November 6, 2020
Madrats.
That's what they call themselves. A group of street artist in Negros comprising of 7 individuals with different personalities and styles banded together for the same reason - the creative urge to leave one's mark on the streets of Negros.
As Madrats, they are not just a group; they are a brand representing creativity, authenticity, diversity and freedom.
You may have seen their works creeping along alleys, sitting across McDonalds or silently waiting for an audience on abandoned buildings.
But who are they really? Let’s unravel Tres, Kuris, Amok, Groove, Isla, and Sleep.
Artist Name: TRES
Piece Title: Sugar Rush
Style: Organic/Soft Letters
Tres is one of Madrats' founders. He grew up in a family of artists and he’s the only one who pursued this type of art movement. "I felt like I had a lot to prove to them so I took a different path”, said Tres.
He wanted to set his works apart from other typical wild style graffiti so he developed a method of using soft letters with vibrant colors plus his signature sweet toppings like icing, doughnuts, cake sprinkle and some of our favorite sweets. His goal is to catch the attention of the public and provide them daily sweetness, in that way he could at least lighten their days up.
He said that the donuts theme is to honor his mom's passing – her favorite sweet was donuts and by putting it into his pieces she is always a part of his art. “My mom has always been my inspiration", he added.
Karingkay, one of the veterans from Cebu also gave him the inspiration for a “sweet" kind of art. Another one is Boogie of SML from Belgium, one of the finest artists he knows in the graffiti scene.
Artist name: KURIS
Piece Title: Acidic
According to Kuris, his style varies depending on his mood while he's sketching but he usually uses soft and hard letters. If you follow his work you will notice that his letter R is always different from the other letters because R is the center of his piece.
"The first thing a normal person sees in an artwork is the middle or center; focusing on the center of the art will enable a person to see the value of its left and rights side's style and color", said Kuris.
For him, Madrats is a representation of their attitude and style, it is where they belong. That's why his crew is his biggest inspiration in making his art.
The artists who inspired him were GHOST, RASKO, DOKE, and also the crew SDK, he saw these international artists on YouTube which led him to enter the scene way back 2014; these You Tubers served as his mentors.
Artist name: AMOK
Piece Title: MAMBA STYLE
"I'm not really sure where my style came from."
That’s the first thing Amok said when he was asked where he got his style. Some people might say that he imitated his letters from other artists but as a newbie on this scene there is no denying that he is always trying to do his best to create his own style and pursue his passion.
"Seeing young people pursue this art makes me happy", said Amok.
His first Inspiration was MHIKHO from Talisay City, known to be a hard ass bomber but now he takes inspiration from the works of international artists such as MOBAR, PHET, VKOETER, TOREN, and much more.
Artist name: GROOVE
Piece Title: Bio-organic inspired piece.
He is known for his freestyle method. Groove is the type to just go with the flow. Not having enough time to sketch beforehand Groove likes to let his brain do the work and let his arms move at its own pace. He usually just does the ideas that pops on his mind and then just adds toppings and lines.
"Most of the time I even surprise myself for the things that I can come up with", he admitted.
The person he looked up to be is foreign graffiti artists. They are the ones who really gave him the hype to do wild things in graffiti; they are SOFLES, SKOR, and DOES but when it comes to local graffiti artists, its NAPPER, WIZO, EZZEK who does the job.
Artist name: ISLA
Piece title: Untitled
Isla is the only female member of Madrats.
For her, it all started with a cartoon-ish vibe during her Junior High years. After developing skills in oil paint and watercolor she started to incorporate more touches of fundamentals, such as shadows, contrast, balance and more. Spending years of practice, it developed into a gorier but somehow dreamy or whimsical style.
According to her, the evolution of her art is still in progress and her style is greatly influenced by music and life experiences.
"It's hard for me to acknowledge the art style I have now. I can still see changes in every painting I do and I think it's a good sign," said Isla.
Her first inspiration for her art was Ghibli animation. She loved how it triggers a nostalgia feeling whenever she watches their movies. But when it comes to visuals, she doesn't want her art to have the same Ghibli vibe – what she wants is to capture the feelings she gets every time she watches Ghibli movies.
One of the reasons why she always makes female characters with pale skin and reddish eyes is because of the music she enjoyed listening to when she was in Junior High – All Time Low, Green Day, My Chemical Romance with a weird mix of Bugoy na Koykoy. "It awakens the rebellious part of her," she added.
There were also some artists who inspired her but they did not directly affect her art. It was her personality that was changed through working with various artists.
Not only did these inspirations aid her in her art, but one of the most valuable lessons she learned from these individuals is that before anything else, she must first make herself better.
Artist Name: SLEEP
Piece Title: Blued
Sleep is the neophyte of the group. Because he is a beginner, he is still developing his style. He only got a few chances to create a few pieces and explore his style.
"I’m in the process of discovering how to make my pieces dope and messier," said Sleep.
Blued is his first formal piece because in the past years he's more on the same tags and throws. His style is focused on doing uniform letter structure and angle to flow his letters.
The biggest inspiration and influence in his graffiti is DARK ASS. Because of him he learned many ideas about how to improve his graffiti style and bombing in the streets.
Photos courtesy of Madrat's Facebook page
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