Lucas Sheik Hoossen is a graffiti artist. At 18 years old, the young man has made his passion his livelihood. Meet him.
Hénry Rotile
The cap turned upside down. The eyes screwed on his work. Lucas goes from one bomb to another. The movement is almost instinctive. A handful of minutes later, everything stops. The artist pushes a ouf of satisfaction. His work, he has just completed it under the astonished eyes of the public which attended the scene behind his back. It was last Saturday in Grand-Baie La Croisette on the occasion of an urban festival.
However, the passion of the young man for street art goes back further. Indeed, two years ago, this Henrietta resident was still in its infancy. All he knew for sure was that he had a knack for drawing: “I went to Dr. Regis Chaperon High School. I loved my drawing classes and I was doing well. This passion quickly led me to street art. And since then, it has never left me.”
With a friend, Lucas soon got serious: “Since I had to start somewhere, I started tagging – a form of graffiti where the emphasis is on lettering. It’s relatively a little easier to do than a piece – which is much more elaborate.”
But very quickly, Lucas moved on to more complex graffiti: “I was in my element. As a result, my progress was rapid. And for good reason, I quickly got into pieces that required a lot more dexterity.”
Benefiting from the support of his parents, the graffiti artist took off and began to honor orders: “I would never have had such a career without the financial and moral support of my parents. Financially, because they are the ones who gave me the money to buy my bombs. Moral, because they all accepted me and supported my approach to make this passion my profession.”
Very present on social networks, Lucas manages to earn a living: “It is by posting my creations that I have created a clientele. People call on my services for signs, or to brighten up walls as they wish. Once my clients explain what they want, I send them sketches. If they’re happy with it, we move forward with the project.”
And on average, one or two days is all it takes: “The actual execution is done fairly quickly. If the work is not too complicated, in one day I can finish the project. Otherwise, I need at least two days!”
As for the price, it is necessary to count from Rs 2500: “The price will vary according to the creation that the customer wishes. But on average, one of my graffiti costs around Rs 2500 to mount.”
His life, Lucas does not imagine it without graffiti in the years to come: “So far, I manage to live from this job, I do not see doing anything else. Except perhaps, to launch me as tattooer. Which I have also just started doing with conclusive results!”
