I’ve known RSUME for a couple of years now, and his work has always been something I’ve loved seeing around our city whenever I’ve spotted it. A dedicated and prolific artist with a fresh, clean style that constantly changes up, his work speaks volumes to the passions for graffiti that subsume this city – his pieces are stories told in the dead of night, of letters and colour splayed across concrete rail embankments and listless freight cars.

Paying homage to the writers who made the city a bastion of graffiti, and forging ahead with his own work as statement, RSUME is the embodiment of everything that is fucking great about Melbourne graffiti – drive, gumption and pure, from the heart talent. As the man himself says, its not just about getting up in quantity – its about quality, and like so many other Melbourne writers, he has that in spades.

It’s not often that we repost articles from elsewhere, but every once in a while we see something just deserves the special treatment, and this is one of those times – thanks to MTN Australia and RSUME for letting us share it with our readers, read on for all the down low on one of our favourites of Melbourne graffiti …

Name:

RSUME (Resume) Melbourne, Australia

What crew/s do you represent?

DB. Darling Boys, Dropping Bombs, 42.

When did you start writing?

I’d been mucking around with sketching and tags since I was quite young, however I didn’t really have any understanding of the culture or a wider scene than the basketball court at the end of my street until much later. I started actively painting pieces from 2006

When was your first piece completed?

2006… I did three that night, each one got progressively worse.

What or who were your early influences?

Style Wars, RDC, CI, SDM, AFP, TSF and DTS

Which writers did you look up to back then?

The first writer I ever saw painting was ‘MESK’ CI in 2000, which initially sparked the interested. It was guys like MESS, OZONE and DAZR who showed me what people my own age were doing, that actually got me out there.

What about today?

My mates and crew. It’s always more impressive if it’s someone you know personally doing something that blows you away. Whether its the spot, style or size

Who is the writer you have enjoyed or had the most pleasure or honour painting with?

I met SHEM RDC early on and we became good friends, he mentored me a lot in terms of letter structure and flow. The guy has been painting for over 25 years and still impresses me with his style and commitment.

What do you think about the state of graffiti today as opposed to when you started?

I’m inspired by the people I paint with, I try not to bother myself with the politics of the scene.

That being said, in the last two years there’s been a resurgence locally; lots of writers popping up and moving here.  Heaps of bombing, diverse styles and panels are running more again. A lot of people are crushing it.

What paint did you use back then?

Anything I could get my hands on. Got to love free buff paint on the side of the road

Which is your paint of choice today?

I like mixing scrap tins, making the most with what I’ve got.

What inspires you to keep painting?

That I get to live a pretty crazy lifestyle and the drive to out do myself, always developing and experimenting with style(s)

Have you travelled to paint? If so, where?

I travel up the east coast of Australia a bit, regularly visiting Sydney and Byron Bay. I’ve also travelled and painted throughout Europe

Where was the craziest place you’ve painted? Tell us about it.

Painting solo in Europe when not speaking any of the local languages. Weird scenes played out around train-yards.

There was this one spot in southern Germany. I met up with my contact and he took me to where they were having a party in these decommissioned s-trains just outside the main yard. There was a blow-up pool in the aisle and people were sunbaking on the roofs of the trains while some guy had set up a platform out of the windows with decks mixing tunes. After a swim and a few beers I started painting one of the trains as the sun set. The workers were walking past leaving the main yard, waving and giving the thumbs up. Surreal.

Do you prefer quality or quantity?

Quality, style is king.

Having said that, personally I think the two go hand in hand. I generally paint three to five times a week, that way I can see improvement and feel I’m on point.

If I sit it out for a little bit, for whatever reason, I see my line-work and flow suffer for the break.

Can you tell us any interesting stories from a past mission?

There’s the funny stories and the not so funny, like being threatened with a gun while hiding in someone’s backyard. There was my mate driving down the train tracks in a car, a security guard who was practicing his Jedi training with his flashlight. Once I heard cops describe what I was wearing while copping a chase and re-dressed at someone’s washing line into a pair of chicks board shorts.

A few years back while painting a rooftop in the heart of the city we had only done our fills when I noticed a squad car parked below us with a cop pointing up. Before long there was another car parked in the rear alley. My mate decided to parkour his way down a few levels to suss out a possible exit, he was spotted, made a quick dart to an adjacent building when he fell through a skylight. Minutes later he’s being dragged out of the building by two cops yelling “where’s your mate?!” and not being able to figure out how we got up. I realised they had no idea how to reach me; a stand-off commenced. I spent the next hour trying to beat the high-score on Snake 2 on my phone while they scratched their heads. I heard a sound and peaked over the railing to the scene of this main street being blocked off with barriers, a third police car and the fire brigade, which were now ascending a cherry picker towards me with two cops inside. They were so focused on the front I just missioned down the back of the building.

A few blocks down I bumped into a friend, suggested getting a much deserved beer to which he laughed and said “you’re not getting in anywhere bleeding and covered in mud.”

If you could paint anywhere, where would it be?

The Renaissance era, those guys were boss.

Who would you most like to paint with?

Like minded, good people.

A lot of writers listen to tunes when they are painting legally, what would be on in your headphones?

WuTang again and again … Lately I’ve been digging Action Bronson and Oddisee.

Shout out to the DB boys, everyone else I paint with and my lady

Thanks to MTN Australia

R.I.P Rates

We’d like to give a big thanks to MTN Australia and RSUME for letting us re-post this one up! You can find the original interview over at MTN Australia