EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: AMOSEs’ Tribal Travelers

Wall in Saarbrucken in Germany – August 2012

Amose is a French street artist known for is signature tribal creatures. His studies began in 1996, in Belgium, even though Amose was born and raised in France. “First I spent four years studying illustration at the Institut St Luc in Tournai in South Belgium close to the Fraco-Belg border. Later, I entered the Beaux Art so study graphic design. Yet, A large part of my leanings come from my own studies. I look a lot what is going on around me, on the internet, magazines, books and comics. I found it very important to cultivate the skill of inquisitivity. It is important to constantly question what is in art, especially when you start and even until today.”

Wood assembly with acrylic paint 1.20 m x 2.30 m – april 2012

In 2003 Amose started to work with tribal characters. It began when he discovered artists from South America who inspired him. South America is a culturally wealthy culture. “I can not quite tell [what drew me to this culture in particular]. I always loved tribal art, its simple shapes and graphic lines are appealing to me. You can often find this style in Brazilian graffitis. At the time, North American street art with large lettering and the b.boys did not interest me. I was attracted to South American Street Art where you saw many flat figures with different motives and much more. It had a mystical vibe,” he said.

Wall in Koln in Germany -August 2011

The consistency in Amoses’ style would indicate a running theme. However, he does not have one in particular. “I like working with the body, and working figures by un-shapping them. I exaggerate postures and the volume of their limbs. I like for my characters not to look like people, they do not look like they belong to a particular nationality, they are nor man nor woman and live in a timeless era without any setting. My characters are travelers with no strings attached. I like to see their faces neutral–I don’t want them to look happy or sad as if they were wearing masks,” he explains.

Wall in Dunkerque in France – October 2011

Amose is not just a street artist. He also works on paper and on his computer. ” I don’t have a favorite environment to work in,” he says,” I need to work at home on paper and on my computer. I also love screen printing at my workshop and exploring large walls on the streets. These are all different mediums that allow me to express myself in different ways.”

Amose was influenced by a variety of different artists. “Throughout my childhood Cobra from Buichi Terasawa, Ulysse 31 from Shōji Kawamori but also Enki Bilal, Cyril Perdosa, the overall Brazilian street art but also mais Gustave Klimt, Egon Shiele, many artist from the Futurism movement and many others.”

His characters have a mask-like face creating a odd ora around them. “I like to create a mysterious vibe. I like the neutrality of there faces that contrasts with their bodies that portray a strong movement. There is a disproportionality in the shapes of their body. I love that contrast. I love that difference.”

Wall in Istanbul, Turkey – September 2012 (one of his favorite works)

Amose is currently working on a screen print show in Geneva, Switzerland with friends. And solo exhibition for 2013 in different gallery in Paris, Vienna and Antwerp. He hopes one day to work in America.