KENMO Graffiti / Performance / Artist

31Jan/170

No More War!

I painted this piece during the night onto january 15, 1991, with two friends from school. I was sixteen years old and it was the night before Bush senior launched the gulf war.
We worked hard in that incredibly freezing night. We brought a big ladder from my friend´s place, which was close-by. Later he had to get us a thick candle from home to unfreeze the spraycans, cause they actually froze in!
In the middle of our mission we got disturbed by the senator of the interior in our city-state Bremen, who was a neighbour of my friend. He recognized my friend, greeted and asked what we were doing there. My friend told him, and he nodded and left the scenery without complaint.
Next day it was there to see for the whole school, right at the front door. Everybody saw it as we were all meeting outside to start the huge protest march against this gulf war. And about everybody knew it was us, including the teachers. But in this case, instead of investigation, we had silent acknowledgement!
It´s been the biggest protest we had seen in those years.


Under it, you see an "EZ" I made in 1990, with same friend 'Menace' doing the background. Must have been one of the first ever pieces with the name Kenmoe (with a second "e" then), and of course, early piece of mine generally. For some reason, I was never properly satisfied with it. Then it got crossed anyway, and then my friend and crew-mate Salomon aka Scez (and many other names until the later Keno), went over it with another guy, apparently first in an attempt to fix it, but then somewhat fucking up and crossing it even more, seemingly finding it all funny. I wasn´t convinced it was funny, and wasn´t sure of the honesty in terms of having wanted to fix it, but didn´t really say anything.
Such were the issues with him and me at times, but he clearly has (king-)status in the scene for good reason. I hope you´re in a better place now, Salomon! He died in early 2005.