Street Arts
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LSD Magazine Interviews Artkieda's AK-47 (Issue 6)
Is heisting a piece of art a work of art in itself? Those are the blurred lines prankster, mischief maker, artist, jump-suited nutter and all round shadowy doer of mayhem AK 47 is out to cross, then reverse and cross over again. Infallibly controversial, from his light fingered lifting of Banksy’s Drinker which led him straight to the still smoldering Bonfire of the Momart Vanities to nicking Tracey Emin’s latest slice of drivel, he has opened questions about ownership, value, and the flexibility of the concept of conceptual art. An artist in his own right in between court appearances for exhibiting live firearms, we caught up with AK himself for a quick word...
How did you get involved in the street art scene?
As a kid I used to do a lot of tagging when I was about 17/18. This was in 1974, before anybody knew of the term tagging or knew what it was. I used to write ‘linky ok’, the ‘ok’ was a bit like a ‘@’ sign with the ‘k’ inside the ‘o’. I got arrested for criminal damage on a local bus shelter and while in the cells I dug into the old plaster wall in huge letters, ‘linky OK’ which made my not guilty plea to the shelter damage impossible.
You made headlines when you kidnapped a Banksy piece in the west end of London called The Drinker. What made you lift the piece in the first place?
As a joke and because I knew I could, I knew nobody else would have thought of doing it How did you go about taking The Drinker and where exactly did you take it? I hired a lorry with driver from a friend’s garage in mid-afternoon, went down and removed it from the back of Tottenham Court Road. We drove the piece off blindfolded so he couldn’t see where he was going. Haha. We took it to a friend’s squatted warehouse in Dalston, just off Kingsland road. Did Banksy see the funny side of the stunt? I don’t know, I hope so. I know his manager Steve Lazarides didn’t.
We’ve watched YouTube videos showing you and the lads pretending to blow the piece up with fireworks but what did you really have planned for the piece?
I wanted to swap it for a Banksy original canvas. I mean, I did get him his first broadsheet front cover, a PR dream. I was even contacted by the Guardian’s legal team and made to sign an affidavit that I was nothing to do with Banksy or Pictures on Walls and that this was not a publicity stunt arranged by him. This PR alone was worth a piece. When I sent him the ransom note he offered me the money to buy a gallon of petrol to burn it, and I said I would gladly do that if he gave me a can of petrol that he signed. I was, and still am a massive fan and couldn’t really afford one of his pieces.
London Street-Art Design Official Portal
ALSO FEATURING INTERVIEWS / ARTICLES FROM THIS MOTLEY CREW
How did you get involved in the street art scene?
As a kid I used to do a lot of tagging when I was about 17/18. This was in 1974, before anybody knew of the term tagging or knew what it was. I used to write ‘linky ok’, the ‘ok’ was a bit like a ‘@’ sign with the ‘k’ inside the ‘o’. I got arrested for criminal damage on a local bus shelter and while in the cells I dug into the old plaster wall in huge letters, ‘linky OK’ which made my not guilty plea to the shelter damage impossible.
You made headlines when you kidnapped a Banksy piece in the west end of London called The Drinker. What made you lift the piece in the first place?
As a joke and because I knew I could, I knew nobody else would have thought of doing it How did you go about taking The Drinker and where exactly did you take it? I hired a lorry with driver from a friend’s garage in mid-afternoon, went down and removed it from the back of Tottenham Court Road. We drove the piece off blindfolded so he couldn’t see where he was going. Haha. We took it to a friend’s squatted warehouse in Dalston, just off Kingsland road. Did Banksy see the funny side of the stunt? I don’t know, I hope so. I know his manager Steve Lazarides didn’t.
We’ve watched YouTube videos showing you and the lads pretending to blow the piece up with fireworks but what did you really have planned for the piece?
I wanted to swap it for a Banksy original canvas. I mean, I did get him his first broadsheet front cover, a PR dream. I was even contacted by the Guardian’s legal team and made to sign an affidavit that I was nothing to do with Banksy or Pictures on Walls and that this was not a publicity stunt arranged by him. This PR alone was worth a piece. When I sent him the ransom note he offered me the money to buy a gallon of petrol to burn it, and I said I would gladly do that if he gave me a can of petrol that he signed. I was, and still am a massive fan and couldn’t really afford one of his pieces.
READ FULL INTERVIEW IN LSD MAGAZINE issue 6
Open publication - Free publishing - More urban art
London Street-Art Design Official Portal
ALSO FEATURING INTERVIEWS / ARTICLES FROM THIS MOTLEY CREW
Ananda nahu, The Correspondents, Solo One, Soulflux, The Orb + Youth, Jerm IX, 69 DB, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Rennie Pilgrem, The Yes Men, Resto, Chaz, Neurodriver, Lokey, Elate, Dhear One, Page 51, Umek, Karma, Andrew Tiernan, K-Guy, Richard A Webster, William Parry, Andy C, Jesus Greus, Push Pony, James Lightning Wilks, Dominic Spreadlove, AK - 47, Mr Sofalumpkins, Mat Banbury, MikkiM, David Corden, Ian Milne, Punch Music, Hudson Zuma, Wayne Anthony, Sirius23
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You've been an active street artist since 2004, tell us a little about your first pieces... JERM stenciled onto a Purolator sticker I stole from work was first, the next day at work I called in a fake flood to Purolator and they replaced dozens...
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You may know the face, but not the name. He’s one of those actors whose been around for many years and has played many varied roles in Television and Cinema. Though staying out of the mainstream media and choosing not to court the press...
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A new piece of Banksy street art appeared on the artists website early this morning and within hours the location of the new stencil street art work had been leaked online. Located in Camden Town, London which is also home to 26-year-old graffiti artist/tagger...
Street Arts
- Lsd Magazine Interviews Belgian Street Artist Resto (issue 6)
Belgian artist Resto has been taking the flatland's by storm with his gargantuan dreamscape of lovingly warped, modern mythic wonder. Rippling with vibrant colour, he dances through styles from letters to questionably attired giants and has become...
- Lsd Magazine Interviews Graffiti Writer Solo One (issue 6)
As his extraordinarily complex pieces burst and ripple with texture, tortured shape, organic brilliance and an intangible bridge between the sublimely spiritual and 2000 AD on acid, Solo One is busy building extraordinarily strong graff in the community...
- Lsd Magazine Interviews Canadian Street Artist Jerm Ix (issue 6)
You've been an active street artist since 2004, tell us a little about your first pieces... JERM stenciled onto a Purolator sticker I stole from work was first, the next day at work I called in a fake flood to Purolator and they replaced dozens...
- Lsd Magazine Interviews Actor Andrew Tiernan (issue 6)
You may know the face, but not the name. He’s one of those actors whose been around for many years and has played many varied roles in Television and Cinema. Though staying out of the mainstream media and choosing not to court the press...
- New Banksy Street Art - 'tox' In Camden
A new piece of Banksy street art appeared on the artists website early this morning and within hours the location of the new stencil street art work had been leaked online. Located in Camden Town, London which is also home to 26-year-old graffiti artist/tagger...
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