Former graffiti scumbag now sprays church art, but still has no paint on everything

When the non-religious Sander (53) was asked to spray paint a work for the exhibition in the church, he immediately remembered how his teacher used to talk about Noah’s Ark. That became the inspiration for the work, which shows Noah pulling the last man into the ark before the flood floods the world.

The church and graffiti: did that surprise you?

“The church might also want to upgrade a bit. It is quite funny to see that graffiti work is also appreciated in those circles. It is a development that you have seen in recent years. You now have the STREET Museum in Amsterdam, more and more documentation, for example The Dutch Gravitational Library and more graffiti exhibition spaces. Graffiti culture will have a place in art history.”

“Graffiti used to not be seen as art. Graffiti was really born on the street, discovered and made by children. Everyone now says: graffiti is art. But I think the owner of a spray-painted building will not always agree with that. It is also quite controversial: sometimes it is vandalism, sometimes it is art.”

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How did you start with graffiti?

“I saw it on television, including in the documentary STYLE WARS. I soon secretly went into the street with spray cans to tag. It was fun and exciting to do at first, but I have also been caught by the police. “I was loaded into the van with two other boys. We had to go to the police station and spend the night there.”

“At that moment I thought: what a stupid thing I did, I’m not going to do that again. After a while, you get the itch again and you go back to the streets to leave your name. It’s a kind of urge to assert yourself: as a boy you want to show that you can make something. You want to be seen.”

Text continues below the photo of an illegal graffiti work by Sander.

Your company name Paint on Everything. Does this mean that you still sometimes spray graffiti on the street?

“Paint on Everything: that seemed funny to me. It has a double meaning: you shit on everything and cover everything with paint: from tags to murals. And indeed, it never stops completely. When I see a nice spot, I I do it sometimes. Especially when a building is vacant, I like to do my thing. But I no longer have the urge to go out every week to sign up for everything.”