Artist duo THE POSTMAN formed in Brighton in 2018. Music, film and urban culture permeate their works which can be found on the streets all around the world. They’re temporary pieces are not owned by anybody which adds to the allure with The Postman’s fans who enthusiastically seek them out before they disappear.
What motivated you to get started and what are you trying to achieve?
Our passion for street art and the idea to spread love got us started. We aim to offer art that is free for people to enjoy in public. We want to surprise people and provoke a nostalgic, positive reaction through clever placement where you least expect it. We use bright colours and instantly recognisable images. Our work is purposefully non-discriminatory and inclusive in nature.
Are your works on the street illegal?
This is a grey area. We believe that we contribute positively to the urban canvas. We don’t set out to cause damage to property or to upset anyone – quite the opposite. We therefore choose our spots carefully and use rundown areas or urban furniture to paste up our pieces. While pleasing to the majority of people, some may still put our work on a par with vandalism. I feel we need to educate people to challenge their perceptions around what defines art and to encourage understanding of the positive impact street art can have on people’s lives.
How has your work developed in the past years?
What started as a bit of fun escalated quickly in the beginning. Due to frequent travels, our work spread rapidly around the world. We then had a lucky break with a collaboration with one of the world’s most renowned photographers, David La Chapelle, when he took a chance on us back in 2019. We have since been lucky enough to work with numerous incredible photographers. Most importantly Dave Hogan who has a catalogue of imagery spanning 40 years. On a practical side we are continually evolving and learning new techniques, new ways of working with spray paint, stencils and collage, as well as various digital media, new materials and technologies. Another dream came true when we started to work with popular musicians directly, including The Bob Marley family and Noel Gallagher.
Do you only make art of iconic people (‘celebrities’)?
We don’t really embrace celeb culture. Initially our aim was to celebrate our heroes, for example David Bowie. We have since started to diversify our subjects. An example for this is our urban arts project in York in 2021 titled ‘Guardians of York’. We Listened to the stories of 10 local heroes who kept us all safe during the pandemic. We photographed them and made large artworks which we pasted up all over the city of York. This is a good example of how street art that’s available to all can lift spirits and spread positivity at a community level.
Why do you wear masks?
We are private individuals and feel that our art should speak for itself. It also adds to the mystery. Our masks have nothing to do with the group ‘Anonymous’ and we are currently in the process of working on something more unique to The Postman.
What does the future hold?
It’s all to do with the people we meet and the new connections we make along the way. When we saw our work at Saatchi Gallery earlier this year – after being commissioned by Bob Marley’s daughter Cedella – we knew this was the direction we wanted to follow. We love working directly with artists and this seems to be the way things are heading for us. Collaboration is an important value for us. Our work has also started to increase in size and working on large scale murals has become an exciting part of 2022.
