ARTIST FEATURE: Mr Joe Johnson…

Mr Joe Johnson - Mr Joe, AKA Joe Johnson is an Imaginarium artist from East Hull. You’ll usually find him swiggin’ Guinness through a straw outside of Dive, when he’s not pushing buttons at his day job at Siemens.

So, if I were to ask, who is the artist Joe Johnson in one sentence, what would you say?

Errrrrm… I think I'd just say that the artist Joe Johnson is pretty reem.

For those of our readers who are not familiar with your work, your style is pretty unique, how did it develop? And has it changed as you’ve gotten older and completed different projects? 

It's changed so much. I think what I'm doing is a mixture of all of the art phases I've been through since I was a kid. Copying drawings from The Beano... Doing weird collaborations with mates in my early 20's... Super tight detailed stuff... Mad psychedelic freakout stuff... Little sad comics about my life... I learnt from all of that stuff and I feel like it's all kinda rolled into one now. 

Do you have an absolute favourite piece of work and, if so, which one is it and why? 

There's one I did around the time that my Grandma was dying that means a lot to me. Little mushroom guy delivering some flowers to a house. I did a speech bubble and didn't know what to write in it so it stayed blank for a while. After a few days I thought that was maybe exactly what I should write. I think drawing is for feelings that you can’t describe, so I guess that one nailed that in a daft way.

So, you’re off to paint in Sweden soon, can you tell me a little more about this?

A few years ago I went to Amsterdam and painted with a guy called Dotsy who I'd followed on Instagram for a long time. We got on instantly and our paintings just worked with hardly any effort. Everything just made sense! Anyway, I was about to start rambling there, but basically he's from Stockholm and there's a street art festival there every year called Spring Beast and I'm painting that with him. I can't wait! I’m actually writing this on the plane journey hehe…

You’ve just produced some artwork for the band King Gizzard, that’s amazing! Can you tell me a little more about this, how did it come about? 

That was really lucky. They're my favourite band in the world. My mate Ben is from Aus (I flippin love Australians by the way) and he knows them. He did some posters for them last year and recommended me to them. They were "UNBELIEVABLY stoked" with them which was good to hear. Aww man I was so proud of that, I kept crying while I was working on them haha. It was fun but it got pretty intense because I only had about two weeks to do the three of them. I had no idea I could do that much in such little time. 

Not so long ago a certain Noel Fielding was filmed wearing a jumper you designed in collaboration with Wah-Wah Australia! Can you tell me a little more about this and your collaboration with Wah-Wah? And, more importantly, how did it feel seeing such an icon wearing your artwork? 

That was kinda weird that whole thing. I bought a jumper from Wah-Wah years ago and we got talking and just became friends. We wrote to each other a bunch of times and sent each other drawings and stuff. Then after a while she asked me to design a jumper, nearly fell out of my chair, man! Quite a while later she got in touch with me and told me that Noel had bought one, I never expected him to wear it on TV, that was a bit mad that. I think I was more excited about actually having done it than I was about him wearing it. But it was really cool! I got followed and tagged by a load of mental Noel Fielding fan accounts, I knew he was huge but i didn’t realise how obsessed people are. 

Your artwork is pretty iconic throughout the streets and venues of Hull, is location important for you when designing your pieces? 

Thank you! Yes and no I suppose. Like I will just rock up and paint wherever there's a space a lot of the time, but sometimes I will think about the bigger picture. If you can get a good photo of a good painting then that's a bonus innit. There’s a lad in Hull who writes Arnold and he’s great at that!

You’ve designed a lot of pieces for Bankside Gallery, a key network for graffiti and street artists of Hull. How important is it for you to get involved with initiatives like Bankside Gallery? And what do you think it offers for creatives in Hull? 

Yeah it’s great. It’s given everyone plenty of space to just turn up and paint, which is all you need to get started. If you like drawing then just buy some paint and go do it. 

When you start designing a new piece, what is it that inspires you? Do you prefer working to a brief or just letting your ideas flow and seeing what happens? 

I'm mainly inspired by the things that happen to me and the way that I feel. Conversations, relationships, things that make me laugh, break ups, music I'm listening to, things that annoy me, and sometimes dreams.

And it's a bit of both. I like working to a brief of my own. I've got a notes page in my phone that's full of ideas and themes and stuff. It's more rewarding to work on something like that than something that's made up on the spot. Especially if it's something about my life. I feel like you can work stuff out or wrap up segments of your life with a drawing. 

On the flip side of that though, it's good to have fun with art and just make stuff up on the spot. I once read this interview, I can't remember who the artist was, but he said "think on the page, not in your head". I really like that, and it's important to keep that fun & spontaneous aspect there.

As a successful Hull creative, what are your words of wisdom and advice for budding artists in the local area?

Wowee a successful Hull creative, I'm gunna show this to my Mum. 

It’s important that you don't lend yourself to shitty art jobs just to be nice or get your name out there. When people find out you can draw they'll start asking you to do all kinds of crazy stupid stuff like drawings of their kids, tattoo designs or dog portraits (I'm not cacking on those things). If it's not your thing then just politely decline and point them towards your mate that might be able to do it instead! A few years ago I started being really picky about what jobs I take on and learnt how to say no up front and it's been so good for me. If you haven't got time or even if you think the band sounds like todd, just turn it down and you'll feel good for it. 

Have you got any upcoming plans? Any exhibitions we should know about? Any new pieces we can go and see?

Yeah, I’m part of a group show called SAME BUT DIFFERENT at @brew_hull on the 9th December with my special graffiti club members @lets_have_a_skeg & @mike_sprout Gunna be showing favourite pieces from over the last year plus a few new ones. I’ll also be getting 10/10 chimp smashed to try conquer the nerves. Looking forward to it and I hope every single one of my delicious followers can make it I love you!