INTERVIEW WITH THE STREET ARTIST GATO-M!

Gato-M is an artist, and a street artist at that. If you walk through Regensburg’s old town, you’ll come across a work by Gato-M from time to time: the baby with the shamrock, a girl, a boy with a suitcase, Einstein. Gato-M’s messages are often political.
I’ve been photographing his street art for about three years now. Sometimes, when I stroll through the old town in the morning, I discover a new work of his that has appeared overnight.

The Spanish film and culture festival cinEScultura is currently showing works by Gato-M.
at Café Lila (Rote-Hahnen-Gasse 2) from October 13, 2020. The exhibition will run until the end of December 2020.

Like his famous colleague Banksy, Gato-M naturally works undercover and remains anonymous. Nevertheless, I met him in person in 2019 and was able to ask him a few questions.

A FEW QUESTIONS FOR: GATO-M!

Dear Gato-M,

How long have you lived in Regensburg and what brought you here?
For about 5 years. Love brought me here…

What have been the stages of your life so far?
I’m originally from Madrid and have traveled a lot in Spain. Valencia, Castellón, Barcelona, Alicante… and Málaga. Then Germany, first Nuremberg, which I didn’t like so much, and finally Regensburg.
But I only did art in Spain in Madrid and later in Málaga. And then in Germany, first in Nuremberg and now in Regensburg.

Streetart Regensburg Gato-M | Girl and Anarchy (Photo: Annette Ebmeier)

Where does your stage name come from?
The people of Madrid are popularly called ‘Gato’, cats. So the name ‘Gato’ comes from Madrid. But I don’t know where the cat thing comes from. I started doing street art as a teenager in Madrid in the 90s, I was in the graffiti scene. The hyphen indicates the direction I took, luckily my path brought me to Málaga, where I started making art again after a 16-year break. So the M stands for Málaga. The art scene really grew in Málaga back then. I developed my style there.

What do you particularly like about Regensburg?
Todo. Everything, the people… So far I’ve only had positive experiences and I’ve had good conversations with people. The city has something. Apart from the fact that it’s a beautiful city, the people are really nice. Although I don’t speak the language very well, I get on well. Madrid, Málaga and Regensburg are my favorite cities.

What don’t you like so much about Regensburg?
Just the weather really, I’m just used to Spanish weather. Otherwise, I like everything – I can’t find any faults and generally feel very comfortable here. The atmosphere is good.

You don’t do graffiti, you cover the walls. Is there a name for this art form? Is that stencil?
No, stencil is a term for graffiti or street art that is applied with the help of stencils. My art form is called “cartelleria” in Spanish. I used to make stencils (stencil art).
My current art is more or less wallpapered. I paint everything by hand at home, roll up the pictures and then quickly stick them on the walls. Each picture is unique, even if the motifs are repeated. In the beginning, I wasn’t so familiar with the materials and which adhesive to use on which wall. The pictures now hold well. Without damaging the wall. If something is broken on a picture, I often replace it (Gato-M fetches a bag and shows me replacement pieces for a work of art).

Three character traits that you would spontaneously use to describe yourself:
Loving, noble, I am an art lover. Creative.

What inspires you?
Everything that happens every day. Politics, all kinds of things.

What is your favorite place in or around Regensburg?
I like being on the Danube.

You live and breathe art. Which artist would you like to swap places with for a day?
Clearly: Blek le Rat. (Note from us: Blek le Rat is a French street artist). Blek le Rat is the pioneer of stencil art, long before Banksy became famous.

In Porto, also a UNESCO World Heritage city, street art is part of the cityscape and street artists are allowed to design electricity boxes in the old town, for example. In Regensburg, people tend to turn up their noses. What do you wish for the Regensburg street art scene?
I already have some ideas, I would like to start a movement in Regensburg and team up with other artists to upgrade “neglected / abandoned” walls. I would also like support from well-known Spanish street artists. As I said, I have lots of ideas.

The Regensburg question: Knackersemmel or Prinzess-Pralinen? I hope you know one of them…
Neither. I don’t eat meat. I’m not really into princesses, i.e. the aristocracy. And I prefer beer to chocolates.

Many thanks for the great interview to Gato-M and to his dear friend who helped with the translation.

It was a very special meeting for me, which really touched me. Not least because Gato surprised me with a gift at the end of our interview: the baby with the shamrock on a 50×50 cm canvas.
I love it! So if you have an “abandoned” wall: Gato-M can be found on Instagram @gatom.artist or here www.gato-m.jimdo.com
Maybe one day there will even be city tours in the footsteps of Gato-M.
Anyway, I’m a big fan!
Good luck dear Gato! See you around.

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