The Infamous Archives: Foreign Affairs

Serval

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Rocking it all from tags, throws, burners, trans, and more, the Swiss writer SERVAL is doing his thing.

Interview by Nyce OAL

Where are you originally from and where do you currently reside? What brought you to the States?
Serval: My family is from NY, but I was born and raised in Switzerland. I live in Geneva. I stayed in Philly from ’95–’99 for school.

What sparked your interest in graff and were you into it before you came to the States?
Serval: I started writing graffiti in 1992 in Geneva, I was already painting a lot when I came to Philly, but mostly street bombing and some trains.
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Serch

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The scene is so crazy and dope that it’s hard to stand out in Europe. Serch is one international writer who catches our attention.

What’s your background?
Serch: I have been writing graffiti since summer/fall 1985. I first started out drawing and practicing my hand style on paper and only did my first piece in 1986. I am down with so many crews but at the moment, but I mostly push NES, ZF, SUK, C2 and WSU, and I was so fortunate to be put down with several legendary crews from NYC like TDS, TMT, TM7, MAFIA, BYI and MTA… I started out in my hometown, Zwolle, which is a medium-size city about an hour north of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I kept my focus on that city until the late-80s when I started bombing the rest of the country a little bit. In late 1989/early 1990 I got into major problems with justice because of my creative hobby and the result was a one and a half year retirement from the active scene, during which time I only painted an occasional legal wall and I kept on taking pictures of other people’s work.
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Bates AIO COD

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Featured in numerous publications and videos, Bates is an all-star of the graffiti culture. Coming from Copenhagen Denmark, he is seeking to live his dream of being able to make a living and travel as a full-time graffiti artist.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Bates: Bates, from Copenhagen, Denmark. I’m in AIO, TNB, COD, 156, WR2, WCA, FTP and PCP crews. I started writing in 1984. I like Ironlak with Pro skinny and NY fat caps

You have amazing diverse styles. Who or what did you look at for inspiration when you were starting out?
Bates: Always try and bring a different outline, one that best suits the situation.
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