Video: On the Street with Gasak

Watch a mini-doc about Gasak, a young, socially-conscious graffiti artist from South Africa.

March 10, 2014

Last month, we introduced you to an artist named Gasak from Pietermaritzburg, the quiet capital of the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. In the interview, the 23-year-old opened up about dropping out of high school, making art with sociopolitical implications, and the ever-changing landscape of graffiti culture in South Africa. Today, we're excited to share a new micro-documentary about Gasak; it's a short, audiovisual exploration of his artistic and socially-conscious universe. We also get to see some of the environments where he typically makes art: downtrodden, poverty-stricken settings that benefit from his bursts of color and positive imagery more than we could ever really understand. "Their walls are dull and the environment is dull," Gasak explains in the video's voiceover. "I think color is the most inspiring thing for a community to have." To keep things homegrown, the doc is soundtracked by "If I Die Tonight" by Johannesburg emcee Reason. Watch the whole thing right here, and check back tomorrow for a video of him creating some original art. Remember, you can keep tabs on all of the Obey You Collective: South Africa stories as they unfold over at TheFader.com/Sprite.

Video: On the Street with Gasak