“I try to fool the eye with paint”: The Dotmaster Interview

Despite the sometimes provocative nature of his work, while still maintaining faith and confidence, Dotmaster is an amazing talent and a truly extraordinary artist. Some would even say an art outlaw who continuously surprises us with his savagely humorous take on popular culture and society.

By using impeccably detailed stencils alongside freehand aerosol skills to create brilliant artworks, he is bridging the gap between art and social activism. His art is ever more relevant in current times, combining irreverent humor and a mischievous sense of mixing things up with an uncanny knack of juxtaposing the unusual with the humdrum – it conveys a tongue-in-cheek playfulness and discombobulation aimed to make us smile.

While making two new murals at Majorca’s Iberostar Grand Portals Nous hotel and the launch of his first NFT art, we’ve asked Dotmaster about his approach to art, his inspirations, the future of street art, and much more.

2B: How did you start? Do you remember your first artwork or mural?

Dotmaster: I Started in the early ’90s in Brighton, doing some small stencils in my local neighborhood. Stencils, stickers, and paste-ups were my first steps in getting my work on the street. I tend to do smaller ground-based work than murals.

2B: What inspires you?
Dotmaster: I am inspired by the everyday and trying to fool the eye with paint.

2B: Have you ever been to Mallorca? Have you painted in Spain before?
Dotmaster: I have been working with the founder of 2B for over 10 years, we’ve done a lot of projects together. One of the most enjoyable ones was the Mallorcan Easter Beach Paint Jam. Set in the stunning little bay of Plaza De Espana, next to Portals Nous, we hosted a paint jam of friends painting a derelict cafe/ice cream parlour where the Grand portals now stands. It was a crazy 48 hours event, where we covered a building set for demolition.

2B: Tell us a place where you always wanted to paint a mural?

Dotmaster: I’d like to paint a lighthouse off the coast somewhere.

2B: If you wanted your message to reach a specific audience in a powerful and transcendent way, where would you make your work or where would you place it?

Dotmaster: I think most artists’ work talks directly to the viewer based on the space it is in. It’s the communication between the eye, an object, and space. Different things work better in different spaces. So the right thing in the right place with the right eye is the most powerful place.

2B:Which technique do you most identify with?

Dotmaster: Stencil mostly, but I use a lot of different techniques and materials for gallery work.

2B: If you weren’t an artist, what would you have been?

Dotmaster: A smuggler.

2B: Do you think that Street Art today has ceased to be transgressive?

Dotmaster: The street is the street and the gallery is the gallery. The gallery has always been part of the establishment and the street is a public and un-mediated space. Street art should evolve with cultural situations and public needs, as well as being a playground for all of our egos, it’s our space.