Since prehistoric times, cavemen used to illustrate stories of their daily lives on cave walls. Even with all the advancement we see today living in urban jungles, humans have kept that primal form of art to date. As children, we all remember that as soon as we discovered the powers of pens and markers we began scribbling on the walls of our own homes to leave our mark. We naturally get excited by the idea of marking our territory, our feelings, and whatever else appeals to us.

Graffiti is sometimes regarded as a form of art, while on other occasions considered as vandalism, so we met a graffiti group here in Jeddah to see how they paint their story.

What’s Up: How was the group formed, how did you discover the chemistry between you guys?

Devingel (Yasser): Through an exhibit here in Jeddah, I saw ER’s work there, got impressed by it, the next day I met him, and found DWR’s work of art on that same event. After that we created our group, and called it Just N Time.

WU: Graffiti is so new in Saudi Arabia so as a group, how did you figure that you complement each other’s work?

Devingel (Yasser): Each one of us has his own specialty, and each one contributes to the painting with his own individual style and approach. But as a group, we simply clicked.

WU: How does the work flow in between the three of you, is it segregated in any way?

DWR (Diya): Everyone adds something to end up with a finished painting. For example ER does all the 3D and faces; Devingel handles the tattooing and calligraphy, while I focus on the typography. In the end you get one finished graffiti.

WU: Do you guys think that over time your art is evolving, or would you consider sticking to a certain way of doing graffiti?

Devingel (Yasser): You get to see your old work and tend to improve on that over time, learning from your experience.

WU: So in your opinions, what do you think of graffiti artists here in Jeddah?

DWR (Diya): Graffiti is new to Jeddah, in the past, we used to see people painting their names or even phone numbers on walls, but the whole graffiti movement is still new.

Devingel (Yasser): We have seen them all over town, memories of Abu this, that, or the other, or heartaches messages to a loved one, the list goes on, but that wasn’t real graffiti.

WU: How would you decide whether a location or a wall suits your criteria of being the right spot to place a graffiti?

ER (Ebrahim): It has to be a spot that a lot of people can see, and pass by. But in most cases a client wanting to attract attention to his shop, would ask us to place our graffiti on his wall.

WU: How do you execute the project? Take us through the steps.

ER (Ebrahim): We start with a sketch on paper as a guideline. Then get all the equipment, like sprays, and paints in our bag, we usually get the cheap ones since the whole graffiti can be removed the next day, so there is no point in using the most expensive paints. But we always bring along our iPods to get us in the mood.

WU: How long would a graffiti take to finish?

DWR (Diya): Depends on the size of the wall, it could take between a couple of hours to a couple of days.

WU: Then how could you finish a graffiti on a high-traffic street without attracting attention or being bothered by the authorities?

DWR (Diya): In that case we need to break it down, painting for an hour or so, split, and complete the project over time.

ER (Ebrahim): We put a plan so that each one of us finishes something in the shortest period of time to reach a complete project.

WU: Don’t you get a kick or an adrenaline rush out of working on the street like that?

Devingel (Yasser): This is part of the deal, and it’s part of the fun.

WU: How does a graffiti artist gets his satisfaction?

ER (Ebrahim): After finishing the graffiti we stand away at a distance and watch people’s reaction, sometimes we see people walking to the wall and taking photographs, of themselves or their friends next to it. We also get some feedback from people online.

WU: Is graffiti always associated with underground activities?

Devingel (Yasser): In some countries graffiti artists tend to create their work on governmental buildings, or private property with no previous permission, and that is where graffiti gets associated with vandalism.

WU: Would you like to see an event specially made for graffiti artists to gather and compete against each other in an organized fashion?

DWR (Diya): Of course, then we’ll get the recognition we’re looking for, and learn from each other and compare other graffiti artists’ styles. Plus Jeddah’s municipality has 40 locations set up for organized graffiti work, and that is a great approach to express graffiti art in a civilized way.

WU: Do you get in touch with other graffiti artists from around Jeddah?

Devingel (Yasser): Just online; it is rare when we get to meet on the streets.

WU: How can people reach you for work?

DWR (Diya): Mostly word of mouth, since we are still working on our website. People can also reach us through What’s Up as well, if someone needs some graffiti work done at his home, or on his car.

What’s Up Note:

If you’re interested in getting in touch with the Just N Time group, send an email to: Contact@Whatsupksa.net