Askew TMD

Interests

Askew One
Born 1979, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand

Askew One is a multi-disciplinary artist mostly renown for his graffiti art paintings. Widely regarded as one of the New Zealand graffiti scene’s driving forces he has managed to remain at the forefront of the movement whilst working tirelessly behind the scenes in a diverse array of projects.

A restless personality, a touch of ADD mixed with a childhood amidst the 80’s sugary-diets, TV parenting and general explosion of mass pop-culture shaped Askew during his formative years. His work draws greatly from New Zealand’s geographical isolation and it’s subsequent desire to feel inclusion through pop-cultural appropriation. He is particularly intrigued in how trends mutate and break beyond being a caricature of their source. He is currently focussed on helping re-define the New Zealand graffiti aesthetic along with his main contemporaries, members of TMD, RTR and GBAK crews. Steeped in the foundation and tradition of ‘NYC Subway’ influenced graffiti, Askew wishes to see writing thrive in New Zealand, evolve past mere imitation or what he terms ‘Karaoke Painting’.

Although working primarily in aerosol paint, Askew is versed in graphic design, illustration, photography, publishing, music and moving image. He also collated and co-authored a book about New Zealand graffiti, ‘In-Form’ which was a Montana Book Awards finalist in 2008.