Making his mark on walls
When a friend from Paris brought him a magazine which had pictures of graffiti on it when he was 15, street artist Alber was entranced. He later found a box full of spray paints and decided to paint his first name on an old building.
But he misjudged the dimensions of the wall and some of the letters of his name ended up off the wall!
Alber painting
From this unconventional beginning, Alber has come very far. With galleries asking him to paint for them and opportunities to tour other countries with his work, it’s hard to imagine a time when he painted only half his name on a wall.
Here in Colombo as part of the French Spring Festival (a month-long celebration of French culture organised by the French embassy), he has already painted three walls – one in Amaya Hills, Kandy, another at the Alliance Francaise de Kotte and a third at 41 Sugar (at the Odel promenade) .
Having arrived just in time to dive straight into his work, he is hesitant to comment on Sri Lanka.
“I haven’t seen enough to say much. The people are nice and everyone openly shows their religion and people of different religions seem to live in harmony but that’s all I can comment on,” he says.
When he paints, all Alber focuses on is the wall he is painting. Alber’s current process involves painting an outline in grey paint before filling it in with other colours.
He usually draws faces with a series of different hues. He explains that there is a sharp distinction between graffiti and street art.
“Graffiti is mostly just names painted illegally while street art is pictures and it has evolved from graffiti,” he explains. As someone who started painting on walls for the thrill of it, he initially shied away from being called a street artist.
Today he makes it clear that galleries wanted him to paint for them and not the other way around, but is happy to be introduced as a street artist. His current style has evolved over the past decade, after he first started drawing figures.
To him, individuality is everything and he strives to be recognized. “If someone can see my work and immediately identify it as mine, then I will be very happy,” he states.
As a graphic designer who must work 39 hours a week, Alber finds that devoting time for his street art can be challenging at times. “I prepare as much as I can so that then I can just paint over the weekends,” he explains.
If he were to become a full time street artist, he feels that the evolution would have to be gradual process. “I have no specific dreams of becoming a full time street artist by a certain age,” he laughs.
Alber also reiterates that street art is something everyone must paint for their own happiness. “Do it for yourself and not for others. Some people might not like it so you must do it for yourself” he says.
The main values he believes in are freedom and love, values he feels other artists must also believe in. “Be free, accept the consequences of your actions. Do it without hate and with love,” he advises.