INSA interview
HUCK speaks with the London-based artist about his involvement in SoleHeaven’s upcoming Kicks N Canvas exhibition.
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Street artist INSA has a thing for the ladies - and feet, it seems. His signature print of magenta high heels has been seen painted on walls and train carriages across the capital. But as this Goldsmiths University alumnus tells HUCK, it’s way more than just a fetish.
HUCK: How did you get involved in Kicks N Canvas?
INSA: I was contacted several times via my site and after about the tenth email, I was convinced. These guys seemed serious and capable of putting on a good show so I agreed to get involved. It was never a case of not wanting to be involved just being very busy and I only wanting to commit to projects I can put enough time into.
What have you got planned for the event?
I am working on a hot pair of Air Force Ones-. I’m trying something new so don’t wanna say too much in case it doesn’t work! I am also doing a couple of paintings involving the new kicks.
Apart from this, what have you been working on recently?
I was asked by Tate Britain to produce some work in response to Chris Ofilis current retrospective exhibition showing there. So I made a pair of 10 inch platform heels out of elephant dung. These were then put on display in the Tate and the feedback has been immense. Who’d have known some poo shoes would cause such commotion?
What lead to you becoming an artist?
Don’t really think I had much of a choice. I’ve always loved art and was crap at everything else at school and knew I wasn’t the nine-to-five type. So this passion not to get a job and growing up writing my name on things just evolved to where I am today. I do feel very lucky that this lifestyle choice somehow enables me to pay the rent every month.
You studied at Goldsmiths University, right? How useful was this to your work?
Yeah, I studied conceptual design there, which is as contradictory and useless as it sounds. The main point of going to university was to move to London and paint the streets. I did that most of the time I was there to the point that they tried to kick me out for bringing the college name into disrepute as I spent time in prison while attending their institution! I can’t really disregard all of it though. It's a very creative place and opened up a lot of ways of thinking to me.
High heels are a recurring theme in your work. What do they represent to you?
High heels represent so much to me and so many different things to different people: money, power, sex, fashion, the battle between male and female sexuality, dominance and submission, fetishism and consumer obsession. All this as well as their amazing shape and form is why I use them so much in my work. They represent a lot of the themes that run though my work.
Is it a celebration of femininity?
It’s more an interest in the commodification of the female form than just a straight up celebration of femininity. I’m fascinated how so many things are sold to me by the sexualised image of woman and how that sort of sexuality has almost become removed from the individual. Like who owns that sexual identity once it's left the body? I think a lot of my work is about exaggerating where this objectified identity meets designed products and our need to consume.
Now you are becoming more recognised as an artist, is it harder to paint out on the street?
Surprisingly, I’ve found it to be the opposite. The more known my work is, the much easier it is to get big spots. It's interesting how quick people are ready to give over their wall when they know how often people pay for the pleasure. It’s very different than back in the day.
INSA will be appearing at Kicks N Canvas at The Gallery, 50 Redchurch St, London from April 8- 18.
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