C215 Playlist
- Text by Amrita Riat
- Photography by Teresa Madeline
Two masters degrees, one in Renaissance History and the other in German Romanticism, couldn’t stop Christian from becoming a cultural rebel. His fate was sealed as a teenager tagging walls with love messages to girls he liked, and then later when he took on the illegal walls of Paris armed with a stencil, insane creativity and an astute sense of context.
Exhibiting at StolenSpace Gallery in London twenty five years after he first started, the French street artist gave HUCK a candid interview sketching out his regrets (“I wish I had a better job”), shading his body of work with meaning (“It’s something that gathers rather than divides”), and connecting the dots that drew the path to where he is now, including his street art inspirations – Swoon and Banksy.
We’ve dug out three compilations of each artist’s work from the abyss that is YouTube, catching their curb-side processes on camera and backing it all up with some sick beats.
Video: Street Art by C215
Playback: Down The Road by C2C
While a vandal destroys, Christian creates. Under the pseudonym of C215, Christian spray paints and stencils his pieces on the world canvas using his surrounds as lexicon, bringing colour to some of the darkest corners of society in just a matter of minutes.
)
Video: Street Art by Swoon
Playback: I Love The Drums by Lasse Loöq
Swoons real surname may be Curry, but her preferred consistency is wheatpaste – slapped across her prints to make them stick on an abandoned wall in quick time – giving her artwork a semi-permanent place in society’s derelict spaces. Just as many of C215’s most renowned works feature his ten year old Nina, Swoon’s paper cut-outs often revolve around her family and friends.
)
Video: Street Art by Banksy
Playback: Loops of Fury by The Chemical Brothers
Love him or hate him, there is no denying Banksy’s sense of satire and absolute ballsy-ness: casually climbing up a ladder to leave his mark on the 425-mile-long West Bank barrier separating Israel from the Palestinian territories, while armed guards jam round the corner, comes to mind. Street arts’ most notorious and least seen, this vid covers the sneaky artist’s token monochrome epigrams and stencils, and even gives a glimpse of him at work in London.
)
You might like
India’s bodybuilding boom reflects a nation flexing its muscles
Huck’s debut feature documentary reveals how young Indian men are willing to turn their backs on tradition and compete for a better life – even if it means sacrificing their health.
Written by: Alex King
Inside the indie print revolution: How to make your own magazine
With some of the world’s most prominent publishers facing difficulty and announcing layoffs, you’d be forgiven for thinking the publishing industry was on its last legs. In fact, the modern landscape is full of possibility.
Written by: Lydia Morrish
Inside Ireland’s first queer Gaelic football team
Wear your colours — As the country slowly frees itself from the grip of social conservatism, its national sports are modernising too, powered by a new generation of athletes and fans determined to create more inclusive spaces. At the forefront of this movement is Na Gaeil Aeracha, the country’s first ever queer GAA club.
Written by: Róisín Lanigan
Huck Issue 77 is out now
It’s Mitski season — Our new magazine is here, starring the inimitable Mitski. Order your copy now and join us on a trip around the world.
Written by: Niall Flynn
The daredevil exploits of Dhanbad’s DIY stuntmen
Lift off — In Jharkhand state, a group of Indian riders are keeping a dying tradition alive. Welcome to the Death Well: a gravity-defying display of fearlessness that reimagines what’s possible on a two-wheeled machine.
Written by: Niall Flynn
The radical history of Paris b-boy culture is under threat
Break away — Born in the Bronx back in the ’70s, breakdancing later found a similar home in the banlieues of Paris, where marginalised communities adopted the style as a vessel for protest. In 2024, it will feature as an Olympic sport for the first time – but what does this mean for its radical roots?
Written by: Peter Yeung
