ve watched your journey as an artist and your style develop, Can you tell us how the Hieroglyphic style evolved and where you plan to take it?
Evolution and experimentation are important to me as an artist so I hope that my style will continue to change over the years. In saying that, I think it will always be rooted in the hieroglyphic style I've developed in some way, shape or form.
I've had an interest in traditional and indigenous cultures from a young age and being half Māori myself, this is something that felt quite natural to me. The way they use forms of mark making, patterns and symbolism to communicate and decorate has always been fascinating.
I think combining that with modern influences, themes, colours and a lot of geometry (and measuring, haha) you get to where I'm at today, which is often referred to as abstract symbolism or hieroglyphics.
It's funny, because I think it can often be hard to pinpoint a time/space when things came to be, but there was one point when I started to draw some very early forms of my work on a coffee table.
Living with one of my best mates from childhood and being a mid-twenties boys' apartment, I just started drawing all over it, haha. When I look back it was probably the first physical manifestation of the work I'm doing today, albeit a very rough and less refined version. tapping into that spontaneity today is quite important to me. I try not to question my creative intuition too much and worry about 'is that off style for me', or 'will that sell'.
There will always be a bread-and-butter part of your work that people resonate with, but you never know if just around the corner there is something even better that will scratch your itch and someone's else even more. I'm happy to chase that dragon and see where my creativity takes me, I just want to take my work as far as it can go.
I'd love to do some large sculptural works, delve into a bit more animation/moving visions shorts, paint some big walls, collab with rad brands and work on future solo shows. the sky's the limit really!
JD: Onto the NMBW Collaborative beer and tee design we did with yourself and Pirate Life - how does it feel to get work on a can and would you be looking to do more of these?
Mate, what a dream both of those have been. I mean, I think initially getting your work on a tee for any artist/designer/creative is always a goal, and same goes for the beer label.
There's nothing more satisfying than drinking your own beer! I'm definitely keen to do more of them. I've been a graphic designer professionally for about 15 years and that has given me an appreciation for working with clients to create something sick.
Along with things like group shows, collaborating with brands always throws up new opportunities to create something you may not have off your own back, so I'm always stoked to see what we can come up with.
I've already got some ideas brewing about different applications and designs, just give me the word.
JD: People might not realise the hidden messages in your work! What was the inspiration behind them?
I developed a way to incorporate words and phrases into the compositions, whilst still maintaining the look of a patterned abstract piece.
I wanted to see what else I could do with my symbols, trying to push my work and develop it beyond an aesthetic. I get lots of feedback from people asking what they say – which has led me to call them “typoglyphics”.
I love the work of artists like Pref, Gary stranger, Georgia Hill and Said Kinos, how they use phrases and typography in their work. Inspired by that I wanted to see how I could apply that concept to my own. Coming up with the phrases and word combination is a part of the process I found I really enjoy.
I often use common letters to intersect in the pieces. Sometimes it can take a while to find words that fit together, let alone a combo of words that I like or has meaning to them. It's something I want to continue and explore in a solo show in the future.
BW: Which artists inspire you and why?
I like a lot of writers that have gone on to straddle contemporary/graff/street art – people like Pref, Gary, Willis82, Dais and Does.
I love how they have evolved their style, but it still shows a grounding in graff. and locally: Chehehe, Meggs, Sahil Roy, Leif Podhajsky, Georgia Hill, Fintan Magee, George Rose and Lisa King.
I think for things like colour palette, subjects, composition, techniques, they all have had some sort of impact on my work. of course, I can't forget all of the legends I share/have shared my studio with: Glen Downey, Mitch Walder, Tom Gerrard, Ohnoes, Hotshot, Pilfer, Save, Amac, Mitch Hendley, Aiden, Skubz Mope, Kmode, Morg, Ilwon, Nolij, Lynch.
A lot of shout outs there, haha, but I highly recommend checking them all out. Without inspiration and creative people around you, we would all just be creating in a void.
JD: Who would be your dream collaboration?
there’s so many! but I think the ultimate would be a skate brand. I’ve been skating for about 20 years and always dreamed of having my work as a board series. Growing up skating in the 2000s, which is considered to be a bit of a golden era for skating, I was influenced a lot by the aesthetic and culture of skateboarding.
When Peter Smolik's throwing dice Shorty's board came out, it blew my little country boy mind ay, haha. I grew up on a dairy farm in a town of about 500 people, so being exposed to that stuff at a young age definitely had a big impact. So yeah, a skate brand collab would be epic. If there's anyone out there reading this that can make that happen, hit us up! haha.
I think art wise, Pref or Gary would be dope. I love how they think about layering, form and composition. They are def at the forefront of post typography and I think I would learn a lot working with them; I can see how I could work around/integrate into their work. I also just appreciate how clean and considered everything is. I think that's the designer in me that will never leave, haha, I love a clean, crisp, well thought-out and executed work.
JD: How is the Melbourne scene treating you? I know you share a studio with a few other guys, is there anyone you wanted to chat about?
Yeah, amazing man. There's def stiff competition as you know. Melbourne has bread and is home to some of the most successful artists in Aus in the last 10–15 years. But as far as my experience goes, most people are chill, encouraging and welcoming. You will always have some gatekeepers and chumps, but they are few and far between. If your work's good and you're willing to be active among the scene, I feel like you mostly get rewarded.
I still feel very lucky to have been welcomed into the Artshole studio. It's been an institution for the last 10 years on the southside of the city, plus it’s 10 mins down the road! I had been in contact with Chehehe for a few years via Instagram and was going to visit in 2017, but timing didn't quite work out. then when i came back from london in 2019, he mentioned there was a spot coming up and I jumped at the chance.
A little bit of a vibe check and a (non-official) initiation back wall jam with Mitch Walder and they were happy to have me. I was beyond stoked, and hyped to be in my first proper studio amongst a whole heap of people I followed and looked up to.
I still have the same energy for the place today that I did at the start, just a bit more refined and deliberate. It's a great space that feels like a hidden little nook for us all to toil at the craft, bouncing off each other's work and advice, talking shit about how we're struggling with pieces – just everything you want a studio to be.
Without excluding all the legends in there, a few stand out/resonate with me the most.
Tom Gerrard; his output is gnarly and something to admire. His belief in his work and push into the art world has been something to behold over the last 5 years.
Chehehe, a constant source of inspiration and influence, We get along well and he's like the best dude to hang with, smash a few too many games of Art Pong with (Studio version of Ping Pong) and is generally a great vibe. His work made me feel like what I was doing could be legitimate and resonate with people.
Sahil Roy; man, that lad can wield a colour palette better than most. his spontaneity, compositions, blends, I'm here for all of it. We always had good art chats and he's so positive about just making shit you want to and being yourself – another vibe lord.
Glen Downey, my studio neighbour, always pushes me to make the next piece better, showing me you can paint/make anything if you really want to.
Mitch Walder, the organised chaos and wild world of Mit – an underrated talent who can draw/paint anything in a style no one can repeat. It's inspiring stuff.
not forgetting Ohnoes, one of the hardest working people in the scene, smashing out ridiculous portraits without breaking a sweat. I admire his work ethic and drive. If you haven't seen his NBA 75 anniversary (75 portraits) piece, wrap your eyes around. I feel privileged to look at that one every day I walk in.
Sorry I know that was a lot – and I could go on about the rest of them – but as I said, the studio has had a big impact on me, haha.
