SKRATCH: The Art of Calligraffiti.

SKRATCH draws a link between the artistic gestures of tag graffiti, calligraphy, and the scratching of vinyl records within his work. He uses his pseudonym as a way of expressing his motivation and practice within his combined world of calligraphy and vinyl.

It was in the Parisian suburbs where he discovered graffiti; artwork visible on the RER A (Parisian train line) influenced by the hip hop movement in 1998. His work is clearly inspired by the tagging movement and also infused with his interest in frescoes and high works in colour. In 2003 he arrived on Réunion island, a small French island in the Indian Ocean. From there he continued his artistic journey decorating for individuals, professionals, but mainly providing workshops for young people with learning difficulties. 

His passion for letters stems from Arabic, Chinese and Latin calligraphy; all of which have unique techniques that he combines to support the movement of “Calligraffiti” by creating original and multicultural typography representative of the population of the island of Réunion. He focuses on using different forms of lettering from cultures that have existed for centuries whilst combining them with his modern twist.

His attachment to frescoes still remains very strong. He continues to paint, especially at night with his mates, art such as: characters, lettering, landscapes whilst keeping a child’s soul alive in his work: manga, cartoons, etc). According to SKRATCH, “the artistic movement presented on  Réunion Island continues to expand, but artists creating street art often tend to forget the origins of graffiti itself. While their work is still technically graffiti, they appear to have forgotten the foundation upon which it started from. I respect their choices, but my love for the letters speaks on its own. The island of  Réunion is a breeding ground for young talent and the graffiti movement is slowly becoming more and more important. There is never an issue with painting on our island. Everyone accepts each other’s art and despite the high cost of painting and living on the island, many artists are still motivated to create frescoes and paintings.” That’s why  Réunion merits SKRATCH’s artistic contribution to their island.

Article written by Vasanda Valin

For more of SKRATCH’s work, visit:  http://globalstreetart.com/skratch

Instagram: skratch_calligraff974