Hazul sharing thoughts with you!

Hazul, the Porto based artist, shared his thoughts with us on a wide range of topics, such as his art and his future plans. Inspired by ancient civilizations and nature his art contains symbolisms, mysticism and a surreal style he brings from other worlds. His secret? Adapting…

-What you choose to drink? Coffee, Tea, Beer, Soda or something else?
Wine: white, red or muscat. It depends on the time of day

-Introduce yourself
Porto’s self-taught artist who paints and does many other things

– Where does your tag name come from?
It comes from the color blue (azul in Portuguese), comes from the beginning and the end (a + z), comes from the anagram luza, which is linked to Portuguese culture (Luzitania), comes also from light (luz) and many other meanings and relations.

-How do you define yourself? Artist? Street artist? Anything else?
Mainly as “painter” and sometimes “artist”

– How did it all start for you, and what is it nowadays?
I started to paint graffiti in 1997, only letters. Over time I changed the style, aesthetics and message, but always keeping the painting on the street. From 2007 I rented a studio and started painting on other media, like canvas . At this moment I divide the works between the street and the gallery

-What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
I do not do much else in the morning apart from checking emails and messages.

-Street art is mostly a visually stimulating form of art. To add one more sense to it, what music would you pick to accompany your art work?
That is difficult to define, because my work has a bit of tribal, a bit of psychedelic but at the same time there is something urban and contemporary. So it had to be a mix of psychedelic with chill out, with hip hop, with folk and classical music. Is there music like this?

-In all forms of art, inspiration is crucial. What is it that inspires you?
Mainly primitive art of ancient civilizations (Egypt, Chinese, Mayans) but also more recent things like the modernists and abstractionists of the early twentieth century and of course the whole movement of graffiti. Besides that, the animal and mineral kingdom is also very inspiring.

-What is the hardest part while working on a piece of art?
When I work in a studio the process is quiet because I do not have great pressure and I can experience it quietly.
When we paint murals the process is different and we are faced with several constraints and sometimes it is not easy to paint what we had projected because of the scaffold or the weather. Adapting is the word.

-Do you have an artist(s) you admire and what for?
Yes, I like and I accompany many artists but for different reasons. Some because I know it personally, others because I discovered it on the internet. Everyone inspires me in some way.

-Which cities are the most inspiring for you?
At this moment I work especially in Porto and in Paris. Porto because it’s my hometown, Paris because I love the artistic movement that exists. I have visited other cities but these are my chosen at the moment.

-What other passions do you have apart from art?
Read about ancient civilizations, about symbology, about magic and about the stars.
Traveling is also a great pleasure.

-Do you have a wild project that you dream of achieving some day?
No, because being an artist and being able to live on it would be the wildest project I could have dreamed of. I’m good for now.

-Tell us about your art, does it include symbolisms, messages or repeated patterns?
Yes, the symbolism has great importance in my work because I make use of the dream, the mystic and the fantasy and this is only possible to express through symbols. Some elements are also surreal which means that it has no correspondence in the real world. In this case the message is always subjective.

-What do people first think of, or feel, when they see one of your works on the street?
This you have to ask people. Each person interprets in his own way, depending on the knowledge within him. But I hope you feel something nice and mysterious.

-Do you have a secret you would like to share with us? 🙂
There are no big secrets. The only thing hidden is the various meanings of each work, they have several layers beyond what people normally see.

-What are your creative plans for the future?
Keep doing what I like.

-Is there a specific thought or message you would like to pass to our audience out there?
My main message is in my works.
In addition, I think that each person has his own way and I hope that everyone will find it with joy.

Thank you Hazul! It’s been great to get to know more about the mind and person behind such talented and inspiring works.

‘’I Support Street Art’’ team.