Mr JAGO - UK
Born July 11th 1972
Lives and works in Bristol – England

Mr Jago (just Mr to his friends) is one of The Scrawl Collectives founding members, his unbound creativity has helped drive this agency since the beginning . Mr Jago’s work was heavily influenced by the graffiti scene, this urban feel coupled with a Jago twist has a unique feel that is all its’ own. While studying graphic design in Bristol he met legendary artists Will Barras and Steff Pleatz. He can truly be described as the pioneer of the doodle school, which, has become quite popular and an accepted part of our expanding visual language. Mr Jago is world famous among his contemporaries in the urban art world.

Interview

When did you discover your love and talent for art?
Crawling and then walking. I have drawn and made things ever since I can remember.

Who and what influences your art?
The arrival of b-boy culture as a young gun, comics, Rolf Harris, cartoons, Vaughn bode, Futura 2000. Nature. Travelling, Anything and everything really.

How does the board sports culture influence your art?
Quite a few of my friends skated so I was exposed to the world of the board graphic and beyond.

So were you just the artist in the crew or were you also skating?
I was one of the artists in the crew. I would customise boards and t shirts for friends. I was constantly on a board as a kid in the eighties. It was a lot of fun more for cruising around as I was totally unaware of tricks and stuff at that age. We used to make our own boards from plywood and wheels off of old roller skates. Good honest fun.

How do you feel about wood as a medium?
It is quite a thing to paint on. It grew in the ground after all. I would hate to end up not liking something I had painted on wood. It would feel wrong.

You are very respectful of wood as a material; is nature and preserving it important to you?
Absolutely... I can’t imagine not caring or being interested in the wonders that nature has to offer. There is nothing better.

As an artist, how important are board graphics to you?
I'm not a rider but I do appreciate I would have to have a nice graphic on my board if I was.