Laurie Vincent: This is actually the first time we've been out together without mum. We're doing alright so far…You're doing your first proper show, in collaboration with Loose – how did that come about?
They approached me about a zine they were doing and asked if I wanted to submit anything. At the same time, back in October of 2016, they said they'd like to do a show with me. All my past shows have been really rushed and last minute; I've only done two DIY, and they've been thrown together. I was really impressed with Loose, so we've worked together all year, collabin' on ideas and finding the venue, invites, everything – so I see this as my first proper real show. They're kind of like a new breed of curators. They're kind of underdogs – they're not big gallerists. It felt much more like where I come from.
"This was pretty much the start point for the new show. I was watching a show called 'Deadwood' and I was considering that life of going out and literally trying to find gold, and that being a metaphor for everyone. It's called 'The Great Prospector' – just this sad little guy rolling the dice."
"I called this piece 'Untitled', because I didn't know what to say about it. This is where, for the show, the pot plants started. I've always drawn pot plants and I've always had a thing about cacti. I like the fact we buy plants and put them in our houses, put them in pots and try to grow them. This series is called 'Plant Fiction', and it's about the idea that we use exotic things to try to change our reality, combined with this confused and thoughtful cheetah and a pot plant. It's meant to be a little light hearted, but it represents a lot about humans."
In comparison to my musical output, this terrifies me more. Before, I never sold work; I just put it on the wall. This time, everything is for sale, and that adds a pressure because you have to value your own work and add another thing that gives you a headache. I want people to come and look at it for the right reasons, but also people that are fans of the music are gonna want to come and check it out, too. There's a lot to think about. Lots of people are able to do more than one thing now, and its been really positive, but I feel like this is a chance to prove myself, so to speak.
"I've had this black paintbrush for three years – pretty much since I started my painting quest. Any black lines you see on my paintings have been done by this. I can't find another one of the same thickness because of how much it's been worn down; it's a custom size, pretty much."
"Something I always go back to are my sketch books. I fill them up and keep a load around. They're all black line drawings. I have to come back to them, as I paint a lot of collages. If I try to paint without any reference point I'll sit here with a blank mind."
"This is a collaboration with my friend Daisy, who I shared a studio with in Lewisham. It was a quarter of the size of the room we're in now. You can see the two different styles, the text and the sad faces blended into my stuff. It's really inspired by the film 'Basquiat', the biopic about him, and when they show him and Andy Warhol taking turns. I really like it when Andy Warhol's like, 'I like the way you went over that.' When I saw that dynamic I really wanted to paint like that. Obviously you can collaborate with people in so many ways, but I wanted it to be real. It's easier to collaborate with Daisy, but it's harder with most people."
It didn't initially; my girlfriend would buy me bright colours as presents, and the more I did it, the more I got into it. When I was starting out I was really inspired by people like Danny Fox and Basquiat, and I liked the fact I was going extreme with the colours, throwing them in. Some people are like, "Ah, red and green shouldn't be seen," but I quite like the assault it is on you.With that in mind, do you think there are links between what you do musically and your art?
Stylistically, yes. I've always said, because we get called punk a lot, we coined the term "primal". The way I see it, we're quite primary colours – it's quite simple, yet bold, and I think my artwork is a sort of reflection of that. That shows my personality is quite consistent through everything I do; it's kind of the idea that everything I put out is not super complicated, but quite powerful and quite bright.When I did the last cover [for the Slaves album Take Control], it wasn't my idea to use my painting, but it's made the two tie quite well together. The fact it's so colourful might shock some people, but once they're absorbed in it and it's all around them, it makes sense.
"This piece – 'Take Care' – is going to be the showstopper. When I knew I was doing the show and there's a massive wall at the end, I knew I wanted to make the biggest painting I could, and it's taken me about six months because of the size of it. It took me a couple of days just to make the stretcher and prime it; it's been a proper commitment. But it sums up everything I've done until this point of my career. That original painting was one of the first I ever did, and I got it at home and was like and I want to repaint it into the story of my work, its got a bit of all my paintings in n the show in it. I think you're only the third person to see it finished