The Railside Street Files: JZN 51 — Graffiti Artist Interview

The Railside Street Files: JZN 51 — Graffiti Artist Interview

What name do you write, and what's the story behind choosing it?

Chur, I write a few different names with the same 3 letters now days, but people know me for painting JZN. The local GI police station know me as JBRONZ from tagging the town center years ago. When I decided to start painting properly again after the second covid lock down, the 6 letters wasn't working for me so I decided to shorten it down to JNZ to save paint then not long after that I changed it but still pronounced it Jae Zed eN. It's also a play on my name Jason... Gunn.

How would you describe your style, and how has it evolved from when you started to now?

I'd describe my style now like comic book cover with a random charo. Before it was just bold letters and then I was put on to Instagram and seen what styles were being painted overseas and I moved more towards the LA and Latin calligraphy style compared to what I was seeing in New Zealand at the time.

Walk us through what goes through your head when you're picking a spot. What makes a spot worth hitting?

I usually paint visible spots around areas I drive around in Auckland. Sometimes I would go look for those walls behind the warehouses or under bridges to paint just to see how long it would last. Outside of Auckland tho it's whenever and where ever because I know won't be coming back anytime soon so I would just pull over if I saw a barn or a bridge on a road trip and hit it then keep going.

I've seen you posting some handy tips for making markers, etc — what's your favourite homemade writing tool?

Favorite homemade writing tool would be the stinger. From aiming and shooting paint pumped to 160psi is dead funny to me.

Who or what shaped the way you paint — writers, crews, cities, photos, films, anything?

The vandalism side of painting was shaped by the youths gang era I grew up in and how the older kids got famous by hitting on everything especially on the back of the 715 and 746 bus. The real graff side took shape in 2nd form when I came across a poster for NZ boost mobile hook it up tour and it had a wild style with a monster on the harbor bridge and I used to practice that style in the back of my school books while in class. By that time as a teen I started noticing burners popping up in the neighborhood and seeing graff in music videos and also video games. I used to sketch and tag a lot when I was young but then later on lost interest and started getting into trouble.

Tags, throw-ups, or full pieces — what do you gravitate toward most, and why?

Full pieces but I like to walk around and tag or chuck up a dusty fill, but I like doing full pieces to experiment or to do charos.

Is there one mission or night out painting that still stands out above all the others — good or bad? What happened?

Walking the beam of a bridge over Tamaki River trying not to fall was funny. A couple roof tops and bush hike missions were memorable too just for the fact of getting out there and taking in the views around the North Island. I've been chased a few times, playing spotlight in the dark with security and community patrol but I haven't been snapped. I've been caught racking paint by loss and prevention a few times with no dramas but other than that nothing bad has really happened.

How do you think the scene has changed since you started — what's better, what's worse?

I think it's still the same to how it was when I was on the come up after the second covid lockdown. The better things that changed now is that more writers are starting a side hustle and getting paid for it which is cool, especially when I know that guy was creeping the tracks or jumped the farmers fence too. The worst part is the constant biting and online beefs then nothing happens in real life, and also the costs to go out and paint suck ass now.

Is there one piece, tag, throw-up, wall, sketch, train flick, or photo that still means something to you? What makes it stand out?

The Darth Vader joint sticks with because the bro was showing me how to layer paint colors to make some cool effects which helped me. Another one that stands out to me is Magneto having dots because some random posted it online and it made them and a few others laugh.

What's next for you — more walls, bombing, pieces, travel, or anything else in the works?

I'm trying to slow down and stop writing altogether now but I always end up seeing a nice spot and go hit it. I know I want to jam a battle in the future and see where I'm at amongst the writers in the Auckland scene.

Any last words or anything you want people to know?

Yea shout out to everyone that go out and paint up the country with colors and styles. Big ups to the OGs from the early 2000's that was doing it, from the youth gangs tagging to the older kids that were bombing up walls paving the way for Auckland graff. And thanks to RAILSIDE for reaching out and making this happen.

JZN51