sunshine sunday biscuits: May 2010

How did you guys come together as Cum*?
We are three friends that go way back. We've all been interested and involved in graphic design/art/graffiti for some years now. We started making graphic work together and became simultaneously interested in the stencil and street art thing.

How did the name and concept for Cum* develop?
After one of us did a stencil of a pin-up girl, we came up with the whole 'erotic street entertainment' idea. We thought Cum was a perfect name for this, because of the enormous amount of times this word is mentioned in the adult entertainment and because of its meaning of course. Also the letters are perfect to cut out and stencil.

Do either of you have street art backgrounds other than Cum*?
We had made some random stencils and stickers before, but never a real concept.

How has Cum* developed your skills as a street artist?
Our skills in making stencils have improved a lot since we began of course, but also our graphic skills have evolved.

Where does your responsibility lie when it comes to the Cum* project, for yourselves or for the pedestrians?
We think about that a lot; first, most of our work is erotic and a smaller part of it is pornographic. Of course there's a thin line between those two. But we try to put the erotic work in the streets and use the more pornographic work in other projects. But we always try to keep it tasteful. We have a boundary set for ourselves that we try not to cross. Even our most 'x rated' stuff in the street isn't that shocking really, what you see now days on TV or in magazines are much worse. What we bring is a graphic interpretation of these images. We wouldn't feel good if we would just put raw pornographic pictures in the streets.

With the Cum* project it seems like you may have to do some research and think nasty for inspiration. How and where do you do research or gain inspiration for Cum* imagery?
Sex is everywhere around us, so it's not that hard to find inspiration. In the beginning our girlfriends complained sometimes when we were constantly looking for pinup girls to use in our work, but they're really supportive of what we do. But the Cum* project is always a perfect excuse for watching porn.

Has anybody from the pornographic industry approached you guys for illustrations or projects?
No, not yet, but if a decent company would ask, I guess we would consider.
If the police catch you in the act do you feel that they are more inclined to give you a ticket or arrest you because you are not pasting up some cute little bunny rabbit but some bitch with a dick in her face? I guess we are more likely to get fined, as we're not just putting up stencils, but also breaking the law for bringing sexual contents in public.

Do you guys have any close calls with the police or any chase stories?
We've never been arrested (touch wood), but we've had some close calls. Nothing more interesting than your average 'run, jump fences and hide' story.

What areas in Europe would you say that you guys are up significantly?
Most of our stuff is hanging in Belgium, but we've also done some stuff in France, Turkey and Spain. We're hoping to put more work in our neighboring countries; Germany, Holland and France.

Do you have any special or outrageous street campaigns/installations planned for Europe in the near future?
We have a lot of plans, but what or where the next big move will be we don't now yet. It'll also depends on which project or expo will bring us in which county/city.

Is there anything else we should know about Cum*?
That it's sticky.

What can we expect to see from Cum* in the future?
Some more Cum in the streets, but also more graphic work on canvas, wood, cardboard,... and some collaboration with other artists. Thank you, Cum* again.