Connecting Cultures: WhIsBe Interview

As part of our one-of-a-kind partnership with W1 Curates, we’re interviewing the groundbreaking artists who are part of the on going art program at Hï Ibiza.

WhIsBe is an artist from New York who cut his teeth in the world of street art. His artist name is an abbreviation of “What is Beauty” and he’s known for his pop art-inspired sculptures, composites and digital art pieces. His Vandal Gummy series is a subversive take on gummy bears and has taken different forms, from 25ft sculptures to digital icons. He’s exhibited internationally in Hong Kong, Amsterdam, and Miami, and, in his own words, he sees art as a “catalyst for conversation”.

We sat down with WhIsBe to talk about music, pop art, graffiti culture, and his W1 Curates exhibition at the number one club in the world.

Music for me is more of a tool. I use it as something that helps me create. When I am in the studio, it's kind of like a meditative state. I like to work late at night; less distractions. And it really depends on the mood. I'll listen to anything from house music to rock music to jazz.

Traditionally, I like listening to house music just because it can be very uninterrupted for long periods of time. It kind of allows me to really get into a consistent zone. But I mean, the spectrum for who's inspired and influenced me definitely goes anything from classic rock with the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, and Brian Wilson, to In Search of Sunrise with Tiësto from back-in-the-day, and those classics that I really enjoy.

It might kind of sound a little silly, but there's that expression, “touch grass”. I feel like Ibiza is a place where people come to escape and reconnect with themselves. The expression “touch grass” is essentially like take a minute, pause, and ground yourself. So I went with a classic green for the 7ft sculpture. And then for the little translucent resin sculpture, I went with something that was more like the Northern Lights and something that ties in with the other murals that are on the property.

If I could sum it up in two words, they represent innocence lost. There's a lot of nostalgia that comes with them. And the innocence of a gummy bear is what I like to tie into the theme of my other bodies of work with ‘Innocence Lost’. It’s how we perceive things as kids versus how we perceive those same things as adults.

What I love about the Gummy Bears is they're genderless, ageless, raceless, they're very neutral. So what that allows for, is the audience can identify and create their own story, their own narrative of how they relate to the piece and what story they want to tell.

What I love about doing large-scale work is it really changes the perception of people's experiences with that work. There's something to be said about the 12-inch sculptures where it's more tangible, but I think the term “larger than life” really plays a big role in why I love to do these installations on such a big scale. If I could relate it to the club or concerts and music, it's the same thing. You could have a private viewing with an artist in a very intimate setting and there's something very, very special about that. But there's also something very special about being in the middle of a crowd with 10,000 people, all there for the same reason. Feeling that same electric moment, listening to the music at the same time on the same BPM. That creates an experience that really brings you out of your comfort zone.

One of the really exciting things about digital art is that you don't actually have to fight with physics, or with logistics and limitations. One of the things I love about digital art, or in mediums where I don't have to follow any restrictions, is it's kind of an unlimited capacity.

For me, it's my human journey, it's the human experience. Finding that connection and that deeper meaning. My art allows me to process and translate some of the problems that I don't know how to deal with on an emotional level. I can deal with them throughout my creative process.

I find that a lot of art reflects the past, and pop art reflects the present. A lot of it integrates things that are current and relevant in people's lives at that given time. So I think that really helps them identify with the connection. A lot of people have a hard time relating to art in general because with abstract [art], they don't really know where to begin with that. You know, modernism, cubism, Monet's and Renoir's and the classics are kind of more intellectual and intimidating for people to connect to. So I think pop art is a great starting point for people because they can relate to it from an everyday standpoint. From what's actually happening in their life rather than feeling like they're not educated enough to understand.

When I was growing up, I was told I wasn't a good artist because I couldn't paint or draw what I saw. But what does being an artist even mean? So I actually kind of forgot about that for a while until I got a little bit older and reconnected with that passion and understood what it meant to me. With street art graffiti, you're not asking for people's permission. You're not waiting for opportunities. You're essentially going out and you're creating a world that you want to live in, whether people like it or not. Some people will never like it, sometimes they will and you never really know where it's gonna fall.

To me being a disrupter is just being who I am, regardless of if it's liked or not. I think it's important to always maintain that mentality to do what I believe in and to express to the world how I see it. Not to be cliche, but it's like breathing air, or drinking water to survive. If I'm not creative, then I feel I start to feel blocked and something that doesn't feel right. Once I'm in that flow, there are no wrong answers as long as I'm creating. That's kind of why I say I'm an artist, I'm a disruptor, I'm creative, because it doesn't necessarily mean I'm just doing paintings or sculptures. Sometimes I'm helping other people's visions come to life. Sometimes I help curate experiences. There's a full spectrum and all of that is equally fulfilling.

So that was very much a learn-as-I-go experience. When I started doing straight up graffiti, I didn't know you could sell artwork. I was born in New York City and I grew up in the suburbs. I didn't know you could sell a painting. I didn't know you could sell drawings. I didn't know you could sell silk screens. I'll never forget my first Art Basel, I wasn't showing or anything, but I went down there just to do some tagging. We were doing this mural in this parking lot with some wheatpastes, and people were asking if they could buy some of the posters of mine that they saw on the floor. I was like, sure?! And they're like, could you sign it? And I'm like, uh... sure… That was kind of cool, and then a frame shop in New York gave me an opportunity to sell some pieces. I went to get my stuff framed and they were like, will you sign these to us? And then they sold those pieces. I was like, wow. I could make a living from this. I had no idea!

Showcasing these with Hï Ibiza and with W1 Curates and the digital gallery here, where everybody comes to the club for their own autonomous experience, with their own identity, I think a lot of people will go back into their childhood and memories. Taking a fragment in time and reminding them of that, which usually gets forgotten.

My art pieces, they all have a little bit of me in them. So all these traits, all these characters, the gimp mask excluded [laughs], are a part of something I've encountered throughout my time. That's why I like to create a platform and a narrative for people who might not be able to have that starting point on their own, but once I light the fuse for them, I let them take it from there.