Imon Boy
Graffiti life in tender candy technicolour.
“I consider myself a person who paints. When I paint or draw I introduce many concepts from the world of graffiti, and from outside of it.”
Imon Boy collapses the boundaries between graffiti and fine art. His paintings and drawings appear on canvas, paper and city walls alike. Boy himself is usually the main protagonist – tagging trains, caught by police or relaxing with friends on the beach in his hometown, Málaga. The fluid, cartoon style is accentuated by candy colours and smooth surfaces. Boy’s first port of call for inspiration is the internet, along with video games, film and anime. Boy also joins the likes of Banksy, ZEVS and Shepard Fairey in crossover art fame. A rebel at heart, he relishes being called a ‘toy’ – a name g...
Imon Boy collapses the boundaries between graffiti and fine art. His paintings and drawings appear on canvas, paper and city walls alike. Boy himself is usually the main protagonist – tagging trains, caught by police or relaxing with friends on the beach in his hometown, Málaga. The fluid, cartoon style is accentuated by candy colours and smooth surfaces. Boy’s first port of call for inspiration is the internet, along with video games, film and anime. Boy also joins the likes of Banksy, ZEVS and Shepard Fairey in crossover art fame. A rebel at heart, he relishes being called a ‘toy’ – a name given to artists who break the codes and rules of graffiti culture.
Through art, Boy explores the omnipresence of digital life. His figures are portrayed in the glow of laptops, mobile phone screens or moonlight. They watch internet memes, video games and social media, and the perspectives he creates are flat and screen-like too. Boy often repeats the same work in different ways, much like “movie clips” or the endless scroll of a feed. As such, the works act as diaries of virtual moments and cheeky graffiti ventures – highlighting a contemporary world still longing for authentic connection.
Imon Boy (he/him) was born in 1991 in Malaga, Spain where he continues to live and work.
Once, Boy was caught tagging by an undercover cop. She told him to remain calm because, actually, she was a fan of his work from Instagram. She then gave him her number. But Boy freaked out, lost the number, and regretted it ever since!
The artist has been fascinated by space ever since he was a child. He has a PhD in physics and space science (astronomy), and always aspired to be an astronaut. Sadly he exceeded the maximum height limit by a few centimetres.
