Stik

Without any formal training at art school, Stik began drawing stick figures as a young child and has never since veered from a strikingly simplistic style. Stik worked as an artist’s life model for several years, which he claims allowed him to get to grips with the human anatomy and composition.

Stik, who keeps much of his personal life private, began painting in public places and in the street in his early twenties. The street artist claims, ‘that became an education in itself. I learned from my contemporaries.’

Stik's iconic stick figures first appeared on the streets of Hackney Wick in London in the early 2000s, later spreading to Shoreditch and then west towards the rest of London. For a long time in his career as a graffiti artist, Stik was either squatting or was homeless, and lived at a St Mungo’s hostel in Hackney until 2011.

Still experimenting with his style and materials, Stik's first solo show took place in the NO: ID Gallery, a squatted art space in Shoreditch. The artist explains, ‘I was pretty broke and painted on found materials, pulling things out of rubbish bins.’ His murals of the now famous, androgynous stick/Stik figures were rendered in black and white out of necessity rather than stylistic preference. For these very early murals, all Stik required was a can of black spray paint from Pound Shop and some unwanted white household paint.

In 2008, Stik had his career defining moment when he exhibited his works at famous music and art space, The Foundary in East London. His incredible rise to success is marked by a comment he made on his relationship to the venue, explaining: ‘That was a very important venue to me because I used to clean the toilets there.’

Today, Stik has a coffee table book that outlines his artistic career and has been commissioned by high calibre organisations like the Q Music Awards and The British Council.

In 2014, Stik painted his most famous work, Big Mother, a mural that was located on the side of Charles Hocking House in Action in West London, before its demolition in 2018. At 125ft, this was the tallest mural in Britain, and displayed a poignant image of two iconic Stik figures, a mother carrying her child, against a bright yellow background. Astonishingly, Stik painted this enormous mural by hand by using an airless compressor to apply the paint to the concrete.

Stik has spoken of the way that this important project aimed to address issues at the heart of displaced communities: ‘The mother is looking out to the horizon, wondering whether she’ll go once the building is demolished, while the child’s eyes are fixed on the luxury apartments being built opposite this social housing block. Obviously the child is not going to be living in those apartments – the final destination is unknown. But I also wanted to convey some sort of hope. I think that hope is probably one of the most melancholy of emotions. I tried to convey that in this piece more than most.’

Stik's famous six-line, two-dot figures are partly based on the Japanese calligraphy characters known as kanji. As a teenager he lived in Japan for nearly a year and subsequently took to the style of drawing that characterises kanji, a form of script that is related to shorthand for conveying emotion.

The graffiti artist is also inspired by the tradition of community murals and psychogeography; a concept that considers the behaviour and emotions of people in relation to their environment.

Stik's pared back, yet visually striking figures, work to convey a deep sense of melancholy and emotion in their depiction of human body language. His ability to capture deeply emotive qualities with his seemingly simple technique, is what has secured his rise to fame. Speaking of why he has always portrayed his figures in this way, Stik has explained, ‘Six lines and two dots was the quickest way to draw a human figure without getting caught.’

Location and the people who in the surrounding area are extremely important factors in Stik's rationale for where he paints. Conscious not to occupy space that someone in the community might own, Stik always receives the endorsement of those who live in the area where he makes his street pieces. Most importantly, Stik's work is often community based, representing those who are most marginalised in London and anywhere else he paints.

While Stik keeps much of his personal life private, his identity is less hidden than comparable street artists like Banksy. He welcomes validation for his existence and his work, and therefore does not strictly keep himself out of the public eye. Presenting lectures on the social importance of Street Art and curating graffiti shows, Stik also occasionally appears outside his studio to give talks to the public and enthusiasts.

One aspect of Stik's life that is well-known is that while starting out as a graffiti artist he was homeless. During this period Stik developed an affinity to the Hackney community who helped him find his feet, and he now sees his street art as a way to give back to those who helped him.

Important to Stik's practice is that his street art is not for sale and is free for anyone to see. The artist instead sells his studio pieces and has some noteworthy collectors such as Elton John, Bono, Brian May, Sir Phillip Green and Tinnie Tempeh.

The Stik market is dynamic, especially when he is in the news. Some of STIK's top works have sold for staggering prices, with the preserved section of Big Mother from Charles Hocking House reaching £193,750 at Philip’s New Now auction in 2018, after an estimate of just £25,000-35,000.

Stik's best editions have sold for five-figure sums, with an edition of Sleeping Baby (NHS Blue) fetching £30,000 in March 2020, against an original estimate of just £5,000-7,000.