The physical architecture of the city was a constant inspiration, the elaboration and destruction of each generation contributing to the urban infrastructure. Growing up in Oslo Norway, Martin was an active part of the emerging graffiti scene of the early 90’s. His works can be seen to mirror the rise and fall of the streets, as he symbolically recreates the urban environment, then vandalises it to reveal his vibrant transformations. Over the past decade, Martin has developed an unmistakable aesthetic combining abstract movement with figurative stencilled compositions. Martin Whatson (b.1984) is a Norwegian street artist best known for his calligraphic scribbles in grayscale voids. Martin Whatson calls this piece ’Passé’ as one of the main positions of ballet depicting a beautiful ballerina on a delicate grey background. Welcoming the artist with lots and joy and anticipation the residents of the house invited him for dinner and within 24 hours the mural was finished. Here the artist decided to underline the simplicity and beautiful stringency in color and shape of the multicolored houses creating a delicate ballerina in a multicolored skirt matching perfectly with the red roofs and colored facades. Working on another mural down the road, the big lift had to go for a ride to reach a little green house from the thirties placed in a street with houses in all kinds of colors and red roofs. Martin Whatson | ’Passé’ | Langesgade 9 | Aalborg | Denmark | Photo: Martin Whatson Mixing the two techniques in many layers a very powerful piece has come to life in the streets of Aalborg. The smile on his face tells about the joy of being back on the lift after Covid19 forcing him to take a long break.ĭuring the last few days there has been many trips up and down the 18 meters high wall downtown Aalborg where the artist has just finished his second mural as part of the sixth edition of the mural project ‘Out in the Open’ of the gallery.īridging the gap between spontaneous graffiti and sharply cut stencils Martin Whatson has created two of his first murals this year due to the severe travel restrictions around the world. Martin Whatson dries his forehead while, once again, going down with the lift to talk to people passing by his mural and fill up his basket with more cans. He uses grey tones as a basis and adds vibrant colors to break the monochrome concrete expression so that he could bring a splash of life that accords with his motives.Martin Whatson | ’Rock Climber’ | Søndergade 60C | Aalborg | Denmark | Photo: Michael Kærgaard

His abstract graffiti and stencils are a mix of urban scenes showing the span of a wall’s lifetime. He enjoys creating either unity or conflict among materials, backgrounds, motives, and human intervention. This interest in decay has nourished his style, motives, and composition. He looks for inspiration in people, city landscapes, old buildings, graffiti, posters, and decaying walls. Martin Whatson is continuously urged to search for beauty in what is commonly recognized as ugly, out of style, or left behind. After following graffiti and its development, he started his own stencil production in the winter of 2004. Born in 1984 in Norway, Martin Whatson works and lives in Oslo. While studying Art and Graphic design at Westerdals School of Communication (Oslo), he discovered stencils and became passionate about the urban art scene.

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