Varnishing Days with Hams
4 min read
Varnishing Days is a documentary series about the artists of the French graffiti crew Moderne Jazz. For this episode, François Larpin follows artist Hams around Marseille, as he paints everywhere from train carriages to the dark passages under the city
‘Hams’ isn’t his real name, it’s an alias. It’s the name he tags on walls, big enough that no one can ignore it. In Marseille, he’s everywhere.
I met Hams in London in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. He showed me pictures of the desolate tunnels where he graffitis. He explained that he started this as a teenager. “Most teens write on their backpack with Tipp-Ex, some end up writing on the bus stop, some do it in the street, but very few end up writing on trains.” The energy stays the same. Some tame it, some don’t.
I didn’t have a specific agenda when I started filming Hams. I wanted to follow him through the streets, tunnels and abandoned places where he works. He always scouts for new walls, places on the outskirts of cities, abandoned spots where nature takes over, cracks in concrete.
Hams works constantly. It doesn’t matter where: on walls, canvas, tunnels or pieces of paper. The inspiration is always the same, only the shape (the outline) changes. When he was younger, his work was similar to that of the New York style but he eventually tired of it. Recently he’s developed a more abstract style, replacing words with shapes. Each drawing, painting and tag starts with his name. He’s at the centre of it all. On these walls, he tells his own story.
After a few days of shooting and interviewing, I started editing Hams’ portrait. There was no storyline in mind; I chose to build it organically, the same way Hams trusts his instincts when choosing where to graffiti. I liked the insecurity, the unknown. Little by little, his portrait became very personal. On his walls, I told my own story.
