We have a complete complete fascination with artists working with stencils at the moment, as is obvious by some of our recent interviews. Having spoken to Joshua Smith from Adelaide, Bennett in Sydney (who uses stencilling in his amazing multilayered words) and having spent some time talking to and hanging out with Canberras E.L.K. who was down for his exhibition here in Melbourne, it seems only fitting that we cover a Melbourne artist working with stencils as well. One name that keeps coming up in conjunction with stencil art in Melbourne, and Australia, these days, is Kirpy – luckily for us also, as he’s launching a solo exhibition this Thursday night.

Kirpys work has been displayed around the traps for some time, and his greyscale paletted stencils are immediately recognisable, and there is no doubt that his is a rising talented amongst the Australian stencil artist ilk. His past experimentation has also seen him create an entire canvas from metcards (train and tram tickets), which resulted in a holistically cool piece. For his upcoming show, Kirpy will also delving into some colour work, and will also be displaying some photographic pieces that he has used for inspiration, and his work is continually evolving.

Artists like Kirpy, who are continually pushing the craft of stencil art to further highs, are often engaging their viewers in new representational  concepts of both their urban and internal environments.

Invurt caught up with the man last week, and, we’re happy to say, got a bit more background into this effectual artists obsessions, and compulsions …

What were the first stencils you saw, that made an impact and that you remember to today? What made you want to embark upon becoming a stencil artist yourself?

The first stencils I remember noticing were around 2004 in Melbourne around places like Hosier and Canada Lanes. I remember seeing work from people like Meek, HaHa, Rone and Meggs – and I gradually tracked down more around Melbourne, and on the internet.

Stencilrevolution.com was a stencil website that around then I would spend a lot of time checking out and seeing more work from Melbourne artists and overseas – I guess that what gave me the initial interest in creating my own work.

You are fairly advanced in terms of your stencil work, and you are about mid way through your fine arts degree – how do you find that study and the educational environment affects your work as a stencil artist who has already found a unique style? What do you take away from it to add to your work?

To be honest I haven’t had the opportunity to do any stencil work for the course, it’s been a little restricting and frustrating but has also proved to be a good opportunity to expand into other mediums. I think the biggest element I’ve been able to take away from it is through the photography subjects which reflects on my stencils.

Tell us a bit about your palettes for your stencil work? A lot of what we’ve seen in the past tends towards the monochrome or various grey scales – is this a visual interpretation of mood or situation?

Everything looks better in black and white! Just found its a colour scheme that works well with my images, however I’ve experimented a bit recently with colours in my work and I think that’s going to be a big element in future work.

In terms of technique, if someone was to ask you to give them some advice on stencilling, and the major do’s and don’ts that they may not be aware of when starting out, what would they be?

Patience, persistence, and if it’s not up to scratch, don’t make it public!

Talking tools for a moment – as far as we’re aware you usually work on cutting out paper, and don’t get too many uses out of your stencil layers – what do you think are the pros and cons of having limited works of your pieces able to be stencilled, as opposed to say, working with acetate and having many? Is it a quality thing or are there different feels to the way each different stencil medium produces a piece of work?

For all my work I just use regular office paper. For me it’s the easiest thing to cut into, and get the most detail – I like the delicacy and fragility of it. I  keep each stencil to a minimum of reproductions, and working with a material like paper, which easily deteriorates, ensures this.

KIRPY | Obsessive Compulsive Preview from Carl Allison on Vimeo.

How do you put yourself in the zone when you’re working? Stencilling can be a labour intensive task – do you find it repetitive and mind numbing at times, cutting out tiny slices of paper, or is it more of a thought evoking process? I’m guessing music may be ever present …

Lots and lots and lots of music. It’s ridiculously repetitive but can be somewhat meditational. Sometimes I can sit for hours straight just cutting, other times I get distracted and find my mind wandering and give up after half an hour.

Recently, I had to meet a deadline for a piece, so I cut for way too many hours straight  – my shoulder gave up on me, and I was in a decent amount of pain for the next week.

You have a solo show coming up at 1000 Pound Bend pretty soon – Obsessive Compulsive – will this be a singular exploration fo theme or more of a showcase of the work that you do and the processes you do them in? Tell us a bit more about it …

Through the show I’m presenting my largest body of work yet over a range of mediums. The title ‘Obsessive Compulsive’ refers to both the process in which I create my work and the ideas behind it. My working process is very obsessive and ordered, and the subject matter reflects my compulsions.

Whether its the obsessive mentality that goes with doing graffiti, the obsession I have with travelling overseas or simply around Melbourne, I’ve aimed to reflect this in the work.

You’ve had work in a few shows in the past, notably we recall your amazing work in a bunch of shows last year and a prior solo show- how have these previous shows helped contribute towards your preparation for the upcoming solo?

I had my first solo exhibition and a much smaller scale in December 2008. The reason it’s been so long in between solo shows is just a lack of time due to other things going on, so having a piece or two in a group show was the best way for me to remain active and still get my work out there.

Where would you most like to take your work, and in what direction? After your show, what would you like to tackle?

Larger pieces, more detail and trying out different mediums seems to be the natural progression for me at this stage. After ‘Obsessive Compulsive’ I’ve already got rough ideas for the next solo exhibition, and getting some work exhibited overseas doesn’t seem off the cards either.

I just want to try and remain as active as I can …

Check out the details for the show, and Kirpys site on Tumblr, as well as this cool studio visit over at Just Another Agency.