Mark Madness | From Graffiti to Photography

In 2017 I decided to stop spraying and focus solely and exclusively on photography. Photography has always been present in me and I have always been “behind the scene” with the camera, but it’s not possible to document and paint at the same time. When I was a writer, I always portrayed the scene before or after painting, and on some occasions I got to take photos without painting but I don’t remember exactly when it was the first time that I went only to take photos. I remember one day that I was going to paint and document. The stress of carrying a backpack for the camera and lenses, a backpack for cans, wanting to paint, take photos, change lenses … Until a lens fell to the ground. Luckily, it only got a scratch. That day was enough to make the decision to stop painting and focus only on telling stories through the camera.

For me, “graffiti photoaction” has a father and a mother: Alex Fakso and Martha Cooper. They was my first two influences and those who sparked my interest in wanting to document this scene. I remember when Alex Fakso’s book “Heavy Metal” went on sale in 2006. That for me was the bomb and it still is today. The same thing happens to me with the Subway Art by Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper. Alex and Martha are two photographers that I follow very closely and I love to see how they work. They are my two references. But watch out! There are also other photographers on the scene who know how to transmit sensations and who have taken brutal work. In my collection I have Rafael Rodriguez, Enrique Escandell, Edward Nightingale, Ronald Pizzoferrato, Phil America, Nils Müller, Riky Kiwy, Martyn Mjay …

Barcelona Showdown is the history and lifestyle of graffiti writers in the Barcelona metro. From its beginnings to the present day. The crudest and most real history of the almost forty years of activity in the suburban area of Barcelona. A project with a lot of love and special dedication for the graffiti, photography and my beloved Barcelona community. I have been working hard on this book for years, which, after the COVID-19 pandemic, I am forced together with my team to give it a release date in September. In the book you will find photographs taken by me and photographs of pieces and environment given by the writers who have been or are really active on the scene. illustrations by the super artist and illustrator Alejandro Alonso, the magic in the texts by Jaume Gómez, the professional and pristine layout of Jaume R., the super photo editing made by Mel, the correction of texts with magic wand by Teresa M… Thank you To this super team, to the people who accompany me day by day, to the graffiti writers who have collaborated, the signs of support, the constructive and destructive criticism, I can continue 100% with this exclusive project.

As of today I am finishing a project about a special case in this period of confinement. Nothing related to graffiti. I am also thinking for the near future, to appeal to all photographers who want to be part of Blood & Madness Photos. Blood & Madness Photos is an idea that I have been contemplating for a long time, it will become a group of photographers who want to tell the best stories. Soon I will give more info on my Instagram profile.
On March 13 we had to cancel the opening of the exhibition in the gallery of the ‘Fundación Contorno Urbano’, after declaring the state of alarm. Hopefully when everything goes back to normal, we can open the exhibition with photos, illustrations, talks and beers.

My almost one year stay in Bilbao was incredible. It’s a city that you fall in love with. Its people, its culture, its landscapes. Brutal. I don’t rule out going to live another stage in the future.
I was documenting the current graffiti scene on the EuskoTren rail network together with the most active writers. A very exciting project. It is different from Barcelona. There are hardly any suburban environment and the weather is almost always cold. The rain, the brambles, the mud, are daily adversities. I must also say that the regional police there are very prepared to organize raids. I had to run a couple of times with the writers and dammit… It was time to suffer!
The idea of all this is to show the world what the new era of writers in the EuskoTren network is like, after removing all the old units and modernizing to take a step forward in technological security.