SillystreetheartS #9

Hello SillystreetheartS, can you introduce yourself to us ?

Hi, my street name is SillystreetheartS, and I like to make and put 3D street art on the streets. Mostly in Utrecht, the Netherlands, but I have started to paste in other cities and even countries too.

My street art signature is an epoxy heart on a bright red wooden one, usually filled with something…well, silly. But I try to work with other materials as well, as long as they fit on a wooden heart.

Where does your artist name come from?

Because I make hearts, and they are not (always) very serious, I thought it was an appropriate name.

When and why did you decide to expose your creations on the street?

Actually, I remember the exact moment! I love Paris and go there quite often. One of the great things about that city is that it has lots of street art, and the artists there are very creative in their use of materials. Whereas, for example, in NYC there is mostly a spray paint street art scene, in Paris, you see far more paste-ups (I love the work by Ardiff) and three-dimensional street art. One example is someone named Missgreen Grenouille, who combines paste-ups with paper sculptures.

In the Netherlands, I had also seen 3D work by Bunbun, and I was so inspired by these artists that I suddenly, while walking the Paris streets, decided to give it a try myself.

Can you tell us more about your project?

I always wanted to try working with epoxy and thought this was a great opportunity to give it a go.
Since this is a material that you mostly pour with silicon molds, and the only one I had, was a small silicon heart mold to make ice cubes, the heart idea was born. I love to spread some joy and happiness around, so it immediately felt good to explore this further. Hence, the epoxy on the wooden hearts, to be able to mount them on walls.

Why did you choose to create a kind of treasure hunt with your hearts?

The Hearts turned out to be an original idea, and people reacted very positively, so I decided to do a treasure hunt/free art drop once in a while and make random people passing by happy with a silly street heart of their own.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

From art history, random things I see in the streets, and current news like the Covid-19 pandemic.
I like to react to these situations, but most of all, I love to collaborate with other street artists and be inspired by them.

What does Street Art mean to you?

It makes me happy to see great murals, but I love the illegal street art scene the most. To be able to make something creative in a short amount of time is something I admire a lot. It always seems a bit edgy, to the point, and somehow more creative than the official murals.
And they always put a huge smile on my face!

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of social media for artists like you?

I like the interaction with people who react to my work because you don’t usually see reactions in real life.
You paste your art, take a quick picture, and leave, so it’s great to see that people actually appreciate them.

And it’s a great way to come in contact with other street artists because most of the time you don’t know who is behind the (illegal) street art you see in the streets.

I have some great collaborations initiated through Instagram, and people start to find me for commissions as well.

What are your upcoming projects?

One of the projects I personally liked the most was ‘Sweethearts’ where I poured some sweats into an epoxy heart, pasted it on a building, and put the same sweets underneath it for people to enjoy. On a regular basis, I would walk by and put some new sweets there.
It was great to see they were always gone, and felt like I had some kind of interaction with the people who passed by.

I would like to do this more and also find ways to touch other senses. There is an idea for the smell, but I still have to work this out. So many ideas, not enough time…

Last question: do you have any movie, series, or book recommendations?

Great question.

My personal favorite book of all time is « A Prayer for Owen Meany » by John Irving.

And at the moment I would recommend the series « After life » but my all-time favorite is, of course, « Breaking Bad« . Definitely want to do a heart inspired by that story.

But most of all: go to museums! There is so much inspiration and joy found by visiting them, and they need our support, now more than ever!

Thank you for your time !!!

Don’t forget to follow SillystreetheartS on Instagram.

You can discover or rediscover my other Street Art interviews here.