The wonderful duo SNIK made their second visit to Aberdeen in June 2021 to work on a new mural titled 'We Begin' a continuation of their developing body of work exploring new themes and ideas in the post pandemic sphere.
Having been stuck at home for the majority of last year, the prospect of a trip to Aberdeen was an exciting one for us all. I'd last seen them during a whirlwind visit to their debut exhibition in London, 'Ephemeral' which saw the duo and their team transform the amazing Crypt Gallery space into a real world version of their work with flowers dripping off the walls and into the stencilled art works which adorned the harrowed brick walls. The show was an ambitious first foray into exhibitions and revealed their grandiose view, finding connections between the indoor and the outdoor, the street to the gallery walls or graveyard walls in this case. It proved to be a highlight for 2019 but little did we realise it would be our last trip away from Aberdeen for some time.
It was an important trip for me as working with the team during Nuart I felt a real affinity with SNIK and their work, you begin to wonder if the friendships made really go beyond the festival period where the stress and workload create a unity and the bonds made prove to be a bit deeper. Of course leaving Nik & Laura to continue their celebrations across London that October eve in 2019 I didn't think it would be almost 2 years before seeing them again. And they haven't been sitting idle during lockdown, in fact they've been busier than ever working on new print editions, a few top secret projects and of course the stunning follow up exhibition 'Ephemeral 2' the show that nobody came to. Or was allowed to go to but they did make a beautiful short film about it with Doug from Fifth Wall TV which you can watch here.
Upon arriving it was straight to work with Nik ordering a round of Negroni's and taking in the football before getting started on the task at hand. The duo had an interesting prospect ahead, painting the final mural on the Aberdeen Indoor Market. Currently the location of iconic artworks by Herakut, Eine and Hyuro, the market has been host to some of the biggest Nuart works to date and has been a special site since the festival began. The news of its imminent demolition poses some interesting questions and the response from the public has been one of sadness at the loss of the brutalist structure, not to mention the aforementioned art works. Even work created at the highest level isn't necessarily safe from development and with no means to save the bricks, the artworks will be resigned to the digital archives of those who photographed it. It is sad but I'm hopeful that something good can emerge from the rubble.
And it still provided a valuable canvas for SNIK to flex their creative muscles on. As the lift platform raised them up to the heavens, angelic strips of paper floated their way to the ground, giant 5 meter long strips of stencils, sprayed out and sprayed again for good measure as a new face emerges from the ethereal swamp of the granite city. From the ground it looked like a relatively straight forward process even though the duo required the help of their manager Honour. The production shots by photographer Clarke later revealed the physical nature of the creative process, from the hours and weeks of intense stencil cutting at their studio down south to actually spraying out the stencils onto their final destination. It took quite a bit of time and care as we watched the giant stencils get unfurled strip by strip before being rolled back up, a slow reveal of the artwork. This was quickly contrasted with the image of the giant stencils falling to earth with a thud, discarded after serving their purpose, ready for the recycle bin.
It's interesting to view SNIK's work and the wider street art movement and the ideas of value, a Banksy fetching millions at auction while he himself creates work using these same tools, paper, spray paint, perhaps £100 worth of materials and a good idea for his piece. SNIK with their roots in graffiti also now find themselves at the forefront of the UK's street art scene, something which is almost at odds with where street art emerged from but if your lucky to have spent anytime with them you'll know that street art is in their blood and the dedication to their craft is quite awe inspiring. They spoke about the desire push their work as far as it can go, technically and thematically, finding the bridges from the canon of street art and graffiti, absorbing the history and creating work that will last beyond the initial hype.
 |
| 'Gone Believer' by SNIK in Stavanger! |
This is perhaps where our shared respect for Nuart founder and curator Martyn Reed comes into play. Having worked with them in both cities, Martyn's keen curatorial eye helped produce the two stunning pieces in Stavanger with the couples work greeting all visitors who pass through Stavanger airport while a trip to Tou in the cities East End isn't complete without checking out their second mural, another portrait with delicate flowers and the real life nature of the garden slowly claiming back the wall it once occupied. The idea of visual conversations and connections came to the fore, the twin cities of Aberdeen and Stavanger sharing a bit more than just expensive pints and a burger king. The two murals compliment each other, in their form and the pink hues of the flowers but even the position of the figures creates a nice dialogue, one looks up while the other down, a moment of awkward beauty.
The team worked on the piece for 3 and a half days, a relatively fast production by Nuart standards but as with all this years artists it provided time to actually explore the city, to visit some important locations including Niks ancestral grannies hoose while also enjoying many a feast kindly organised by Tazzy and the Nuart team. The smaller scale production gave us a chance to hang out as friends, making some great memories to cherish. As my friend Ica would say, Nik, Laura & Honour are good people. As life continues to twist and turn I'm glad we got to spend a few days seeing SNIK paint, even if the mural will only be around for a few months. Indeed 'We Begin' might have a quick ending, but its about seeing friends grow while keeping their feet planted, treating each new project as a fresh start, a chance to push in new directions and not being afraid to fail. In fact seeing the beauty in the failures and sticking it in a frame. They might just be the first lines of a new chapter or they might just go in the bin. There's power and poetry in both.
Regardless of all that, it's nice to have SNIK united with the other works on the Indoor Market and to have their flowery presence on The Green. I get to walk past their piece, point up and shout 'my friends painted that' and it means a lot to me. More than a Banksy does although I'd still take a print if anyone wants to donate one. Thanks to the Nuart crew, team SNIK and all the friends who made that week so fun & tasty!
Special shout out to Clarke Joss Photography for the photos and to Innes for the last shot.
 |
| Me & SNIK by Innes Gregory |
