It always intrigues me just how many people have a not-so-secret obsession with robots. I’m not quite sure where the fascination comes from, but, being one of those people myself, it is no surprise that whenever I encounter Cracked Ink’s work I’m often left with a sly smile. His recognisable black and white monster robots can frequently be seen stomping around the streets of New Zealand, as well as poking their heads around the corners of Melbourne’s most loved alleyways.

His monotone colour palette, droopy arms and gormless stare give Cracked Ink’s characters a distinct personality and presence on a wall – or a rubbish bin! Often seen as part of collaborative murals with fellow Kiwi gems Seekayem, Drypnz, Yels, and City,  the scale of his black and white style often adds a statement of awesome contrast to the more sketchy, colourful approach of the rest of the crew.

Recently in Melbourne to support Seekayem and Yels at the Red Bull Wreckers Yard event, I was stoked to meet up with the man behind Cracked Ink, watch him paint, have a beer, and see first hand how these characters and group walls all come together …

You grew up in the UK, a long way from lil’ old NZ! What inspired the move? Has the change in scene had an effect on your artwork?

Well I came to NZ 5 years ago for a 3 month holiday with my kiwi girlfriend.  You could say I felt the pull of the cruisey lifestyle and all the space, it let me relax after living in Manchester all of those years, it was a welcome change. The move has had a massive effect on my work, mainly with having a lot more time and space to work on it. I live out in the country so it’s great for focus and great for sneaky spots on bridges.

I’ve read that you only started painting when you went to art school. What were you doing before that, and how did you end up getting involved in street art?

I was a little late at getting involved in the street art scene, I guess before that I was trying to find a direction in general art and graphic design courses and other usual teenage business. I’ve always loved doodling but didn’t hit the street until I became good friends with a guy at College who was a keen graffer and tagger so eventually I naturally followed suit and started going out in train tunnels, it was fairly low key and pretty lame to start with but you gotta start somewhere. Before I knew it I was making stencils, stickers and painting large walls, it became a major part of my life.

Were you involved in the street art scene in the UK as well?

Yeah, it all stared over in the UK, but I guess I was still finding my feet and struggling to use a can. Towards the end of my UK days I was certainly becoming more comfortable with what I wanted to portray as a street artist with bold two colour characters which became my trademark style. It has definitely been a life changing experience moving to NZ, I love it.

With a background in the UK, now living in NZ and visits here and there to Australia, are there many differences about the scene between each place? Does it effect the way you approach your work?

NZ has such a small scene but by know means is over shadowed in the quality of artists, there are some amazing street and graff artists coming out of such a small country and its awesome to be a part of it. The Aussie scene is great, I have only made trips to Melbourne so far but still through that and speaking to other street artist, I would say there would be more people that would appreciate street art over there but lil’ old New Zealand is definitely moving in a positive direction. I Love to go back to the UK for visits, but I much prefer being in NZ, the friends I have made and the opportunities that have arrived, I couldn’t ask for more. When your apart of a smaller scene it makes you strive to be one of the best, so you keep up with the those cats across the ditch but , at the end of the day if I’m doing what you love, it doesn’t matter where you are.

With all the monster like characters, I often find myself thinking of zombie like robots when looking at your work. Any particular fascination with either on your part..?

Ha ha, good descriptions. You could say I am inspired by the everyday zombies that roam our streets, people inspire me with there different shapes, sizes, expressions and personalities but I definitely have an obsession with robots which just come to life from general doodling, I’m hooked on producing my very own short circuit, but who wouldn’t be! Johnny 5 is alive. I love the personality and impact the use of a predominantly black and white palette gives your characters. What about black and white interests you? Has it always been this way? For me, black and white is so strong, it pops out on any background I use, I love how it translates from sketchbook to wall and can look the same. I kinda experimented with colour when I started but I guess I struggled a little with it, to me it didn’t suit the characters. Drypnz and Seek used to hassle me about over doing it in the colour scene,they were so right, I tested it but it wasn’t meant to be.

You’ve been involved in a stack of collaborative murals with fellow NZ artists such as Drypnz, Yels and Seekayem (who we interviewed last month) – what is it about creating group pieces you enjoy?

First and for most, there Is nothing more I enjoy, about collaborating, than hanging out with some of your best mates, taking the piss out of each other, painting a wall and walking away at the end of the day feeling stoked with what you’ve produced, I love it.

As a creation, there’s the challenge of incorporating every bodies styles into one, it can be tough sometimes but when you work a lot with the same artist it becomes almost second nature, things just come together naturally, its cool.

Each of these artists have such distinct and different styles. Do you think the opportunity to work alongside them has had much influence on your work or process?

For sure, it’s definitely had a huge influence on my process and my work, we all think and approach a piece in our own way so its great to be able to learn different techniques and processes from some other crazy humans,  they are amazing painters and amazing dudes, I’m pretty lucky to be able to work with them. Watching and learning off the likes of Seek and Drypnz has really helped me to develop my style, and know what works for me – every time I work with those guys I learn something.

We have also been lucky enough to see your work over here in Melbourne at last years Sweet Streets. Can we expect to see you back anytime soon? What are your plans for yourself and your work for the rest of 2011?

Well in between receiving this interview I had a wicked four day painting trip in Melbourne with Seek and Yelz, it was amazing, also it was great to meet and hang with the ‘Invurt Crew’. There was always heaps of opportunity to paint, from Hosier Lane to the backstreets and lane ways, we all had a great time, I would love to come and live in Aussie for a bit.

As far as plans go I’m starting to do some work for a show  that I’m putting on in about 18 months time, not sure where yet but it will be a big time robot show, maybe in Melbs – who knows, open to any offers. I’ve also had a few merchandise opportunities in the States ,so that and other random bits and pieces should keep me pretty busy and drive my work in a good direction. Thank you to everyone for there hospitality when I came to Melbourne, hope to to see you soon.

Aotearoa Skellywag Crew till I die, Fools. haha

You can check out more of Cracked Ink’s fantastic work here