IF you’re not familiar with his work already, you soon will be.
The paintings of the man who calls himself Drypnz are slowly taking over Wellington’s walls, from opposite Massey University’s entrance at the top of Taranaki Street to the front wall of the Japanese bike shop Mamachari in Island Bay.
Drypnz was born in England and lived in Israel, the Marshall Islands and the US Virgin Islands before moving to Wellington five years ago to study illustration, and for what he saw as a thriving culture, of street art.
“It was a more creative scene back then. Since the crackdown on tagging we’ve seen a lot of the quality work disappear. Now it’s just kids and anybody who wants to break the law.”
Drypnz doesn’t paint walls just for the thrill of breaking the law. Although that surely plays into it, he’s quick to say his paintings have a message, too.
“They’re a visual response to my understanding of ‘Dis-evolution’.”
Dis-evolution is the concept of a potential future human being, inside of whom flaws like ignorance have been ‘selected’ and reign supreme, presumably because these are traits Drypnz sees as pervasive in modern society. It’s a kind of natural selection turned on its head. Drypnz’ characters, he calls them Drypppls, are a dis-evolved human future.
“I’m just as much a dis-evolved human myself; I’m as ignorant to other people’s ideas and cultures as they are to mine.”
Comparing his work to tagging makes him laugh: “Culture celebrates a certain aspect of something but is willing to reprimand something else within the same genre. ‘Art’ and street art are the same thing.”
Drypnz isn’t keen to put his face in front of a camera. But his next gig will see him painting live for a crowd, and you can check it out too.
“It’s just like painting in the street, except I get free beer.”
Tiger Translate is an international multimedia event celebrating music, art and design that arrives in Wellington this week. Drypnz is looking forward to collaborating with International artists on a big wall, around the theme of “Metropolis”.
As for the metropolis of Wellington, does Drypnz see himself staying?
“I’ll stay here until I’m kicked out,” he laughs, “or as long as people are happy to have their walls painted.”
Tiger Translate, The Opera House, November 26. See heytiger.co.nz for one of 500 complimentary tickets.