Over the weekend, residents in Chippendale woke up to something rather unusual. It’s not everyday that you run into a 20 foot mural of two identical Chicago rappers pashing, and the man responsible for Australia’s latest viral artwork is Scott Marsh.
A visual artist with a background in painting Sydney’s train lines, Scott’s portfolio is mighty impressive: He’s created work for clients including Nike, Reebok and Red Bull, while his solo exhibition Savoir Faire hit Good Space gallery last year. Following the public pandemonium surrounding a mural of Kim Kardashian’s nude selfie in Melbourne, Scott decided to paint her husband – two of them, in fact – locked in a loving embrace. This is an image which previously floated around the meme-centric corners of the internet, but has now been recreated IRL with Scott’s strokes of artistic genius.
Since then, the artwork has gained international attention – gaining serious traction everywhere from The Daily Telegraph to Huffington Post, as well as Complex, Mashable, NME, Brown Cardigan and Reddit. We imagine that the response has been overwhelming, which is why we’re super appreciative of Scott taking some time to answer a few questions about his glorious creation.
See the mural for yourself in Teggs Lane in Chippendale, and read the interview below:
Tell us about what inspired you to create the mural. Did the Kim Kardashian piece in Melbourne play a role in your decision to paint it?
Yeah, the artist Lush got in contact with me trying to find a wall to paint a second Kim Kardashian, he painted at the other end of the wall. I wanted to do something funny that tied in with that theme on the same wall.
The international attention that the piece has been receiving is pretty spectacular. What are some of your favourite comments you’ve gotten thus far?
Its been surreal, one article claimed that I had “put Sydney on the map” so glad i could do that for my home town.
How do you think Kanye West himself would react if he saw it? Do you think he has seen it?
I was contacted by someone claiming to be his management offering me a five figure sum to paint over the mural. I asked for six figures and a lifetime supply of Yeezy Boosts, they are yet to respond.
#puglove #puglife #franklinfox A photo posted by Scott Marsh (@scottie.marsh) on
Are you a Kanye West fan yourself? If so, did you think ‘Yeezus’ sucked?
Yes I’m a huge fan, and yes Yeezus wasn’t his finest work.
You’ve painted quite a few rappers in your past time, including a recent banger of Biggie. What are the chances of a DMX and/or Gucci Mane piece from Scott Marsh?
I have been commissioned to paint a few rappers recently. I have always loved hip-hop so it’s fun, but I’m starting to get a reputation as ‘the rapper guy’ which is definitely something I’m not to keen on. The Biggie piece was commissioned for a good mate and owner of The Lord Gladstone Hotel aka the greatest pub on Earth.
You’ve said that people have been lining up to take selfies with the mural. How does it feel knowing that your work is resonating on that level?
It’s great, people often tag me in photos in front of my work but this has been whole new level, no nude selfie in front of it yet but I have a free artwork up for grabs for the first one.
Tell us about the process of creating the piece – the paint, any obstacles you encountered etc?
To be honest, this is the least effort I have put into a mural, it was a last minute thing I completed in approximately four hours. It’s not really up to scratch in my mind in terms of the technical painting, but it was the concept that was important.
What’s next on the cards for Scott Marsh? How do you plan on topping this piece?
I will be having a secret pop up show in a few months which will be announced via my mailing list. I am painting murals throughout Europe during their summer and traveling to the USA for some other projects after that. My inbox is full of job and commission offers off the back of this, so I’ll be sifting through them as well!
