Keep Australia Colourful

First published on 27 May 2010. Updated on 21 Sep 2010.

When did you meet Banksy? In 2003. He was in Sydney for the Semi Permanent conference to paint the exhibition with other heavy hitters: Shepard Fairey, 123 Klan, P.A.M., DMOTE and BURN CREW.

Lots of people claim to have met Banksy. How did you know it was definitely him? Because we watched him paint Banksy works. We were also with Sync from Melbourne, Eine from London and my brother Numskull, who was more so the link between us and the tourists here for the conference.

What was he like when you met him? I don't really feel it's fair to describe someone who has made such a great effort to remain anonymous despite all his fame - it would be a betrayal of sorts.

What did you show him? Numskull and I drove him, Eine and Sync around our favourite inner-city suburbs. Showing off a few of our best writers and walls.

Did he do any stencils in Sydney? Of course. Shepard Fairey and Scien and Klor from 123K also painted a fair bit whilst they were here.

Are there any left? Not too sure. It's Sydney so probably not.

Does Banksy still have credibility within the graf community or do people think he has sold out? Google Banksy versus Robbo for that one. It's all very subjective.

What do you think of the NSW government's Keep Australia Beautiful campaign? There are elements I understand regarding vandalism that affect people's quality of life, but the majority of it seems to be the oppression of a subculture that has now been around for 30 years. I was under the impression that this campaign was originally about removing garbage, gentrifying areas with new plants and implementing eco-friendly tactics. In my opinion it is far more important to focus on our environment – after all, graffiti is only superficial. In a way it's like worrying about having a big scar on your face when you have cancer.

Explain what your Keep Australia Colourful campaign is all about. It's actually an initiative by Dr Cameron McAuliffe, who believe it or not is a doctor of graffiti! He is a modern day Henry Chalfant, who was the earliest documentarian of the graffiti movement in New York in the 80s. It is basically a peaceful protest against our rights as artists to paint permissioned walls in Sydney, a pastime we love to practice most weekends. It would be like someone saying you weren't allowed to play golf at the weekend, if golf was your thing.

So you feel that graffiti, far from being vandalism, is a bona fide art form, right? Graffiti in whatever shape or form is an art form by the definition of anything else that would be considered an art form. Even tags have a level of thought and meaning behind them. Most of us have used our talents and enthusiasm to teach council workshops, paint murals for corporate companies, do graphic design that incorporates graffiti styling, have art exhibitions, produce fashion labels based around it. It is undeniably a huge culture and a very important one to the modern world of communication, especially with youth culture.

What would you like to see as a result of your campaign? We want the council to recognise that destroying out legal walls and making it difficult to paint legally will breed a generation of graffiti writers who will be purely illegal graffiti writers. These legal spaces are very important for us to continue our livelihood and very important for the future generations of writers so they have designated spaces to develop their artistic ability and grow to be able to apply their skills to legitimate services. I have been part of a letter-based exhibition in Australia called GO FONT UR SELF* that blurs the lines between Graffiti, typography, graphic design, tatooing, sign writing and any other art form that incorporates lettering.

How can people get involved or show support in your Keep Australia Colourful campaign? By viewing the website,Keep Australia Colourful, spreading the word with re-posts, and generally have a pro-graffiti art attitude. Dan Rookwood