SPECTRUM R.A.D. with Remio

Born in Norway and raised in the New World skate scene, Remio made his throw up a worldwide symbol through years of obsessive practice. His multidisciplinary approach led him to paint streets, exhibit in art galleries, design clothing collections, print zines — everything with a high level of recognizability.

Interviewed by Pietro Rivasi for the issue 3 of our R.A.D. project, the artist opens up about what makes his style so smooth: his skating roots, an undeniable love for bombing and fazines, his do-it-yourself approach.

Q. I’d start from Sleepner: what does this project mean to you and how did you come up with the idea of making a zine?

A. I started making zines in high school: the first were called Painkiller, but I changed the name to Sleepner after a few issues. It was a way for me to unleash my creativity, explore new ideas and bring my peers together. I invited friends to submit writing or art about a given theme, an early attempt of networking. Sleepner is a phonetic riff on Sleipnir, a magical horse from Norse mythology. It can fly, has 8 legs and was in fact Loki shapeshifting into a kind of horse to trick Odin. It’s a good story and worth checking up for a read.

Q. Sleepner clearly shows your love for the DIY approach. Where did this crush come from?

A. That’s true, I love the do-it-yourself approach. I mean, nobody telling you what or how to do it: that’s absolute freedom. I was inspired by other graffiti magazines and zines like Eat it up ass hole, Life sucks die and Desperados by some Vancouver guys, as well as Full spectrum by Hesk and Mentos. We traded pictures and zines way before Instagram, it was a key part of the graffiti scene.

Q. In your zines there are many references to skate and surf. How did you get into two subcultures that were so niche at the time?

A. My dad was one of the guys who first brought windsurfing boards to Norway, back in the 60’s and 70’s. When he had me, he bought me and my brother two skateboards - just imagine those little kids with a couple of skateboards that were two-thirds of their size! We had a good time belly-boarding and since then I just stayed with skateboard culture, which also introduced me to graffiti and rap.

Q. Checking your productions, it’s impressive how closely you are linked with your friends, who are a fixture in your publications and paintings. Do you see countercultures as a kind of family extension?

A. It’s a no brainer, friends are the family you get to choose. They mean the world to me, I treasure my friendships. I have learned so much about life from my friends and the crews I’ve been involved with, in the end what makes places special is the people you meet along the way. Everyday I try to stay true to my young-self, to that boy that was a young skater and graffiti writer, passing on the knowledge to younger writers, sharing and being respectful to fans who reach out on social media. To be honest, I don’t feel much different than I was 20 years ago: I still love being blown away and inspired by skateboarding, and I really like tagging and stuff.

Q. Scandinavia, the US, various continents and now back to Europe, this time in a really active and art-wise city like Paris. There’s a country, a city or even a spot you feel more comfortable working in?

A. Fortunately I feel comfortable almost everywhere, but especially in cities tailored for pedestrians. Paris has been very special to me for the past few years as far as I managed to visit and to know things about the city. That said, sometimes I still feel like a newcomer and I discover new cool things on a daily basis. It’s a really fun city to paint in.

Q. How was collaborating with Classic Paris?

A. Oh that’s an interesting one. I met Classic about 8 years ago and he stayed at my place in California for a while. We stayed in touch since then, like every time I came to Paris I always brought zines for him to sell. Then recently there was this big skate and surf fair in Paris, and we finally made our first collaboration for the event. He was also in charge of publishing this time and… you know, it has a different feel than my other zines, but I’m very happy with the final result. The big challenge here was to use only skate and surf-related stuff, and it ended up being pretty fun because I have a lot of love for those worlds. I chose to feature my friends, some of my favorite spots and also a few details that make surfing and skating particularly inspiring for me.

Q. You have come up with a very influential style over the years. What does getting up mean for you?

A. It means doing your thing when you feel the urge to express yourself and prove to people you are alive. It’s something you can always come back to and it’s always there. It’s a sort of meditation that clears my mind and allows me to enjoy the moment, it’s both spiritual and mental freedom.

Q. How did you develop such a highly distinctive and versatile throw up?

A. When Kaput and I were roommates, we sat down with the intent of creating a highly recognizable stamp, something intended to be just as pared down as simple and effective. The intention was never to be in boutiques, that happened later, after friends with brands asked me to do collaborations and the style worked as well there as in the streets.

Q. Are we talking about the arrival point of many different steps, trials and in-street experimentations or it’s been a more conscious research?

A. It happened over the course of time. I always tried a basic triangle shape, and the rest of the characters just flew organically in. I don’t think about what I’m drawing as much as I just let the drawing happen, you know? I simply try to not think, it’s a very meditative practice for me. Then the characters come out of what I’ve ingested visually myself over the years: Bart Simpson, Ninja Turtles and other direct references of course, but most of them are just improvised. Whatever comes out of the line, just pops out naturally and it develops organically. Sometimes I get stuck on a certain movement of line or a certain shape, and things arise from there, or maybe there’s a specific mood I want to evoke or something.

Q. What aspects do you value the most when it comes to painting?

A. There’s no irony in my style, street painting gives me a lot of energy and I feed off that vitality in my daily life. Balance and clarity have always meant a lot in my drawings - keeping artworks clear and basic, rather than stuffed with too much unnecessary visual information. I mean , it’s part of the graffiti DNA: get your name out and up as much as possible. Also, during my painting sessions I’ve always tried to use a legible style because I wanted civilians to be able to read what I was writing, even before I started morphing the R into characters and shapes. And it worked: I overheard non-graffiti people talking about my graffiti several times on trains or buses, openly wondering what a “Remio” was.

Q. One of your side activities is producing artworks for shows. How did you get into that

A. It started with my mom, she encouraged me early on to make photographs, to draw in a sketchbook and paint. When she caught me sneaking out for graffiti, she responded by making me sign a contract that I wouldn’t use her car for “graffiti purposes”! She was clearly mad about the damages I was doing, but still she pushed me to continue, buying sketchbooks and a respirator mask. She definitely was a big part of my early days in the business. Later I met Barry McGee and Os Gemeos and both encouraged me to paint and make art. Damn, I’ve been so blessed to have such great encouragement. It was 2004 or so, Barry contacted when he headed to Vancouver and saw my stuff up there. When I had to flee because of a serious police investigation, I reached back out to him. He hired me as an assistant just to help me get on my feet in the US and he overall had a great influence on me. I’ve learned a lot from him in that little time we spent together. I can’t remember exactly how I met Os Gemeos, but it was in LA during one of their shows, around 2011. I was wandering around the gallery while they were installing and ended up staying with them at the end. They were really kind to me and pushed me to “make art, make art!” at all costs. Then they invited me to Brazil to join their whole train projects with Reas, Vino and the Vlok crew. It was a hugely inspirational trip.

Q. What’s your relationship with the art world?

A. Mm tough one here. Let’s say this: I make art because I feel the urge to express. I have this compulsive need to make art, to paint graffiti - you choose the most suitable definition. That said, painting and graffiti writing are pretty much the same to me, I don’t see major differences. You know, I don’t really care about definitions, but staying away from painting makes me feel like I’m wasting time or missing out on something big. In a nutshell, creating is a part of my way to navigate life. And it is what it is: public intervention, art, vandalism. And vandalism belongs to street painting by definition: graffiti is vandalism, period.

Q. You collaborate with brands, you have your own line of T-shirts and caps. How did you start working with the fashion industry and how evolved over time?

A. A few years ago my friends and family encouraged me to make T-shirts, and it took off from there. I think it’s another way to get up: it’s funny seeing my art on people walking around the world, stored in niche thrift shops, or rocked by a skateboarder ripping a spot. I want to continue to evolve my style and start new projects, that’s where the fun side really is.

SPECTRUM R.A.D.

Inside the Resident Artist Decoder project, we engage international creatives across artistic paths, forms of expression and the influence of subcultures. Every resident artist rounds off the initiative creating a dedicated artwork, which is later printed on limited edition shopper bags that are distributed exclusively in store.

Photography: Sylvain Sey
Interview by: Pietro Rivasi