“Even as a child, I knew I was different. I never merged in with the crowd and wanted to lead,” recalls aka Dizy.

As covered by JWB earlier, Dizy is India’s first female graffiti artist. Dizy comes from a family of artists. Her mom is a painter, and her brother is a graffiti artist like herself.

When I first contacted Dizy, I hadn’t seen her picture. But when I saw it, all I could think was, how do you make that face look like it’s on fleek?

You know what else is on fleek? Her art. The girl is a goddamn box of talent!

One might even have mistaken her to be a full-time fashion guru, but Dizy does not swing that way. And contradictory to the common perception of her, Kajal happens to be a shy and soft spoken girl.

What many people don’t know is that Dizy is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer and that she got into graffiti art because of hip hop dancing. And now, Dizy works for a company that manufactures graffiti markers in Germany. [Insert Googly eyed emoji] So, I spoke to Dizy and noticed that as compared to her eloquent style of painting, her answers were very precise and to the point.

Dizy takes over in Three, Two, One!

What is the best part of being a female graffiti artist?

Umm… The fact that you get more attention. *Winky Face*

How did it feel to hold that spray can for the first time?

In all honesty, I felt very unprofessional.

And what was the first thing you painted?

I practiced painting my moniker ‘Dizy’.

Don’t know why but I make the buzzing bee sound every time I pronounce her name.

How do people react to your graffiti?

Most of the time, I receive a lot of appreciation from them.

Well, duh! How can you even hate graffiti?

Many people think that graffiti is vandalizing walls, what do you have to say about this?

I think that it is up to the people who see it and if they perceive it as the art or not. Some like it; some don’t.

What messages do your artworks carry?

If I get paid to work, then I paint what I am asked to. Else, I write my moniker ‘Dizy’ in various styles.

What’s one brave thing you’d like to paint but haven’t tried yet?

So far, nothing.

Is your family a fan of your work?

Yesss! They are my biggest supporters.

Your brother is a graffiti artist as well. What did you learn from him?

He goes by the moniker,’Komet’. He’s always there for me when I need help or suggestions. He’s very dedicated towards his art.

One wall you won’t be allowed to use but want to choose as a canvas and where?

If I had to pick one place, it would be an airport. It would be the perfect location to showcase my work to people from all around the world.

Why do we have less female graffiti artists?

We find women in the minority in almost every field. In my opinion, I think it is our patriarchal culture that doesn’t accept women who are open and liberal with their thoughts.

Have you been thrashed for your work?

Never.

She’s one lucky girl, eh?

Does one need permission to draw on walls and is it easy to get?

In India, Graffiti is still new; and there are lots of places to paint where you don’t need permission. But yes, permission is required when you want to paint on someone’s property.

How do you deal with haters?

So far, I’ve had no experiences with haters, but if I do have any in the future, I will ignore them because according to me, they’re displaying how dark their hearts are.

Yes, gurl! You be colourful! Don’t pay attention to your non-existent haters. Teehee!

Why did you choose the pseudonym Dizy?

Dizzy means crazy, so I thought that suits me perfectly because I was doing something different and kinda fierce, which is crazy. But I kept it with a single ‘z’, as it is easy to write.

Do colors hold special meaning to your artworks?

Not really. It depends on what color scheme I have in mind at that time.

Any swear word that you want to display?

None, lol.

Dizy is more halal than I expected.

You best and worst work with graffiti?

This is very hard to answer because you always get better and better with time, so there isn’t one particular work that I love or hate the most.

One social issue you would like to paint about?

If we talk about social issues, I think I would highlight, feminism and freedom for women which I think is something we all need.

If you had to make a graffiti message, what would it say?

“Girls, Free yourself.”

How much time does it take to create a graffiti?

Well, it depends on the size of the wall and what you’re creating. Ranges from a few hours to a long day. Usually, it’s less than a day.

Do you have any plans to teach graffiti?

Yes! I would love to help others. I’ve even conducted graffiti workshops before.

Workshops?! Where? Sign me up!

Graffiti is about being rebellious. How would you encourage girls to join in?

I wouldn’t say that graffiti art is entirely a rebellious activity. In my opinion, motivation, skills, and creativity are crucial. Anyone can be creative; it’s not limited to the male gender. Also, girls should be willing enough to share their skills with the community.

Thank you so much Dizy, or should I say, Danke Schön! Your work is colourful and amazing. I hope you get to make many boring walls interesting with your art and get to paint for an airport once.

That’s all for now. Until then, Annyeong!

Picture Source: