Alexis "Bust" Stephens
urban artist & dancer
France
His paintings are part of the collections of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne/Switzerland since 2023. They represent the arrival of the Hip-Hop discipline at the Olympic Games. Dance is still the source and driving force for his works that are exhibited internationally (including Street Art Festivals) – be it Los Angeles, Paris, Germany, Indonesia, the Ukraine or Stockholm. Whether they are on canvas or mureals, the topics circle around the same question: how multifaceted can movement be depicted in painting? To this question that man has found the answer. Therefore his creative output makes him one of the most exciting up-and-coming artists in French urban art. It’s noteworthy that he took this route via a detour and with unconventional test series.
Alexis "Bust" Stephens
urban artist & dancer
France
„I remember using a speaker and putting canvas on top of it“, Alexis „Bust“ Stephens told the culture editor of German tv-station SWR, „then turning the music up to find out what happens when I mix painting with music and sound with movement - the different worlds in which I move. So I found my own style.“
The origin of Alexis „Bust“ Stephens‘ special way of fusing abstract expressionism and street art/graffiti is dance. The son of a French mother and an Jamaican father (* 1983 in Paris) „began his artistic journey into Paris‘ urban culture. He quickly attracted attention with his hip-hop style dances and was invited to various competitions and jams in France, Germany and other European countries, where he performed with various dance groups“ (artsper.com). One of these was the artist collective Bang Crew, whose members have different artistic backgrounds: dance, painting, video, photography and music. „I began to paint when, as a dancer, I asked myself how I could transfer the movement from 3D to 2D“, Stephens told swr.de. ‘But it's not just about depicting physical movement, it's also about inner movement, about emotions. After all everything is moving – from the cells to the stars. Even when we’re lying in bed, something is moving in our bodies.“
„His alias ‘Bust the Drip’, a combination of the slang expression ‘to bust a move’ used in dancing and the ‘drips’ (running paint) that often occur in his painting style, dates from the early days of his career“ (prettyportal.de)
„In his works, he transcribes the movements of the dancers in lines and volutes, the bodies twist, stretch, swirl, lengthen before his eyes and under his pencil“, notes frenchartcollection.com. „Recreating the movement of bodies, „Bust“ combines gesture with the projection of paint. Inspired as much by abstract expressionism as by graffiti, his way of painting is extremely gestural and energetic; both technical and instinctive. On canvas, his compositions combine spray, acrylic, pencil... He speaks of his painting as a choreography of lines and traces.“
Alexis „Bust“ Stephens is an admirer of Paul Jackson Pollock (1912-1956). „The American painter was a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement“, knows Wikipedia. „Pollock was widely noticed for his „drip technique“ of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface, enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. It was called all-over peinting and action painting, since he covered the entire canvas and used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a frenetic dancing style.“
While the mixed technique of spray and acrylic paints and oil pastels was still vibrantly colourful at the beginning of this Frenchman‘s career, the strokes in the self-taught artist's more recent works are more reduced, the colours more muted. However, his attitude has remained the same: „It’s important to be open minded to yourself, because once you understand yourself better, you’re probably able to accept others better!“ And cooperations with other artists can widen the personal horizon too - like the one with https://divine-spark.net/creatives/matt-gondek.
Alexis „Bust“ Stephens works and lives in Sucy-en-Brie, located on the outskirts of Paris.
Interview February 2025
Visualization of dynamics: a choreography of lines and traces
INTUITION/IMAGINATION
?: How does intuition present itself to you – in form of a suspicious impression, a spontaneous visualisation or whatever - maybe in dreams?
TO BE HONEST IT IS A SORT OF ACCUMULATION OF INFORMATIONS DURING MY DANCE JOURNEY WHICH IS STILL CONTINUING. IT WAS A WELL OF CAPTATIONS OF BODY IN MOVEMENT DURING A COUPLE OF YEARS PLUS SENSATION OF MY OWN BODY THAT ALLOW ME TO TRANSCRIBE THAT PICTURAL IMPRESSION IN PAINTING AND DRAWING.
ANATOMIC BODY STUDIES ARE COMPLEMENTARY OF ALL THE WORKS THO.
?: Will any ideas be written down immediately and archived?
NOT REALLY. SOME NOTES HERE AND THERE FOR A SPECIAL TOPIC THAT I WOULD LIKE TO PUT DOWN FROM MY MIND TO THE PAPER.
?: How do you come up with good or extraordinary ideas?
I DON’T KNOW IF I REALLY HAVE EXTRAORDINARY IDEAS, I GO WITH THE FLOW ON MY OWN TIME AND SPACE THAT THIS UNIVERSE EXPRESSES TO ME.
?: Do you feel that new creative ideas come as a whole or do you get like a little seed of inspiration that evolves into something else and has to be realized by endless trials and errors in form of constant developments until the final result?
BOTH. IT REALLY DEPENDS WHAT IS ON MY MIND AT THE MOMENT OR WHAT SUBJECT I'M LOOKING AT. I GET MY FEED FROM THE INFORMATION THROUGH INTERNET, SOCIAL MEDIA. IT CAN TOUCH SOMETHING SIMPLE AS DANCERS DANCING OR MORE DEEPLY WITH HISTORICAL TOPIC.
I LIKE IT ONE SHOT. SO I TAKE A CERTAIN THEME TO THINK HOW I WILL ARTICULATE DIFFERENCES IN MY ELEMENT BEFORE I PUT IT ON PAPER OR STRAIGHT ON CANVAS.
?: What if there is a deadline, but no intuition? Does the first fuel the latter maybe?
IT IS TRUE THAT A DEADLINE CAN BE A FUEL TOO, BUT EVEN SO I MANAGE NOW WITH MY COLLABORATORS TO HAVE THE NECESSARY TIME FOR AN EXHIBITION.
INSPIRATION
?: What inspires you and how do you stimulate this special form of imaginativeness?
THE MYSTIC, ARCANES AND OCCULTISM THROUGH THE HUMAN BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT, ENERGIES , MAGNETISM, PHYSICS AND NON PHYSICS.
?: How do you filter between ideas that are worthwhile pursuing and bad ones that you just let go of?
HONESTLY I DO WHAT I FEEL AND FOLLOW MYSELF, KNOWING THAT WHATEVER YOU CREATE OR DO, SOME PEOPLE WILL LOVE IT, SOME WON'T. I THINK THAT'S LIFE (LOL).
?: Does an idea need to appeal to you primarily or is its commercial potential an essential factor?
IT HAS TO APPEAL TO ME FOR SURE.
?: Do you revisit old ideas or check what colleagues or competitors are up to at times?
YES. MORE NOW THAN BEFORE. BUT I DO COME BACK ON SOME STUFF THAT ALREADY EXISTS OR IS CREATED ON MY STOCKS FOR GIVING IT A NEW EXISTENCE WITH MY NEW TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENT.
I'M A COMPETITOR WITH MYSELF!
I EXPRESS MY POINT OF VIEW IN THIS ARTWORLD IN ORDER TO BUILD THE PLAN TO GATHER THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DEEPLY TOUCHED BY WHAT I PROPOSE.
CREATIVITY
?: What time or environment best suits your creative work process — for example, a time and place of tranquility or of pressure?
I THINK BEING WITH MYSELF IN MY STUDIO IS THE PERFECT MOMENT. IT'S THE MOMENT WHERE I CAN BE!
Which path do you take from theory or idea to creation?
I PUT SOME MUSIC ON I OFTEN SAW MYSELF DANCING TO BEFORE EXECUTING ON CANVAS. STOP SMOKING. THEN THINKING, OBSERVING, GOING BACK TO IT AND EATING AT THE SAME TIME (I GUESS MY BRAIN NEEDS SOME SUGAR TO BE ACTIVE - LOL ).
?: What’s better in the realization process — for example, speed and forcing creativity by grasping the magic of the moment or a slow, ripening process for implementation and elaboration?
I'M RICH OF BOTH DEPENDING ON THE MOOD, BUT I HAVE A LITTLE PREFERENCE OF FORCING CREATIVITY ON FREESTYLE. THAT'S A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO AN ESTABLISH IDEA WHERE I KNOW WHERE I GO.
?: How important are self-doubt and criticism by others during such a process?
VERY IMPORTANT TO STICK AWAY FROM WHAT YOU ARE IN. THAT'S SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO ADMIT (LOL), AND VERY INTERESTING, BECAUSE IT GIVES YOU A STRAIGHT FACE OF YOUR EGO.
?: Is it better to be creative on your own, to trust only your own instincts, or to work in a team?
I THINK I'M AN INDIVIDUAL PLAYER DEALING WITH MYSELF TO BE ABLE TO GIVE TO OTHERS.
?: In case of a creative block or, worse, a real failure, how do you get out of such a hole?
IT DOESN’T EXIST FOR ME YET. I MAKE SURE I ALWAYS ENJOY WHAT I'M DOING. I WORK THAT WAY. IF THAT MOMENT OF A CREATIVE BLOCK OR A REAL FAILURE COMES, I WILL DO SOMETHING ELSE MAYBE.
?: Should a creative person always stay true to him- or herself, including taking risks and going against the flow, or must the person, for reasons of commercial survival, make concessions to the demands of the market, the wishes of clients and the audience’s expectations?
WELL THIS IS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE. BECAUSE OF A LOW FINANCIAL SITUATION, I'VE DONE STUFF THAT I WILL NEVER DO AGAIN AND I WILL TRY NOT TO BE CONFRONTED WITH ANYMORE.
I WANT TO EARN MONEY WITH WHAT I DO FOR BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE AS I WANT IT, NOT AS THE WORLD EXPECTS!
?: How are innovation and improvement possible if you’ve established a distinctive style? Is it good to be ahead of your time, even if you hazard not being understood?
THANKS FOR THIS QUESTION. FOR ME IT MEANS THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT ONE CAN BE SO. IT'S THE BEST PALACE TO BE FOR ME. I'LL TAKE THE RISK. LIKE LEX LUTHOR (THE VILLAIN IN 'SUPERMAN' ) SAID ONCE: « IT IS NOT BEING CAREFUL YOU SUCCEED IN LIFE! «
?: Is it good to be ahead of your time, even if you hazard not being understood?
TIME WILL TELL IF I'M AHEAD OR NOT. IN THE LATTER CASE I WILL BE FORGOTTEN ANYWAY. I DELIVER RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW IN BONES AND FLESH. THAT'S ALL I KNOW.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER MY IMPROVEMENT WILL LEAD ME TO THE NEXT STEP. I JUST HOPE TO BE IN NICE PALACES, SUPPORTED BY INFLUENTAL PEOPLE FOR MARKING MY PASSAGE IN THIS LIFETIME.
?: When does the time come to end the creative process, to be content and set the final result free? Or is it always a work-in-progress, with an endless possibility of improvement?
I WISH IT WILL BE A WORK-IN-PROGRESS ALWAYS 'TIL I CANNOT HOLD A BRUSH. OBVIOUSLY I DO NOT HAVE CONTROL ON THAT.
?: How does artificial intelligence change human creativity? And do you? Would will you use it at all?
THIS TECHNOLOGY IS VERY SCARY TO ME. I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO YOU USE THIS TOOL WITH MY ARTCRAFT. HOWEVER I'VE ASKED CHATGPT LIKE AN ORACLE WHAT MY CHANCE OF CAREER IN THE ARTCRAFT ENVIRONMENT WOULD BE LIKE NOWADAYS. IT WAS POSITIVE, BUT IT'S SCARY AND FASCINATING HOW THESE TOOLS ARTICULATE TO ANSWER ANYTHING OR LIVE LIKE A MIRROR OR SO. I NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT.
SUCCESS
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Do you agree with Winston Churchill‘s quote?
I AGREE A 100%.
?: Should or can you resist the temptation to recycle a ‘formula’ you're successful with?
FIRST I NEED TO FIND THIS FORMULA …
?: Is it desirable to create an ultimate or timeless work?
Creating an ultimate work for me comes with the collective understanding of my creations. In other words: I think that it is the world which will decide. I wish to create a piece like that, and leave a footprint in time.
?: Doesn’t “top of the ladder” bring up the question, “What’s next?” — that is, isn’t such a personal peak “the end”?
It is difficult for me to answer that question clearly.
I don't even know when I have achieved my goals. Seeing my art in museums around the world with my children or grandchildren is my leitmotif. Continue to create and carry out sustainable projects. Perhaps convey love through my pictorial expression to advance awareness, contribute to something greater. These would be my wishes.
MY FAVOURITE WORK:
"TOP OF THE CITY". IT'S SYMBOLIC: HUMANS BIGGER THAN THE CITY IN THIS ROOF TOP SPOT, FLOATING IN THE AIR DEPICTING ANOTHER STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
