A Warning From the Editor: This interview is intended for mature audiences only. If you are not at least 18 years old, you shouldn’t read this. Or if you are at your office. Or you are my parents. This interview is definitely definitely definitely Not Safe For Work. There’s nudity, strong language and insults. Some people will find the visuals and/or text of this article offensive, vulgar and insulting. Others will find it hilarious. Personally, I think this might be my favorite interview we’ve ever had on Vandalog, but we take no responsibility for what Lush says. The views expressed are his own, and may or may not be the opinions of the Vandalog staff. So yeah, that’s your warning label. Consider yourself warned and proceed with caution. If you do choose to read the rest of this post, be prepared to laugh your ass off.
What can I say about Lush? If you think the South Park writers are too tame, Lush might be just the artist you’ve been looking for. If you think street artists are a bunch of pussies, Lush is definitely your man. I’d say that this graffiti writer out of Melbourne is taking the art world hostage, except that he’s not the type to take prisoners. He’d probably collect the ransom money and then shoot everyone in the head just for kicks. Lush seems to think that graffiti is too cutesy these days, so he’s pushing the limits of taste. In fact, it looks like he intentionally goes beyond those limits for the sake of being distasteful. Like graffiti is supposed to be. And, often times, his pieces are funny as hell too. Nobody is safe from Lush’s attacks: he goes after street artists, graffiti writers and even celebrities with unparalleled balls and cleverness (and I wouldn’t be surprised if blogs, including this one, end up a target as well). His first gallery show opened last year in Melbourne, and I loved what I saw. Now Lush is in California preparing for solo shows in LA and SF. The LA show opens this Friday. I sent a few questions over to Lush via email. Check out his unedited responses, plus some of his NSFW pieces and photographs, after the jump…
RJ: What would you say if I called you a street artist?
Lush: I spose its a lot better then being called a cunt. Or is it?
What have you been doing in LA?
Trying to work out what to do with all these fucking pennies. For gods sake get rid of these vile pieces of shit. I have a garbage bag of them and even if i was to count them it’d be about $10 worth. I kinda wanna go to a tall building and just throw them like some olympic throwing person and hope it kills someone
How is LA?
It’s modern day sodom, with creepy homeless people and a lot of mexicans that have no idea what I’m saying they just politely nod. Its kinda cool, its easy to get athletes foot out here and the food makes you wanna shit your pants…
Why are you having your first American solo show in LA?
Who fucking knows. Its where all the artists I hate go and that hate fuels me. I also need to make a hell of alot of money because Im a jew.
How does it feel to be “internet famous”?
Like putting your dick into a freshly made banana smoothie.
Who or what is to blame for boring graffiti?
Stupid people following other stupid people who followed other stupid people and so on. I think the people who shine are the ones who stop trying to impress those ahead of them on the food chain and just start their own food chain with them on top from the get go.
Fear is also something to blame. People are afraid that if they dont do shines on their piece a fuckin graffiti goblin will jump out and slash their face to teach them a lesson that they need to do shines. Get some balls people, the graff goblin is a mark I punched him out doubletime.
Do you have any tips for someone who has just picked up their first spraycan?
Put it down and take up something else like scuba diving or some shit. I got enough people to go over as it is.
Otherwise, be an asshole with it like write how you plan to murder black prostitutes or something. Spray garage doors with bort sampsons? That would be more fun then writing Chewbacca one on bus stops and trashcans.
Did any of the artists that you made fun of in your show at Backwoods Gallery get in touch with you? What do they think of you?
Some did, they get the joke for the most part. Some didn’t get it and threatened to stab, rape, maim and all that other fun stuff. I kinda wish I made fun of bigger shitcunts like that annoying twat Ben Eine. He has an annoying face, its very punchable, fuck his art he just looks so punchable. Is he gay? I mean if he is more power to him but why does he have carebear stars on his arm, I wonder if that’s ever got him laid. He doesn’t look like a dude that would get laid much what with a gob full of british teeth and a big bald head.
Talking of punchable people that Shepard Fairy dude has a really really punchable face.
Ok so I went off into a rant there…
What’s your new show going to be like?
The new aids, like when coke brought out the new coke. But its aids. But then we will switch it up and bring back the old aids and for the ladies ill bring out a diet aids.
If a church offered you $100,000 to stop writing graffiti, would you take it?
Sure I’ll take any large donation of cash from stupid people.
Yeah then i’d just start doing graffiti but with $100,000 in the bank, hey rich people give me 10 g’s and ill make dinosaurs come back to life for it.
Tits or ass?
Dat ass, you can put your dick and other stuff like zucchinis in them and they are fun to make jiggle. Even more then making tits jiggle.
If you’re in LA or SF, Be sure to check out Lush’s upcoming shows there. The pop-up show in LA opens this Friday, and his SF show opens at Fifty24SF on August 5th.
Photos courtesy of Lush