Above Releases The Latest From His Series Of Cut The Record

1xRun: Tell us a little bit about these pieces. Were they created solely for this release or was there an original piece created?
Above: The Cut The Record series was made solely for this release, and there is an original piece. However I made these as part of my most recent exhibition Remix. The Cut The Record series was a very personal series for me, as I selected 10 of my favorite musicians to portray and Remix. All of the 10 musicians I selected to make for this series are personal favorites of mine. Music I actually listen to on a day to day basis.

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1xRun: Were these pieces part of a recent theme, series or show that you had? If so how did it fit into that given grouping?
Above: Yes indeedy! I created the Cut The Record series as part of my Remix exhibition. The theme of my Remix show was a literal definition of taking from one and interchanging it with another. For my exhibition I kinda tweaked the meaning of Remix to fit the swapping and sampling of different, but similar pieces of wood cuts I had made on the pieces. With the 10 Musicians I selected for the Cut The Record series have either had their music remixed, and or remix music themselves.

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1xRun: What made you choose Michael Jackson?
Above: The fact that he’s the king of pop!

1xRUN: What materials were used to create these pieces with?
Above: For the Original and the 5 HPM’s I started with 1/4 thick birch wood panel. I painted each piece with a variety of colours, using latex paint and spray paint. Once dried I screen printed a black halftone of the face that you see on the artwork. For the original I had colour trapped with a stencil the silhouette of Jay-Z’s face and added some extra special treatment.

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With the 5 HPM’s I had them custom laser cut in concentric circles. I wanted the final piece to resemble a record. Actually the size of the HPM are the same size as a record. With the HPM’s I had then interchanged the cuts between the 5 different coloured records to get the effect you see on those pieces. I sealed the larger original records and the 5 smaller HPM records with industrial resin. The resin seals and preserves the artworks, while making the colours pop out with more intensity. The best of both worlds!

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1xRun: When were these pieces created and how long did they take to complete?

Above: I created these pieces in November 2014 in conjunction with my solo exhibition Remix.

1xRun: Tell us how the idea and execution came about?
Above: The concept was logical as my Remix exhibition needed that musical touch to the body of work.

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1xRun: Why should people buy these pieces?
Above: Because you’re a Michael Jackson fan.

1xRun: Describe this series in one gut reaction word.
Above: Moonwalk

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1xRun: Where else can people find you?
Above: WebsiteInstagram@abovestudio – Twitter@abovestudio

– Click here to view more original artwork from Above’s solo exhibition “Remix.” –

-1xRUN