get talking x mr christa
We caught up with our old mate Mr Christa (aka Chris Gharibi) about his epic tee design ‘wishful thinking’, the origins of the Blank Walls logo, Australia and Signs
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BW: Hello mate! Before we get into the tee design, how are ya? I feel like mural artists in the UK have really thrived recently, and about time after the shitstorm we had in 2020! How have you found it?
C: Yeah the past year has certainly been a rollercoaster! Being a freelancer you naturally get used to the on-off nature of the industry, but this last 12 months has easily taken the biscuit. I went from a peaceful life in lockdown keeping busy in the studio to the busiest time in my career working on commercial and larger scale projects. Personally I love that part of being an artist and wouldn’t change it as it keeps me on my toes and reminds me to maintain a healthy balance between commercial and personal projects as you never know whats around the corner!
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BW: Many moons ago, we crossed paths somehow and started working together. Tell us a bit about how that happened?
C: I met Jerome the founder of Blank Walls years ago on a mural project in London and bonded over a mutual love of pints and painting. After doing little to no painting, but meeting up at the pub a handful of times he invited me to help him on a mural project in Nelson…Canada! Barely knowing each other, we linked up at the airport and lived in each others pockets for a month, travelling around painting murals. Not long after returning to the UK, Jerome had a ton of work pop up in his hometown of Perth, Australia…so we packed our bags once again and I flew out for a very memorable 3 month spraycation. At this point he was stuck with me and as Blank Walls was in it’s infancy stages I would help out where I could, and slowly but surely became part of the team.
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BW: Onto the tee design, ‘Wishful Thinking’ - this is fresh work man, the detail on those skulls is crazy! What was the inspiration behind this one?
C: My love of idioms has always played a huge part in my work over the years; phrases like “Home at Last”, “Busy Doing Nothing” or “No News is Good News” would be the initial inspiration to each of my illustrations. Once I’d chosen the idiom I wanted to illustrate, I would brainstorm imagery that related to the idiom then look for a way to combine the typographic and figurative elements into a single drawing. “Wishful Thinking” is the idea of believing what you what no matter the evidence, and is something we do to avoid confronting stress, change or anxiety - and skulls immediately came to mind when looking for a way to visually represent these aspects.
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BW: You were actually one of our first artists, you even designed our logo... it was cool to look at these old versions and the design process we went through to get to a finished result. Talk to us about your design process and if it’s developed over the years?
C: I’d love to give a clever, well worded answer to this to make it sound like I have a polished & well oiled design process but honestly when it comes to design I initially just throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks! Then once I have a feeling of what my client is really after and I can then begin refining and developing an idea into something shiny and presentable. Over the years I’ve become more tuned in with what my clients are after so the whole process is much more streamlined than it once was, but if you strip it back not much has changed!
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BW: We spoke a bit about your Instagram and if anyone was to look at your recent work, they’d think you’re a sign-maker, over a mural artist or illustrator. What was that process like, transitioning to a focus on signs?
C: The transition through different artistic disciplines has always been very natural for me and seems to be something I do subconsciously do to keep things fresh and interesting. I started off as a graphic designer, then illustration became the pathway that allowed me to create my digital work, but through more traditional techniques and applications. Mural painting then took these drawings to a new level and out of my sketchbook and onto large surfaces within the public realm. My love of sign making and glass signs has been the biggest leap away from what I know, and it was very humbling starting something completely from scratch and teaching myself the tradition mostly through trial and error challenged me more than anything ever has in the past.
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BW: Which artists inspire you and why?
C: I’ll avoid naming names otherwise we’ll be here all day, but the artists and people who inspire me the most are the ones who constantly push their own boundaries and experiment with new ideas in all formats. I have always feared the idea of becoming visually stagnant, sitting in my comfort zone and producing the same thing over and over.
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BW: You managed to make it out to Australia for our launch event a few years back, what were your thoughts on the Perth street art scene and your time there in general? Any highlights?
C: I had an amazing time in Perth, it’s full of talented creatives and everyone just seems to be living a full, happy life. The highlight for me though was probably the pints of Guinness at Church…and no we weren’t drinking in a religious establishment - it’s just a legendary old Irish pub we would all meet up at in-between adventures out of town. I’m even considering a move out there one day, and leaving the grey skies of London behind me!
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