N.O. MAD SKI Location Hamburg, Germany Profile @ n_o_madski Photography Nomad Balancing between the extremes The world according to The German city of Hamburg can lay claims on having some of the most innovative graffiti style writers from Germany as residents of the port city. But not all of them are born and bred there. N.O.MADSKI aka NOMAD is an example of one of these talented writers who now call the Hanseatic City home. 104 Interview Nomad
Born in 1978, NOMAD’s graffiti journey started in the city of Bremerhaven where experienced his formative years. Although starting his graffiti path in 1993, it wasn’t till 1998– 1999 till he took ownership of the name NOMAD while living in Nürnberg. Without his awareness, these 5 letters became the key to his pursuit for continual progression in the graffiti discipline of letter styles. NOMAD’s path took him on a style map that not even Google would be able to plot. With the vigor of the Berlin style writing movement, NOMAD took his skills, not to the nation’s capital, but rather, the port city of Hamburg. Which incidentally due to its strong graffiti community, plays a key role in the history and future of not only German graffiti but also, Europe and all over the globe. ← A knowing nod to the history of graffiti, and a progressive need to keep pushing things forward. ↓ Going from positive to negative, or negative to positive, NOMAD makes it look easy either way. ↑ The hand and ductus of NOMAD are ever-present in his continually evolving practice. There is always a little more than mear perfection. Paying homage to those that came before him, many traditional graffiti elements such as arrows, clouds, 3D, highlights, or horizontal (train panel) placement are present in many phases of his development. With rebellion at its core, NOMAD’s style is at times indescribable, and at other times the epidemy of graphic typography. An arena where graffiti abstraction meets head-on with some classic typographic heavyweights. Always heavily loaded with the key color ingredients of black and white, NOMAD can do with two cans which few can even conceive. What is for some a restriction, is to him a challenge. A challenge, that just like his style experiments, lead him down a road that can go in any direction. Paying homage to those that came before him, many traditional graffiti elements such as arrows, clouds, 3D, highlights, or horizontal (train panel) placement are present in many phases of his development. However even if you think you’ve seen it before, he manages to make it look like no other. Without his awareness, these 5 letters became the key to his pursuit for continual progression in the graffiti discipline of letter styles. Interview Nomad 105
