Personally, this interview stands out to me as one of the coolest that i have ever done. Perhaps it is the fact that Luke’s grasp on reality reflects that of my own, or the fact that Ironlak a shit hot Aussie company who actually give a fuck about Graffiti, and what they are doing in general, perhaps it’s a combination of all those things, whatever it is, no one can deny Ironlak are making waves not only here in Australia, but all over the world. If your local Skate/Paint supply store doesn’t stock the ‘lak, go hassle the fuck out of them til they do!
Luke is also an amazing artist in his own right, make sure you hit up the link at the end of the interview and check out his work.
Thank you so much for your time Luke, what’s happening?
My pleasure Ben. Right now I’m at home, it’s Easter Saturday, and I’m far from kicking it. So much Ironlak work to catch up on right now that I’m working through the break. Shit happens, but hopefully I’ll get enough done tonight that I can go chill at a waterfall tomorrow. We’ll see about that.
For those who are unfamiliar with Ironlak and what it is that you guys do, can you a bit about it and the ideology behind it?
Oh wow, where do I start? It all began when my homie Levi was trying to import female valves into Australia – believe it or not – to sell to the makers of Australian Export (spray paint) so that fellow graffiti writers would have a cheap alternative to the European brands, that writers could put a NY fat cap on and have some control. Being that he was so young, he found it really hard for them to take him seriously, but he is a stubborn motherfucker and mega-driven, so when they shut him down he decided he would make his own paint.
Having no knowledge of how to make an aerosol, again, he found it hard when trying to convince industry peeps with 30 years experience to take him seriously. So, he hit the books, he learned as much as he could, and as he started to know more, the walls slowly started to come down and the first Ironlak cans were produced. We were the first company to produce a spray paint aimed at graffiti artists in Australia. There was a lot of trial and error along the way, but now we’re sitting on a product that we’re happy with and we’ve got a network of really talented people who believe in Ironlak and what we’re trying to do. It’s a pretty good feeling and it certainly gets you through the tough days. Ironlak is now sold in a bunch of countries around the world, but we’re still very small. A lot of people think that we’re macking it, but if people could see the bedroom office that we work out of they’d be really surprised.
It was ALWAYS about giving the writer the best quality product for the best possible price.
Ironlak began in 2004, how has Ironlak and its products evolved since you first began?
It all actually started in 2001, but it took until 2004 to get the first product on the shelves. The first range had 10 colours. We now have about 84 colours with a few more on the way. We also have Tar Black 500ml cans, Transparent ‘Techie’ cans, Little Laks 100ml and we’ve just launched Reload by Ironlak which is our 600ml tall cans designed to have slightly higher output than normal Ironlaks, but still in a controllable manner. We’ve got paint markers and refills in the works, along with a few other things that I’ll keep under wraps for now. Oh, and we’ve got nozzles now too.
Another notable evolution is with our family. The original Ironlak Team was five people (Linz, Sirum, Reals, Tues and Sofles) and now we sponsor 22 artists globally. It’s important to us to work with writers, as it’s the graffiti that got us making spraycans in the first place.
Obviously you can’t can’t come out and publicly say that you’re selling paint that will inevitably end up in an illegal space, have you had any trouble or pressure from authorities in that respect?
“Ironlak does not encourage, support or condone illegal graffiti and this is not the intended use of our product. We do from time to time support events and competitions that are graffiti-related, however any paint supplied is always done so with the intent that it be used for legal art related purposes only. We believe graffiti is a legitimate artform, which is why we have interest in supporting it when done legitimately. We cannot be held responsible if our product is misused.”
As you will see above, we don’t condone illegal graff, so there’s never really been any pressure.
We’ve had Police email us about getting writers involved in community beautification projects, but we’ve always politely declined such offers. Even if the officers intentions are not to apprehend the writers involved, it’s still not a risk that we would be willing to take.
Graffiti and crazy situations go hand in hand, you must have a few stories to tell, what are some of the more “notable” situations you’ve been in?
If anyone asks, I’ve never been in any notable situations ever, ok?
Do you think that graffiti will go down the same path as tattooing, from a frowned upon (at least in the last 100 years) underground scene to a mainstream movement?
It’s certainly more socially acceptable today than what it was when I started 14+ years ago, and the number of legitimate art projects happening globally coupled with commercial interests is certainly helping to further the acceptance of the movement. I think there is still a lot more growth that will happen in this regard, allowing more opportunities for artists with the graffiti aesthetic.
No mater how socially acceptable it becomes, there will always be a portion of people that really fucking hate graffiti and that’s going to happen with anything in society that people can’t control.
I just hope that as the artform becomes more commercially viable, that the opportunities will go to those with heart, the ones that have worked hard, paid their dues and deserve it.
What’s been pumping through your head phones lately?
Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3, Frank Sinatra, TRV$DJAM, Felt 3 by Slug and Murs, Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp’s Head First, Atmosphere, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, How To Make It In America mixtape by Kid Cudi & DJ Green Lantern, Mewithout You, and a whole lot of Diplo. Oh and I just got the new Wu-Tang too so I’ve been bumping that.
To the general public and authorities, there is a very fine line between what is considered art and what is considered vandalism and/or crime, I know of one case where a writer got a longer jail sentence than a rapist on the same day of sentencing, what are you thoughts on that?**
I think Major Koch said it best in Style Wars; “Is that an art form? I don’t know. I’m not an art critic– critic, but I can sure as hell tell you that that’s a crime”. The law makers rarely know anything about art and can’t fathom the idea that when something is done that breaks the rules that it could possibly be artistic at the same time, at least Koch could admit that.
I think it’s really sad that we live in a society where applying paint to a surface could possibly attract a harsher punishment than causing human suffering. A rapist causes pain that will last far beyond the initial act, a vandal is merely an annoyance, who’s actions are easily removed with a lick of paint.
I see two reasons for this. The first is the almighty dollar. The second is visual crime vs outofsight-outofmind crime. I could go on, but I think that’s pretty self explanatory.
I also wonder regarding the two cases you’ve outlined above, what the situation is with the lawyers. It would not surprise me if the writer had a shit lawyer/ no lawyer and the rapist was paying through the nose for a kick-arse lawyer. Money talks and bullshit walks.
Ironlak has evolved from a smallish company in Australia to a global brand, with some of the best artists on the planet choosing to use your products, what do you think you can attribute that success to?
Two things; Fucking hard work coupled with a never say die attitude, AND the fact that we actually care about graffiti. I think that shines through.
Sometimes we do take a step back and spin-out on what we’ve managed to build, but truth be told we still feel like we are a long way from success. We’re still a very small operation with only a handful of staff and our HQ in Brisbane is a bedroom office. No one’s rich off this shit just yet.
5 things you take with you on your travels?
Camera, toothbrush, laptop, extra socks, spare nozzles and not much else – for real! I travel light.
Australian authorities hold a very dim view when it comes to graffiti, if you could say something to those in power, what would it be?
I really have no idea. I think the mindset of society at large has to change before the powers that be can be confronted. They like control, not change.
And in saying that, what are your thoughts on the Graffiti scene here in Australia?
There is definitely a lot of dope shit going on here and a bunch of really talented writers. I think (prior to the internet) being so far away from the rest of the world really helped in the earlier days of graffiti development in Oz. I’ve always felt like Aussie writers can hold their own next to the rest of the world. Nothing’s changed.
We live in turbulent times, what are your views on the world and society today?
Oh man, my brain hurts way to much to give this subject proper thought. It’s my personal opinion that the world is run by a system that is perverted by greed and control and not to service the best interests of human beings. I can see that the rights of everyday people are being stripped away little-by-little under the promise of protection (if you’ve got nothing to hide then you’ve got nothing to worry about, right?). The potential for abuse is pretty scary. I’m not a huge conspiracy theorist, but I can certainly see fear being used to gain control.
Advice to up and coming artists?
Firstly, do it for the love, because there’ll be a lot of blood, sweat and tears before you ever make a buck. So my advice is not to do it for the money, or for sponsorships but because you have a genuine interest in the artform. Second, work really fucking hard at it and develop your style. Have heart! Thirdly, don’t be lazy and don’t take things for granted. These days you have a wealth of information at your finger tips and a huge variety in best tools available. It’s amazing how demanding this generation can be, when they’ve got it so good. I also think it’s important to know your history.
Lastly, get off the internet and go and create!
Anything coming up that we should know about? You mentioned that you are developing markers?
Markers are coming soon along with some other things that I can’t speak about yet. Check out our new Reload cans for sure. Oh and the next batch of Limited Edition Artist Series cans are about to drop (Dieci Does, Sirum Black-Red, PhatOne’s True Royal and Enue’s BOONG!) with a few more coming in a couple of months.
Word association, you know the deal, say whatever comes to your mind when you read the word.
Australia – Meat pies
Kevin Rudd – Rove Live skit
America – Hamburgers
Obama – Hope or deception?
England – The motherland
The Queen – Sex Pistols
Legal – Safe
Illegal – Heartache
Religion – Fear=control.
Time – Never enough
Greed – Perversion
Humanity – Pure
Peace – Idealistic
Freedom – Slipping
Art – Life
Graffiti – Romantic
Life – Death
Happiness – is a state of mind.
Ironlak Crew Says:
I need some sleep.
Where can people follow what you’re up to and view your work?
www.ironlak.com
yoblooddiamonds.blogspot.com
Last words, shout outs?
Thanks to everyone who’s been a part of this journey. Much respect to everyone in the Ironlak fam. Keep the dream alive…
...click here to read the full article
