eskaart1's photostream

My name is Eska and I was born on 28th December 1982 in Zywiec, south Poland.
I have been drawing landscapes and people since I can remember. Till today in my family house, there is my painting from this period. Unfortunately none of my contemporaries shared this passion in those days. And lack of support from my art teacher didn't help to keep my motivation to pursue this passion. I always dreamed of studying Art at a university after graduating from my college but it was impossible at the time.
My adventure with graffiti stared when I was 13. I got 'brain damage' magazine featuring Polish and foreign graffiti scene, photos and news which left huge impression on me. I started to believe that I can do the same. With my cousin we started to paint as HCS (hardcore style crew). That was when my tag ESKA was born.
At the beginning I was using simple letters and tags in only three colours: white, black and chrome. At the time we didn't have access to professional paints so we used low quality car sprays. To get various effects we used tips from perfume bottles. We painted on buildings, , very often around rail tracks and usually illegally. Illegal graffiti is pure excitement that comes with adrenaline.I was arrested several times.
My passion changed into obsession, my works and tags appeared more and more often around the town. I met more people, I started to be recognized and my style matured. My inspirations were works from around the world, mainly from New York. From bubble form through blockbuster, chromes, characters to wild style, I was showing my skills on various events and jams. In my works I always tried to show my own style and not to follow a mainstream. At the time the new idea was born to change flat letters to three dimensional ones, introducing something new, breaking barriers.
Aged 18 I moved to London wanting to find a job and meet people like me, writers and other artists. It took some time to acclimatize in new surroundings. Busy with work I had less time for graffiti and, as a result, I was less visible.
Here, I met love of my life and the birth of our son made a huge change in our lives and in my approach towards graffiti. I started to paint again, I met new people, i.e. Teaser (RFK, BNA) I met Ebee (BNA, KD) as well.
I started to be involved in lots of events. On 27th March 2009 I organized 'jam art against crime' in Southbank in central London, where I invited writers from UK, Sweden and France. It was the time of increased knife crimes among young people in London and I wanted to show that by using your creativity and skills you can gain respect on the street. After that event I was contacted by Pikto and we decided to do next jam together - Splash Art Session, which was to bring and inspire new writers and artists. SAS was a big success and since then is organised every year.
The same year I was invited by Punch Drunk Crew to take a part in Tunnel 228, event organized and sponsored by Kevin Spacey. I had a pleasure to work with many well known writers, street artists and other people involved in art. It was a magnificent experience.
Painting regularly with artists like Ebee, Pikto and Trans, we decided to create TND Crew (The Next Dimension) which is appreciated for its 3D and photorealistic graffiti. Together with crew as well as individually I am invited for biggest international events like Meeting of Styles Mainz castle in Germany, MOS in London, Up Fest in Bristol.
Thanks to my creativity, hard work and co-operation with other artists I have become a well known and recognized graffiti artist in London and around the world.