July 7, 2009 at 11:22 am

Street Art by Asbestos – Master of Mixed Media

by twistedsifter

asbestos self portrait street artist Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

Asbestos, self-portrait

 

 
Asbestos is a street artist hailing from Dublin, Ireland. He specializes in mixed media artwork, combining mediums like photography and painting onto found objects (often wood). He then installs these pieces either back onto the streets, or consigns them to gallery wall spaces.

I’m not clear what his exact process is but the end-results are truly incredible. The photographs he incorporates really add a sense of realism, while the wood he uses (found in the streets) really gives the artwork that worn look and provides great texture and contrast.
 

 

asbestos art overflow Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

Overflow – Mixed media on found wood with old book pages pasted on. The background has random written overflows of thought.

 

asbestos street art dr lakra Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

Street art is a little bit like Asbestos. Asbestos is all around us (in the walls and in the fabric of many buildings), but it often goes unnoticed. When we realize that it’s there it really gets our attention, it gets under our skin and we question it, it gets discussed. When I started putting work on the streets that what I wanted my work to do, to become part of the fabric of the city and to cause a reaction that makes people aware of their environment. So hence the name Asbestos.
– from Artasty interview

 

asbestos mixed media artwork Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

Portrait of Conor Harrington, on floor boards found in a skip on Camden St, Dublin, painted onto pages from Vasari’s ‘Lives of the Artists’. There are rusty old nails hammered into his foreheard, found in the same skip. The piece is 1.5m x 1m (59 inches x 39 inches)

 

asbestos street art retreat of reason Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

Retreat of Reason – 140x190cm (55 inches x 75 inches), mixed media painted onto 5 separate pieces that are built from nearly 40 smaller triangles of wood found on streets and beaches in Dublin, Belfast, Kerry and London.

 

asbestos mixed media retreat of reason Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

My background was in art history, studying in Dublin and Rome, but all the time working on my own ideas and skills. I never went to art school, so I’ve had to learn everything off friends or worked it out myself. But I do find it essential to know what came before me and to draw on the these influences. Caravaggio was a great influence as was Velasquez because his skin tones are mesmerizing. But I’ve also been influenced and inspired by the Pop art of Warhol, Raushenberg and Rosenquist
– from Artasty interview

 

asbestos in the streets Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media
From left to right – Amsterdam, East London, Venice

 

“Tagging is the life blood of a city. A clean city feels as if no one has any freedom, it feels as if a population has given up on expressing themselves.”
– from Alarm Press interview

 

asbestos spray cans maelstorm Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

asbestos graff art Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

asbestos street art portrait of brad downey Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

The pieces (above and below) are available for sale at the Zero Cool Gallery. It will cost you though!

 

asbestos zero cool gallery Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

asbestos lost series Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

2 excerpts from Asbestos’ 7-part Lost Series

 

asbestos stencil art jesus saves Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

Stencil Art: Jesus Saves and Distorted Animals

asbestos stencil art distorted animals Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media

 

asbestos vader project vadercide Street Art by Asbestos   Master of Mixed Media
Vadercide – Star Wars Celebration Europe, July 07

 

All images via Asbestos Flickr Page and Asbestos’ personal website: www.theartofasbestos.com