Brief Biography Via Circle Culture gallery
“Jaybo (1968) is a runaway, setting out and wandering along in a physical as well as in a creative sense. In his youth, he ran away from his house in southern France, settling in Berlin-Kreuzberg at the beginning of the 1980’s, where he busied himself as a graffiti writer, street actor and hip-hop musician. When he founded the streetwear label “Irie Daily” and the cultural magazine “Style” at the beginning of the 1990’s, his influence on Berlin’s youth culture and fashion scene could be clearly seen. Even today, urban subculture is the driving force behind his artistic activities.”
I wont put a label on the work of Jaybo Monk, as im sure he could fall into many genre’s and his paintings speak louder than any words that could define them. Ill just call him my favorite Rising contemporary Painter. Jaybo Monk is a Painters; painter, broad strokes perfectly placed yet so imperfect. When Remi mentioned interviewing Jaybo for the blog i was all over it. So below is a rare glimpse into the character that is Jaybo Monk, as Remi asks him all the tough questions in a way only Remi can.
Remi: Is Jaybo real or is he just a made up character?
Jaybo: I dont know what is real or not . My life is balancing always between the two.
Remi: How long is a piece of string?
Jaybo: So long as you can pull on it.
Remi: You once told me your style is like a musical remix of different artists you like… Who do you still want to remix and why?
Jaybo: I used to work spontaneously like jamming with music, sometimes i travel through some art magazine and i am interested in some details from this or that artist, I use those details like a producer uses samples. I also like the fact of instant visuality and its possible subjective associative phenomenon. I like to play with it.
Remi: How do you manage to maintain your creativity when you work so much?
Jaybo: My work is creativity if i don’t do it then i am dead, so i cant see any difference about working and being creative.
Remi: You incorporate a lot of animals in your work, do you prefer animals to humans?
Jaybo: Everything is coming out of my dream world at night. I think that humans are animal and there is just a little form of humor using an animal in the way a human use to be used. But it could happen that i take a crocodile and let him act like a bird, who knows. I am just trying to give a platform for everybody to play with its own visual bank, i try to propose new juxtapositions of facts and so helping the viewer to going back in his own personality and to recreate his own first impressions.
Remi: Tell me your favorite artist or painting of all time and why?
Jaybo: Francis bacon because of his talent to manage the accidental brush stroke.
Remi: What next for Jaybo Monk?
Jaybo: Duo shows with Remi Rough and Marco Pho Grassi , in Spain and Italy. Continuing to work on my Project room, trying to live out of my art, and to recreate myself one more time.
Here Links to more Jaybo
