Artist OKOK has been spending a month at the Nordic Light Hotel creating a whole lot of black lines on white paper. We paid him a visit.

Words by daniela trujillo evb-

Photography by manga minja-

Capitalizing on the city’s constant desire to discover, showcase and support the creative arts, Stockholm based artist OKOK, also known as Thomas Karl-Johan Gunnarsson, approached the Nordic Light Hotel a few months ago to propose being a live-in resident artist for a month. At first the good people at Nordic Light weren’t too convinced of his vision, but fast-forward to the present day and not only did Gunnarsson stay as their first resident artist for a month, complete with the luxuries of vacation such as having his bed made and mega morning breakfast buffets, he is now the co-ordinator for Nordic Light Hotel’s resident artist program.

I met with Gunnarsson the night before his art opening. Our first interview consisted of last-minute errands around town in a rainy-day frenzy, complete with the anxiety one could imagine contributes to pulling off such an event.

With over 300 confirmed guests attending, a set by Swedish hip-hop artists Adam Tensta and Michel Dida, limited-edition merchandise created by Gunnarsson himself, free champagne and an official after-party, it is no wonder the stress levels were high.

Before his opening, Gunnarsson painted for 28 days straight. The 28 pieces he created leading up to it and their fundamental technique – created only from ink, paper, a pen and a ruler, gave way to the exhibition’s title, *This Is Where I Draw the Line*.

Gunnarsson is hands down one of the easiest – and by easiest I mean best – most well-spoken and visionary interviewees I have ever had the pleasure of shadowing. Driven, talented, humble and creative are but mere introductory adjectives to describe the person and artist he has become and the impression I walked away with resonated within me.

Thanks to what Gunnarsson refers to as his ‘schooling’, he and his work have managed to create quite a stir on the Stockholm art scene. Before his current 15-hour days of sketching and painting became standard, Gunnarsson worked as a music manager and promoter for eight years. This experience, this ‘schooling’ as he calls it, gave him the necessary resources and knowledge that have proved invaluable since the launch of his artistic career.

“I was at one of our morning meetings and I suddenly realized ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’. I realized that my life wasn’t about spending my time and energy helping others come into and stay in the limelight. I thought, ‘I have something to offer, I have talents the world needs to see.’”

And, as simply as his life-changing and career-altering realization came, so did his response to my next question:

‘So, what did you do? That sounds pretty terrifying.’

“I had to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.”

For the next three months, before his incarnation as OKOK, Gunnarsson spent his days asking himself that one vital question – ‘what do I want to do when I wake up?’

The answer turned out to be: ‘to paint’.

That was a year ago and since then the simplicity of that situation panned out, and OKOK and his work have evolved exponentially. From selling his work to traveling to exotic locations just to paint, numerous art openings exhibitions and countless corporate and creative collaborations, Gunnarsson doesn’t see a finish line anytime soon.

I asked him to describe his art in a number of adjectives; romantic, abstract, composed, balancing and interruptive were his responses.

Look at his creations and you may find that you agree with his answers. OKOK’s work is distinguished by his tools of choice and the technique he employs, which most recently have included a baking whisk and blow dryer.

When he isn’t using random household items, his supplies remain straightforward: a pen, ink, paper and a ruler and in addition to his impressively simple supply list, most of his work is exclusively in black and white.

“For me black and white is limitless. It’s not that I don’t like colour; it’s just that I feel I am only at the beginning of exploring everything that I want to and think of when it comes to black and white,” he explains.

In all fairness, a number of his latest pieces did include coloured paper but the fact that his work explores painting with such a limited number of tools and colours is what, superficially and substantively, set him apart from many other artists.

Hailing from a 20-odd-year background in graffiti and street art, Gunnarsson was no stranger to sketching and branding himself and his work. Much like street artists and their tags, his pieces embody repetition, passion and discipline.

“Quality over quantity is something I believe in. The thing is that in order to create well you have to create all of the time.” Gunnarsson says this as he buys materials from his favourite graffiti shop in town, his hands covered in ink – much like his body. His arms and hands are covered with tattoos; most of them single words or short phrases with the exception of an excerpt he has tattooed on his left arm. “I come into this store to buy some basic things and walk out with over 500 kronor worth of tools. It’s like pen porn.”

If pen porn is how he describes looking at and buying art supplies, then that thought resonates heavily when one looks at his work. ‘Pen porn on paper’ is how I would describe the extension of his simile and, ultimately, his work.

And though ‘forward’ is the only place he or I can imagine his art going, one thing is certain: sex sells, and OKOK’s creations are highly pornographic.

See for yourself Stockholm.

This Is Where I Draw the Line will be hanging until the end of 2014 at the Nordic Light Hotel at Vasaplan.

For more information about Thomas and his work check out his website and social media channels:

www.artbyokok.com

www.instagram.com/artbyokok

www.facebook.com/artbyokok