FAD caught up with André Saraiva in Paris at the CASETiFY + Mr. A Pop-Up, we managed to grab a few words with him in-between eating Mr. A buns and his performance (see video below).
Why Pink? Why now?
Pink is my color.
In the early ’90s my style revolved around layers of vivid and playful colors, but pink has always
been my favorite. In graffiti, it was neither common nor popular. It was considered gay. So,
generally, pink spray cans were the ones left standing on the shelves in stores. That left plenty
for me to steal.
Pink has an advantage over all the other colors—it mixes well with all of them, it makes
everything harmonious.
Pink became my color.
Graffiti began as a shout against the establishment, against capitalism do you feel a closer affinity to the work of pop artists such as Warhol as opposed to the work of artists like Banksy, 12ft etc
As Warhol once said “Graffiti is the ultimate pop art”. Doing graffiti is questioning the establishment. Is
an art for the people, an art accessible to everyone and free.
How was it working across multiple products for Caseify? Is there one product that you like the most?
I really enjoyed working with Casetify – we had a lot of fun producing all the phone cases, but I
especially like the small edition of the skateboard we did. One product that I especially liked was the
small edition of the skateboard, we had a lot of fun producing it.
What phone, tablet do you have and do you use them to help in the creation of your art?
I’m old school. I do everything by hand and rarely use technology, I hardly use computers – I like the
analog tools. I only use pens, markers, brushes, and spray cans.
What do you have planned for the rest of 2024? Are there any plans for an exhibition?
I’m doing a solo show in Isetan The Space in Tokyo from 13th April to 10th of May 2024 and group
show in Maca Museum in Copenhagen from 1st May 2024 to 30th April 2027.
CASETiFY + Mr. A’s pop-up store is in the Beaubourg district at 73-75 rue Quincampoix, 75003 Paris until 31st March. You can buy Casetify + Mr A’s collab HERE
