MONTANA CANS LOOKBOOK #9 2024

THE WHOLECAR: Into the

THE WHOLECAR: Into the Underground Jepsy: I still remember that evening in Hamburg very well. Being out at night and painting trains had become my greatest passion. And it always followed the same ritual: creating a sketch, choosing a colour, labelling the cans, removing the fingerprints with a grease-dissolving cleaner and finally stowing the cans in a black jute bag – preferably firmly and upright so that the clacking wouldn't give me away... ...But this evening was going to be something special. I was more excited and tense than usual because that night, I wasn't supposed to paint a train parked in an open-air yard in the middle of a small, idyllic village as usual. KANDE, one of my favorite partners regarding tricky jobs, had chosen an extraordinary target for us this time: The plan was to do a whole subway car. Aparticular challenge as painting subway cars usually involves a much greater risk than painting suburban or local trains. The small subway system makes the yards easier for private security staff to control. Painting a whole car under these conditions was a significant challenge: a large space to cover in minimal time topped off by stressful conditions. The plan was to completely spray paint an underground, a so called Wholecar. That in itself was a special challenge... Our spot was located in a tunnel, once more limiting the options of ins and outs. Cozy! If the police had suddenly appeared, we would almost inevitably have been trapped. On the other hand, these risk factors make such missions so appealing. As we had already painted a whole car at the same place two months ago, I thought I knew what to expect and made my way to KANDE around 01:30 a.m. Nobody knew the system better than he did – all the lines, yards, and lay-ups; he internalized all the schedules and even knew at which stations the train company officials were on night duty. He knew the angles and locations of the CCTV and at what intervals patrols were made – for me, his almost infinite knowledge bordered on genius. After a 30-minute drive, we found ourselves in a bourgeois residential area. The gardens of most of the spacious properties, fenced in by 34 ICONIC SERIES JEPSY

meticulously trimmed hedges, lay sleepy and quiet. KANDE directed me unerringly to an inconspicuous side street where we parked the car. From there, it was another five minutes' walk. Now came the tricky part. When we reached our destination, a large metal hatch, the next step of our maneuver was not exactly discreet, as it was located directly at a junction. For them, it was an exit; however, for us, it was the entrance to the tunnel system. KANDE opened the hatch with great care, and we disappeared silently. Via a long staircase, we finally reached a sparsely lit tunnel. It is amazing how heightened all your senses are when you embark on a mission like this. A quick look, listen, smell, and time check told us everything was fine. After a brisk and silent 10-minute walk over the tracks, we finally discovered the object of our desire behind a long curve: a complete subway car parked in the middle between two tracks. We approached the train slowly and carefully climbed onto the metal catwalk along the subway's side. We tried to avoid making unnecessary noise. Work outfit? Black ski masks and gloves. KANDE asked me in a whisper to wait a moment so that he could re-check the overall situation. He disappeared for a while and returned with the words, "We have exactly 45 minutes". I opened my canvas bag, grabbed one of the cans, For them, it was an exit; however for us, it was the entrance to the tunnel system. KANDE opened the hatch with great care and we dissapeared silently and painted my first lines onto the train. As I wanted to paint my name from top to bottom, I had to check more often than usual that the letters weren't too big or too small. Once I sketched out my lines, I filled in the letters and the background with color and worked on the designs and fill-ins. Despite this routine, I still felt an inner tension. Every few seconds, we paused briefly, listened, and scanned the tunnel with our eyes in both directions. While busy with the final outlines, I heard KANDE whisper: "Five more minutes." Although I had painted extremely quickly by my standards, the time had flown by, and just as I was about to start with the highlights, KANDE said that we had to go now. I whispered: "Give me another five minutes," which he gave me. But when I asked for another five minutes, he told me we had to leave immediately. Luckily, I managed to finish my last highlight and grabbed my canvas bag with the cans. We ran the whole way back through the tunnel towards the exit, fueled by adrenaline and the joy of a successful coup. Once we reached the top, everything still seemed quiet. By now, it was almost 3.00 a.m., and there was still no sound to be heard in this residential area. But when we closed the steel hatch, and it clicked shut with a soft noise, we heard a car approaching from a distance. It sounded fast! Was it braking and accelerating again? It only took a moment for us to realize that the car was rapidly coming our way. Instinctively, we jumped over one of the garden fences and threw ourselves behind one of the neatly trimmed hedges onto the neatly trimmed lawn. From there, we saw the car abruptly stop; its headlights pointed directly at the emergency exit we had just left. We were in line with the vehicle and the hatch and hardly dared to breathe. If it hadn't been for the hedge and the fence, the headlights would have exposed us immediately. Blinded by the light, we couldn't tell whether it was a police car or a security vehicle – and nobody got out of the car. With the engine running, it just stood in the middle of the junction, headlights pointed at us. Suddenly, radio beeps came from the vehicle. Fuck! I expected reinforcements to arrive soon. Maybe even with dogs? After what felt like an eternity, the car suddenly started moving, reversed across the junction, accelerated, and disappeared into the night. Suddenly, radio beeps came from the vehicle. Fuck! I expected reinforcements to arrive soon. Maybe even with dogs? After lying motionless for another minute, we slowly got up, listened, looked around, and walked inconspicuously toward our car. KANDE then guided me unerringly along a low-key route through the residential area, away from the ICONIC SERIES JEPSY 35