Ultimately, in the last few years, I have increasingly enjoyed painting quickly and freely. If everything is planned concretely, and it is all about the technical implementation, I also get bored with that after a while. ← The start of a new era. Holographic plastic film fill-ins, inspired by holographic stickers. There is a first for everything. ↓ Color, color, color. But there is never too much black and white to go with that. MC In what kind of frequency do you paint your graffiti, and about how long do you like to invest in each piece? N.O.MADSKI There are times in which I paint or sketch daily. But there is sometimes a week or two in which nothing happens. It all depends on what else is going on in my life. The time I spend painting a piece depends on what I want to achieve. Sometimes I’m more into quick actions of 2–3 hours. When it comes to more laborious projects, a painting could last a couple of days. Ultimately, in the last few years, I have increasingly enjoyed painting quickly and freely. If everything is planned concretely, and it is all about the technical implementation, I also get bored with that after a while. MC Other than Hamburg, are there any other cities or different countries you could imaging moving to, to continue your creative path? MC Do you feel a sense of competition in Hamburg within graffiti writing circles? Or does the graffiti/art community help you to get to where you want to be? N.O.MADSKI Competition is more of a topic for younger writers, and I don’t think Hamburg really stands out in that respect. There is competition in every scene. Often when there are several different generations of writers, or when it is of a certain size. As for the older, longer active writers, we know each other, more closely networked, and are not opposed to exchanging ideas. There is instead no competition, especially because our demands on ourselves are usually very different. And when it comes to the inner circle, there is a lot of support for new projects. N.O.MADSKI I’ve been traveling a lot and I’ve met a lot of great people to paint with everywhere. Every country or city has got a special history and development when it comes to Graffiti. Discovering and experiencing the differences is practically a science within itself. From this perspective, I could think of a lot of countries and cities to live and work in. But what I really love in this regard are the countries in which graffiti started completely from scratch. Like for example some of the countries in Eastern Europe after the collapse of the USSR. It seems to me that the residents of these countries are often as openminded as the artists when it comes to graffiti. I have spent a lot of time traveling in Greece. This is due to both the interesting graffiti history they have, and the lively scene that produces great artists. Who knows, perhaps one day I’ll stay there for a longer period. 108 Interview Nomad
↑ You can’t get to where you need to be if you don’t leave behind where you were. When it comes to style writing, there is no idea too confronting for NOMAD. ↓ Next stop... Who knows? As long as there are innovative and quality materials, NOMAD will not stay standing still. I have always lived by the claim: Not just to paint for fun, but also to stand out and show everyone what ideas and skills you have. MC Does having such talented peers in your city function as a motivating aspect, or can it sometimes just be draining? N.O.MADSKI The competition today is more international, especially since Graffiti nowadays predominantly takes place in social media where you want to attract attention. Personally, I have always lived by the claim: Not just to paint for fun, but also to stand out and show everyone what ideas and skills you have. Maybe, I am still a little bit influenced by the Hip Hop history of German graffiti, but this claim still motivates me until this day. The total digitization of graffiti publications that have taken place in recent years, unfortunately, from my perspective, also shifts the consideration and evaluation of Graffiti. Thus, changing the notion of competition, a lot. For example, a writer in his hometown could be “all city” with bombings in the streets, have the most trains running, or have an extremely good style. If pictures of his work do not appear on social media, he hardly exists. Conversely, the artist who is most conspicuously and staged on social media becomes known quickly. The result is that some of the best and most influential graffiti artists from Germany in my eyes are increasingly being forgotten just because they do not take place on social media. This competition, which is about likes or clicks, hardly interests me, and sometimes demotivates me. Especially since artistic aspirations hardly play a role there, but often only the attitude of pleasing the anonymous audience. Interview Nomad 109
