Stencil artist, DJ and O.G Grey Lynn resident Component has seen both gentrification of his home and the comodifacation of his passion. But rather than be bitter, he brings together the authenticity of the past with the immediacy of the present. His work captures that solid boom bap aesthetic while never feeling like shallow homage to a bygone era. Similarly component chooses to incorporate that old school Grey Lynn feel into his work, while making it fresh enough to sell to its new residents. His iconic T-shirts with the jandels and hibiscus flowers have become as much part of the local landscape as the SUVs and Soya latté’s.

Part of that old school feel is his D.I.Y approach to art and business. Self taught in the true sense of the world, Component has built up not only a solid rep as an artist, but also a business through the sale of his T shirts and artwork. And rather than keep his skills and knowledge to himself, he shares his passion, running workshops on art and DJing.

Component’s artwork itself is varied thematically; everything from Odes to hip hops fallen legends, Old Dirty bastard and J Dilla, to political critiques on censorship and conformity. But it’s his style that brings his work together; whether Boba Fett standing guard on Ponsonby rd to the Queen rocking the 1 and 2′s, Components solid line work and eye for detail make his pieces leap out from canvases and brick walls alike. Both the suburb of Grey Lynn and the culture of hip hop may have been changed forever by money and outside interests, but Components attitude and art captures the old school spirit of both communities’s, and recontextalises it for the present day.

www.component.co.nz | www.flickr.com/photos/component1

EXHIBITION HISTORY

PUBLIC ACCESS 2010 – Auckland Art Gallery, March 2010
SPLORE 2010 – Cut Collective Art Installation, February 2010
COMMON GROUND – The New Dowse, Wellington, February 2009
HAM WINE AND HANGOVERS – CCHQ, December 2009
SPRING CLEAN – CCHQ, September 2009
OUT OF THE CAN – Momentum Gallery, Auckland, May 2009
DON’T BAN THE CAN – 696 Gallery, Melbourne, September 2008
PUBLIC ACCESS #3 – 42 Below Space, Auckland, September 2008
A LECTURE WITH LING LING – St Paul St Gallery, Auckland, March 2008
SPLORE 2008 – Cut Collective Art Installation, February 2008
IF 6 WAS 9 T SHIRT EXHIBITION – Clothesline, Ponsonby, December 2007
PUBLIC ACCESS #2 – Aveia Gallery, Auckland, April 2007
PUBLIC ACCESS #1 – MIA Gallery, Napier, January 2007
IF 6 WAS 9 T SHIRT EXHIBITION – Disrupt Gallery, Auckland, November 2006
SPRING CLEAN – Conch, Auckland, September 2006
COMPONENTRY 2 SOLO SHOW – Disrupt Gallery, April 2006
COMPONENTRY SOLO SHOW – Disrupt Gallery, 2006