ALBAWABA - Yazan Mesmar, a Jordanian professional street artist, speaks to Al Bawaba in an exclusive interview sharing his secrets to success and how he started his career entering the world of graffiti and street artworks.
When did you start your art career?
The Jordanian artist Yazan Mesmar told Al Bawaba that his passion towards art began in 2014 when he participated in a show exhibition which was his main career field before becoming a street artist.
Mesmar used to participate in exhibitions and galleries about like 9 years ago.
What is your favorite graffiti piece that you've painted? And what is the story behind it?
When he was asked what was his favourite art piece, he said that this was a hard question as he loves multiple ones each for a different reason. However, if choosing is a must, the Jordanian artist stated that he would choose "A superhero of our own, the bedouin lady."
In detail, he confirmed that he picked this graffiti as it is painted in the style of a comic book. It was created in 2019 and it was part of Baladk festival which usually takes place every year in Jordan during which artists from many countries gather in Amman to make street art pieces.
What challenges have you faced throughout your graffiti career?
Yazan Mesmar continued to Al Bawaba that the challenges he faced and is facing are like the ones met by other people in the creative section and include a lack of stability and the ability to develop the passion into a full-fledged career.
However, he described himself as "lucky" and a "workaholic" as he had the chance to build a solid career out of his artistic passion. but he further noted that the infrastructure for the artist to create art pieces is not fully developed in the region.
On the other hand, he maintained that in comparison to an earlier era, Jordan; especially Amman, adding that the country has jumped in terms of street art and graffiti as now they become more trendy and common.
The Jordanian artist said that nowadays challenges have almost vanished thanks to social media which played a huge role for people to fully understand what street art and graffiti are about.
How did you get started with graffiti art?
He responded that he started as a classic artist which means, canvas and oils, in 2014, mainly as a studio artist. However, he developed himself and his talents forcing him to drop his canvas, then he started to use walls inside buildings and then his dream got bigger and bigger reaching external huge buildings' walls.
"The want of exaggerating was the reason behind the change from being a normal artist to a graffiti and street artist."
Memorable reactions from people who've seen your graffiti?
In terms of reactions, he said that he holds many feedbacks and reactions in his mind. However, he mainly remembers the reactions of old people who are frightened by street art and how are totally against them.
Mesmar continued to say that, in the beginning, whenever elderly people pass by a project they show their disagreement with what is happening and they passively comment showing dislike for the graffiti. However, when they see the huge changes, they end up changing their minds.
Another story that is still stuck in his mind, once upon a time, the artist was near a school in northern Amman; kids were very curious passing by the artists in the area and they continued to come to see what was happening there.
On the fourth day, students made it a habit to come sit and view new updates in the street art piece. When he went down off the crane and talked to the kids they started yelling and escaping. He then heard one telling his friend: "I told you that he (in reference to Yazan Mesmar) was an Arab."
Yazan explained that people in Jordan usually see these kinds of works linked only to the West and foreign people, but he proved that locals can do it and can be role models to kids to achieve their dreams.
Are there any specific messages you like to convey through your graffiti?
The Jordanian artist said that he likes to take a modern twist on what people know and develop new ideas for the artworks that he is working on. Mesmar said that he takes familiar ideas and puts a huge effort into them to present them in a new, creative way.
Have you ever collaborated with other artists on a graffiti project? If so, what was that experience like?
Mesmar further noted that works as part of a team of artists and collaborates with them on a daily basis. But, in terms of designs, each artist has his own visuals, however, it is a collaboration in terms of working together only.
What are your upcoming projects? or are you working on something new?
The Jordanian creative street artist said that he is currently working on a new project, which is expected to last till the end year. The project is affiliated with the Crown Prince Foundation which is the first of its kind in Jordan.
In the project, artists will be working on 12 murals on different buildings, one inside each province in Jordan. But what is new in the project, is that murals are connected to "augmented reality technology".
In detail, he explained more to Al Bawaba saying each mural is linked to a QR code through which you scan it to your phone and make the mural become "alive" and move in one way or another.
Your advice to kids who dream of becoming graffiti artists?
His advice to kids or new artists is that they have to keep practicing and not be enough with few projects considering that being an artist in Jordan might be hard to take as a life-long career as seen by a great percentage of people.
Another piece of advice, the Jordanian artist Yazan Mesmar maintained that "practising or wearing different hats" to fill gaps in the infrastructure that don't exist is also super important as the artist must be more than just a creative person and might be forced to become something other than creating the artwork and they shall be ready for such situations.
