It always seems like Imon Boy is presenting a visual script of his life through every show. Graffiti, the trials and tribulations and the games and the fun and the crime of the art form, are at center stage, and his fine artwork is like a play on the what his other life seems to be. For his newest show, House Arrest, opening this week at Yusto / Giner, Imon Boy works around the concept of an arrest around the crime of doing illegal works on the street, and like a comic book and cell-storytelling, he gives you a timeline of the events after the arrest. And some helpful tips.
"When you are stopped by a patrol car, everything can happen," Imon Boy says. "Movie scenes in which there is a good and a bad cop are not always true. Sometimes both are bad and sometimes both are good. This last one almost never happens, at least where I live.
"Sometimes it’s just about being nice. Sometimes it works, some- times it doesn’t. You can pull the old trick and say your granny is in the hospital, but trust me, it won’t work. Being pitiful doesn’t work. Better talk about yesterday’s soccer game. I never watch soccer, but I try to be informed and know the names of the players or the latest goals and plays of the season to use in a conversation with law enforcement. In other cases it also works to mention a good bar whe- re to drink wine and eat the typical food of the area. As time goes by, you will get to know the attitude of the policemen in each area.
"I recommend you to know some of these tricks when you go out to paint graðti. I have mine, you can make up your owns too. But as I said before, sometimes it works and sometimes not."
