Jimmy C - Street Art

Jimmy C (real name - James Cochran) was born on the 4th June 1973 in England. He is an Australian artist best known for his urban narrative paintings and for his drip painting style. He played a key role in the development of the underground graffiti movement in Australia during the late 1980's, and after working on lots of mural commissions and community arts projects, he went on to complete a Masters degree in Visual Arts at the University of South Australia with an interest in urban realist and figurative oil painting. His two interests are graffiti and oil painting and then he started to merge the two , leading to the development of Cochran's signature aerosol pointillist style; portraits or urban landscapes painted entirely from blobs of spray paint. This technique developed into what he called the 'drip paintings' and the 'scribble paintings', made of layers of coloured drips or energetic lines to form vibrant cityscapes and portraits. Cochran now lives in London and his canvases and walls can be viewed in cities across the world. When researching I found this statement from Jimmy C himself. Jimmy C: The urban experience forms my identity as an artist. From an adolescent painting graffiti in the night it was on the railways lines or in the alley ways where I discovered my self and my raison d'etre. I would later come to call my style of painting 'urban realist narrative painting' with a focus on the marginalised human subject. The city does marginalise people, but as a homeless youth traversing the city, opportunistically seeking shelter, food, and paint, I did not feel marginalised. Rather I felt alive at the challenge to survive and to nourish and form an identity. The lessons of the street can be hard, but one adapts quickly, and the graffiti artist is generally a resourceful and elusive shadow in the night. That motivation to walk the railway line each night is probably the same spirit that drives my studio practice today. Except now I have walked the streets of many of the world's capitals, navigating the underground, and traversing concrete under the illuminated neon. It can be an alienating place amongst the crowds, and the exchange or the acknowledgement of a glance in the metro is momentary. This individual in the context of the city becomes the main subject of my painting, articulating a human dignity and complicity; a glimpse of the sacred within the grit and the profane. A mist of aerosol lacquer evokes many memories of my youth and the rite of passage into the night. The memories, like many of the vibrant artworks themselves that once gleamed in the shadows, have now faded or have been covered over. The aerosol can is still my preferred medium, except along the journey I have stepped out of those shadows to see the city in a different light, in turn rendering its forms and impressions onto my canvas. The city for me has continued to be a vital source of inspiration, and as this space continues to expand and mutate with its potential and limitations, the visual dialogue will continue. James Cochran, 2009. Jimmy C came to London in early 2012 and painted this portrait of Bolt a famous sprinter who also ran in the 2012 Olympics on Scalter Street in London.  Jimmy C put this up to celebrate the Olympic games and the 50th anniversary of independence for Jamaica. Bolts face is the main focus but the colourful lines surrounding his faces reminds me f the Olympic colours witch could have been his intention for using those colours, also the way they are shooting from his face suggests to me that this was intentional to point out his is a runner and is very very fast hence the name 'Bolt'. I really like this piece because it reflects on what London is all about witch is being proud of great minds and people from all ethic backgrounds and origins. I like street art witch has a meaning and is not just random graffiti put up for no reason. Here is a video I found on YouTube of Jimmy C painting this street art - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez02vHuNrWU

I found a video on YouTube of an interview between Jimmy C and the boy in the mural, and also of Jimmy C painting the mural - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kogaEPl6FvM#!

The mural is of an 18 year old student from Mitcham and is an unlikely source of inspiration for a famous street artist but Jimmy C who had painted in places like London, Paris and New York was impressed by the student Javon Davies who went to Richmond College he wanted to paint a mural of this in East London.

The portrait shows the 18 year old, Javon Davies with his hood up, staring out into the street. Behind his face are purples, pinks, and oranges blended by squiggles of spray paint, and to his right in the background are buildings on fire. It all began when Javon was walking home from a video shoot for his friend when he saw Jimmy C painting and asked if he could film it, Jimmy was so impressed with the footage he wanted to paint his portrait. The portrait is a bout taking something that could be seen as a negative thing because of the riots in the background and transforming it into a positive experience. The reason why Jimmy C put the riots in the background along with Javons hood being up in the portrait is because he feels that there are negative stereotypes of young people who wear hoodies.

Jimmy C's style of spray painting is really interesting because he uses lots of colours and squiggly lines when he paints building up the layers of paint to create a face. His art is inspirational and very effective in getting its message and meaning across tot he public.