Article written by Valeria Lasso.
You saw me write about it a few weeks ago and today I’m going to tell you all about my experience.
In case you haven’t had a chance to read that article, Scribble Slam is an artistic event that happens at Ric’s Backyard on the first Sunday of each month. It consists of two artists creating their own masterpiece within a 90-minute time span. They are both given a blank wall and a theme. No one knows the theme until the time has started so they have to come up with what they’re going to make on the spot. They are allowed to use whatever materials they want, from spray paint to acrylics and any style they choose.
After their time is up, three judges and a loud crowd decide who the winner is. Both artists get a chance to explain their artwork and what they were trying to convey with it. It is a very interesting process to watch. Not to mention the 30-minute break that we get in the middle. After the first 45 minutes are up both artists get a small break and the audience gets to listen to a rap battle for half an hour.
This month’s Scribble Slam featured BoHDi (@bohdig) and Blu Art Xinja (@blu.artxinja). They both have very different styles... and ways of dressing. Blu Art Xinja definitely looks like a ninja. His outfit is very fun to look at, with the paintbrushes sticking out of his back like swords. Blu Art Ninja takes the first place if we’re talking about cool outfits.
The event is supposed to start at 6, but does it really? No.
I’m pretty sure they say it starts at six so people can get there by 6:30-ish, which is around the time that it actually starts. I was surprised to see way more people this time around. The atmosphere is very light and carefree. The fact that it wasn’t too cold also helped the situation a lot. My group and I easily found a couple of comfortable couches to sit on, though it was probably because we were there on time. I’m glad we were, because as time passed, the harder it was to get a seat.
The place is lit with dim lights around the area so you won’t feel attacked by any brightness. However, each blank wall has a lamp over it, creating kind of a spotlight for each of the artists. This spotlight is great for looking at the artwork in person, but pretty sh*t if you’re trying to take a good picture.
One of the coolest parts about this experience is when they are just starting their pieces, you have no idea what the hell is going on. Watching the white wall getting hit by the first wave of colours is truly intriguing.
This month’s theme was ‘Time and Space’ and I have to admit I was a little worried for the Blu Art Xinja since when you take a look at his Instagram, basically ALL his art is in blue. Thinking about doing that theme in only one colour seemed rather hard. But, to my surprise, he did use more colours. I’m not sure if I’m okay with that, but sure, we’ll go with it.
As soon as they started, within 10 minutes, I could already tell what Blu Art Xinja was doing, but as for BoDHi, it was a lot harder to decipher. It looked like he knew what he was going to do, but for anyone standing on the sidelines, it all just looked like a bunch of yellow lines being drawn on the wall. For a moment, I actually wondered if he actually knew what he was doing. The first thing that I was able to identify from his piece was an arrow, which I thought would surely belong to a clock.
Going back to Blu Art- okay his name’s too long. We’ll call him the Xinja okay? Okay. Anyways, Xinja was clearly playing around with a few colours, but blue was predominantly there, so at least there’s that…
He made an outline for a person, and that person was clearly inside something along the lines of a capsule or a ship. I have to admit I was not a huge fan of the shapes he used to represent the person, but the colours he was using and the gradient effect he was achieving looked pretty awesome.
As time passed it was becoming clearer to me that BoDHi was making a clock. I could see the arrows of the clock a lot clearer, despite my friends arguing that it was an octopus. I knew it in my heart that it wasn’t.
Once they reached the half-time break we heard a very heated rap battle. Lots of dissing and cursing involved. I’m not the biggest fan of this part of the night, however, this month’s rap battle was way better than last month’s. It’s really fun to listen to the rappers come up with lines that sometimes don’t make a lot of sense, but can surely make you laugh. Some of those verses will forever be engraved in my mind, and I’m not too sure if that’s a good thing. Once the rap battle was over, the artists got back to it.
I got really excited when BoHDi finally put the numbers on the clock because that is when everyone realized I was right and they were wrong about it being an octopus. It was a clock. DUH.
BoDHi was doing great, the colours on his piece were vibrant and hypnotising. As for Xinja, well, let’s just say he wasn’t doing as great. The more he blurred the colours together the messier the piece looked. The concept was awesome, but he was missing something. The only sharp and defined lines were the ones outlining the person and the ship. To me, it was missing that ‘WOAH’ factor.
Now, before I tell you who the winner was (if you haven’t guessed already), take a look at the final pictures and decide who you would pick as a winner.
Images from Instagram.com/scribbleslam
If you’re reading this paragraph it’s because you’ve already picked your winner.
If your winner was BoDHi, then you are absolutely right. He was the night’s winner and I have no complaints. His piece was amazing and displayed a lot of technique and creativity. Hopefully, he’ll be back at yet another Scribble Slam to blow us away with another great masterpiece.
Hopefully, this has encouraged you to check out the event yourself. It’s definitely worth going to. I, for one, know that I’ll keep attending this event, so if you see the Paint the Town team, come up to us and say ‘Hi’, we’d love to chat with you and hear what you have to say about the artworks.
To see more of their work follow them Instagrams:
@bodhig
@blu.artxinja
and follow Scribble Slam to know what’s coming up next!
@scribbleslam
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