Art from street to app
Nowadays you don't need to go to a museum to see art. More and more cities are opening up their streets and facades to stencils, stickers and murals created by graphic artists. Look at the comic strip walls in Brussels, the platforms at Antwerp-Berchem or the artistic creations in Hasselt.
K'Ching is embracing this art form too and is pleased to give young artists an extra platform to reach a wider audience. So, K'Ching has asked six talented artists to design skins for the young person's app. Their work is now striding into the digital world and K'Ching users can personalise their apps further.
Personalised skins
Each street artist has their own style and their own fans. You can tell right away that Sketch, Mr. Spray, The Good and Anna The Android come from a different universe. So, these creations are ideal for personalising the app further.
We love to encourage young people to develop their own style. So, you can now upload a personal photo as a theme in K'Ching. Check it out!
Meet the artists
The Crystal Ship, the organisation behind large-scale art events, put us in touch with six talented artists. They share a passion for street art, but read on to find out what makes each artist unique.
I'm now well established on the street art scene. My work originates from Ghent, but has already travelled far beyond Belgium, to the USA and Mexico. With my cheerful, colourful characters, my main aim is to make people laugh, which is completely in line with my positive outlook on life.
Can you tell us more about the skin you've created for K'Ching?
I found my inspiration for the skin in the name of the young person's app. When I heard about K'Ching, I immediately thought of ‘Ka-ching, money in the bank’. This gave rise to a young coin character with Asian features.
What are your favourite works and what are you most proud of?
I once did a gigantic mural measuring 100 square metres on one of the Ikea building in Brussels. I had to paint it in one night for an advertising campaign. You can see this project on YouTube.
Can you tell us more about an upcoming project you're working on?
I'm currently busy creating a new Holly Waffles piece with an art gallery. I'm also carrying on painting on the street art scene.
Where can we admire your work?
You can admire my work on my website and on social media:
When you walk around Lier, you're struck right away by the many murals. This is largely down to Joachim Lambrechts. In 2016, he got together 10 artists to prove that street art can be an asset for a city, even a small, picturesque one like Lier. But you won't just find his creations, characterised by strong line work, in the city of his birth. Exhibitions of his work are also held regularly in the rest of Belgium and London. He's designed a skin for the K'Ching app, and told us more about the concept behind it in an interview.
How did your skin for K'Ching come about?
I designed a character that I made for KʼChing: Mr. Spray. He's based on a sketch I once did for a mural, which depicted a spray can with a face. Mr. Spray is in space, due entirely to my interest in everything to do with stars and planets.
What are your favourite works and what are you most proud of?
My greatest accomplishment was undoubtedly my street art project 'LIER UP', which I set up and curated myself. I wanted to bring something contemporary to small, picturesque Lier. I wanted to prove that street art can be an asset for a city. My work was positively received in Lier and the tourist office even included it in its sightseeing programme. Regular tours are now organised, so Lier is certainly well worth a visit!
Can you tell us more about an upcoming project you're working on?
I can't say much about it yet, but I'm currently working on a TV programme in collaboration with a major Belgian TV station. What's it about? Graffiti, of course. The programme introduces the public to the artist and the story behind a graffiti piece because usually you just see the end result. The series will be shown abroad too!
Where can we admire your work?
You can admire my work on my Facebook page or visit the city of Lier!
A creative person who doesn't confine himself to one medium. That's who I am. From street walls to animated films, my images have been everywhere already. Lastly, I've even won several prizes as a producer and art director. So, I knew it was perfect for me when I was asked to add the app as a new medium to my collection.
How did your skin for K'Ching come about?
I named my creation, a cowboy with a mean-looking mask, 'The Good'. This seems a bit of a contradiction at first, but there's more to this cowboy than his hard exterior. He's also honest, takes risks when necessary and protects what belongs to him. The Good also does his best to keep his head above water in a world full of chaos.
What are your favourite works and what are you most proud of?
I love it when a project pushes me out of my comfort zone! But I need to be given enough time and space to stay true to myself.
Can you tell us more about an upcoming project you're working on?
People can admire my work on my website or on Instagram.
Creating murals, giving workshops, working on canvas, setting up a successful Kickstarter campaign, designing T-shirts... Is there anything Matthew Dawn can't do? His unique style is already attracting more and more projects from major companies such as Citroën, Nike and Xior. He doesn't distort his images as much as Dali and Magritte, but the unnatural colours, shapes and symbolic elements give a surrealist touch to otherwise human figures.
How did your skin for K'Ching come about?
You'll also find this surrealism in Anna The Android, my contribution to the young person's app from K'Ching. I found my inspiration in science-fiction films like Blade Runner and Ex-Machina. Unlike the stoic female characters in those films, I wanted to design a character that is accessible, welcoming and friendly with a good dose of enthusiasm. Anna is not shy about being assertive and helpful when necessary. She is therefore a more positive version of the world-destroying androids familiar to us from modern science fiction.
What are your favourite works and what are you most proud of?
Amongst other works, the project with Wallin' for EDF-Luminus. I wanted to do my own thing on a wall at a busy junction on the outskirts of Ghent. I was able to create one of my personal favourites, "Strangers", based on an experience in my life: the loss of a loved one.
Can you tell us more about an upcoming project you're working on?
I'm currently involved in the production of the TINYPINK stencil cap, a spray-can attachment I designed myself. These stencil caps enable artists like me to add ultra-fine details with a spray can neatly and efficiently. I've now sold the stencil caps to customers all over the world.
Where can we admire your work?
You can recognise the drawing style of Pierre Coubeau, aka FSTN, from afar. The atmosphere of his narrative drawings is closely related to the colours he uses: black and white. His images are also characterised by a darker theme, accompanied by a certain lightness and humour. His talent for drawing was already apparent when he was a child. But his first creations only took a day, while he now spends two to three months on an artwork. In an interview, we asked him about his work for the KʼChing app, as well as his favourite works and current projects.
How did your skin for K'Ching come about?
I don't know how long I worked on the skin for K'Ching. In any case, I feel really at home with the theme: drawing. This time, there's no story behind the picture. My creation is in the form of a sketch, a bit like a practice drawing, and there's something good about that too. The pleasure I experience when I pick up a pencil is clear for all to see.
What are your favourite works and what are you most proud of?
I find the study leading up to a project really exciting and fun. It helps me portray something that I believe is important. I also learn something more about the subject I'm working on each time. For example, I found it really interesting to study the work of the philosopher Jean-François Lyotard before I started drawing for the 'childhood project'.
Where can we admire your work?
Thanks to national and international commissions, Sam De Buysscher is gradually conquering the world. He has had his own exhibitions in Rotterdam, London, Manchester, Berlin and New York. When he's not busy with exhibitions and commissions, all of his attention is focused on his brainchild, Toy Factory. Don't get the wrong idea – no toys roll off the conveyor belt there, but a playful character to bring to life the inner child. This mainly happens through beautiful, bright colours, humour and fantasy.
You'll also find all this in his superhero creation for K'Ching. His creation entitled Not your Everyday Hero has a bold character, but not really. He's a human superhero, a bit like all of us. After all, anyone can be a superhero, in an unpolished, everyday way. But, in the end, we're still human.