J. King the Artist | Coming Together
“There’s so much more power when we come together”.
J. King the Artist won’t be mistaken as anything but. His calm demeanour shines through his work, and was instantly felt when we stepped into his office at Buspace Studios. The confidence in his art also is undeniable.
“What’s your real name?”
I ask this in a jokey, almost challenging tone, to find that his name is no joke. “King”, he answers seriously. Well I can’t argue with that, I thought to myself.
If you watch the video interview on YouTube, you’ll see King has his hood up. The interview is very spontaneous, so King hasn’t had time to get a trim beforehand. Lads, you know the struggle. Nonetheless, the hood gave an avant garde look and was almost metaphorical - we can see King’s experiences through his art, but no-one will ever know his full story like he does.
King gave us a look into the influences behind his art and his own experiences. You’ll notice the messages on his canvases - affirmations or reminders of hope - and start to grasp his vision in what he creates. King’s art is mostly inspired by music. His pieces comprise of a silhouette-like drawing of a face (usually of a rapper) with a galaxy of words and symbols around it, done in white chalk and white paint on a black background. His art gives the beholder a good dose of what society needs; signs that we do in fact relate and need each other as human beings. King shows us that “there’s so much more power when you come together”. We often forget how vital we are for each other’s survival, so it’s about time we had artists like King. Not only does he reiterate this in his art, he also organises events for us to do art together and exercise that fact. We need this healthy collaberative energy to transcend into solving bigger issues (like our climate crisis!).
We know that The Art of Sounds is one of King’s platforms. The Button Bashers (@dabuttonbashers) and the Ching Gang (@ching_gang) are other enterprises that he contributes to. Ching share their art on one collective IG page, doing talks for BBC Radio London, hosting a myriad of events throughout the year, and frankly turning the whole concept of a gang on it’s head. This is especially important considering Ching produce art mostly inspired by black culture.
With the whirlwind of 2020 finally before us, J. King the Artist is definitely one to watch, so we highly recommend keeping a close eye on his events if you’re into art fusion.
Head to YouTube for the full-length interview, where King talks in more detail about his journey thus far. If you missed The Art of Slow Jams opening party last Friday, you can still catch the closing party this Friday 6th March. See you there.