In my career as a graffiti artist I’ve already had quite a few objects in front of the spraycan. Whether wall, skateboard, surfboard, car or train – there are actually no limits. But when, just before Christmas, I was suddenly asked how I felt about Formula 1 I knew immediately that I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. A few days later the first (very nice and constructive) meeting at SAUBER MOTORSPORTS in Hinwil, Switzerland took place. As always, the time window was very tight and it was now up to me to develop a vision or a concept for the design of an ART CAR for the ALFA ROMEO F1 team within a few days. In addition to artistic freedom there are of course many factors in a job like this that must not be left behind because ultimately the idea should also be quickly tangible and sustainable. I decided to pattern the front two-thirds of the vehicle with letters – in the Alfa Romeo colourway of course. If you look at it for a long time you can see that the letter combinations always result in the brand name or the names of the main partners of the racing team. This reveals a clear message: each letter stands for a member of the team who is important as an individual – but you only form a strong unit together.
The idea seemed to resonate with the customer and so in mid-January I suddenly found myself standing in a garage – equipped with 2 radiant heaters and a Formula 1 vehicle which was just waiting to be embellished by me. But it’s actually the same as with cosmetics: before something new is applied the surface has to be treated: So first mask, mask, mask for a day. Then grind as hard as you can and clean the surface thoroughly. Many thanks at this point to my partner in crime Roy, who not only acted as my photo/videographer but as always turned out to be an all-purpose weapon and not only supported me practically but also with a lot of know-how. The long, cold days turned into something more of a happening, during which the effort we put in became almost irrelevant: we finally wanted to see the finished result and present the artwork to the public.
So after 6 days the time had finally come and we were finally allowed to roll our baby into the neighboring hall to have a small photo shoot before the vehicle was loaded. The first tour stop was the PARTNERS CONFERENCE in the Waldhaus Flims, where all the partners and sponsors met to ring in the new season and to present the finished ArtCar with a small live painting (I left some space on one side).
In the next few months the vehicle will be on the road to a wide variety of events around the world to give fans the opportunity to be even closer to their great passion. Just #GetCloser.
Many thanks again to the whole Sauber team for their courage and trust and of course Thom from AINIAC for the great management.