That’s a Wrap
Fresh from the ‘RIOT’ group show at Saatchi Gallery where ‘Osch’, (Otto Schade) exhibited alongside the mighty Stik and My Dog Sighs, he buzzes us in to a 19 storey tower block located in Hoxton where he lives and works. Braving the lift, and excited at the thought of thumbing through countless folios and sketchpads for an original to red-dot, I rap on the door. This was John’s first visit to Osch, so I was keen to see how far he had moved on since we last met approx. 5 years ago after chatting with him mid-piece in East London when he was still silhouette stencilling over a lush sunset- something he no longer does.
When the front door opens you are greeted with large canvases stacked against the left side of the hallway, meaning a single file shimmy into the lounge where a hoarder would be proud. A prang of melancholy creeps over me as I gaze out of the window whilst remembering my own rented home/studio many years ago being the same and feeling a contentment with my environment. Quietly exiting a side room and heading for the door, a woman holding a poster tube throws out a goodbye as Osch brews the coffee. John starts to fire questions at him about his architecture background, Osch then elaborating on his Part 1 Chilean qualification and work experience. John moves on to a street art life in Chile whereby Osch shakes his head and states that street art is still not regarded as such. Learning that his father was also an artist, I half-heartedly record the conversation whilst fumbling with a number of test sculptures wrapped in Osch’s trademark ribbon style before moving into the centre of the small lounge where a three-sixty is like being the subject of a voyeur convention as multiple eyes stare back at you, each with a lone silhouetted figure reflected in the iris.
With loads more bubble-wrapped canvases stacked in the corner, I sit next to Osch at his desk where we listen to his art tales and scroll through the photos of his many overseas commissions, some of which pretty impressive in size. Crammed A2 folios are balanced on a stool in front of me to flick through where we then hear about individual pieces and Osch’s need to realise his ideas when they enter his head, some of which playfully edgy and political. Deciding to open the door to his home is a bold move and cements the fact that no matter what you think about him and/or the work, the man lives and breathes art- not to mention the mindset it takes to continue with such day to day sacrifice.
Osch is clearing out, shaking things up and going big. He spoke candidly, with enthusiasm and integrity, about funding and his now focus on sculpture which if anything like the mishmash of items I was drawn to when first entering, (namely a prosthetic forearm with ribbon tattoo) it will be an epic sight.
