Exploring the World of Rocket01: A Sci-Fi Street Art Story

Rocket01 is a name associated with innovative sci-fi murals in the urban art scene. Right, sci-fi in street art, I was a bit confused at first. When you first hear the word ‘science-fiction’ the first things that probably pop to your mind are Star Wars, The Terminators, Star Strek, Dune, and more. We often associate this concept with topics such as extraterrestrial life, extremely advanced technology, space exploration, time travel, and dystopian futures. How does then, this artist incorporate these topics and motifs into his work?

Rocket01 is the pseudonym of Chris Butcher for those first hearing the name. Being a graffiti artist for as long as he remembers, Rocket01 began painting graffiti back in 1994 while he was growing up in a rural part of Sheffield, UK. Influenced by the rap and Hip-Hop culture prevalent in the mid-90s, Rocket01 took up street art. ‘Graffiti was just perfect. And I was the only person in my town who did graffiti,” explained Rocket01. Graffiti felt so natural to the artists that he decided to move on to the more technical and demanding style – 3D graffiti.

“I’ve been painting like 30 years now, so I’ve gone through a lot of stages to get to where I am,” recalled Rocket01. 3D graffiti is a type of artwork painted in a specific way that creates an optical illusion that tricks the mind into believing that the 3D artwork that is three-dimensional. “I always did characters as well. The characters were mine like the typical old-style graffiti characters that portray guys with spray cans,” Rocket01 added.

As Rocket01 was passing different stages on his journey he started feeling frustrated. “Every time the style changed; the fashion changed subsequently. At that point, I was already doing something that was outdated, and I was always chasing what was cool,” explained Rocket01. During this time, he started asking himself questions such as ‘What am I interested in? What is it that is special to me?’

 ‘Graffiti was just perfect. And I was the only person in my town who did graffiti,” explained Rocket01. 

Rocket01 notes that he has always been interested in science-fiction and more specifically sci-fi movies as well as nature. Additionally, he mentions that he reads a lot of science and tech news. These interests currently translate into his pieces. “I just started integrating my interests in my work and it sort of snowballed,” Rocket01 added.

The name is also to an extent an expression of the artist’s personality. Yet, it also has a creative meaning. “As I progressed through styles, I went into wild style graffiti which has a lot of movement. I wanted a graffiti tag that wasn’t long and something that included the letters ‘T’ and ‘K’ so I could play with them. Rocket was good for this. And it also aligns with my interests.”

The artist’s interest in sci-fi is not something new for his personality. His passion for technology and space brought him to incorporate not only these aspects into his art but technology itself. “I recently started using AI to help me with my designs. It really sped up the process. AI has allowed me to create designs much better than what I used to do in the past,” explained Rocket01. Before including AI in his work, the artist had to go on the web and search for suitable visuals. “I used to stitch them together to make the design that I wanted.” He would change the original images to match his style. Now, AI gives him the chance to have the perfect images much faster. “I am still very much opposed to finding something through AI and just painting it,” adds Rocket01. He explains that this is not something he could do, and AI serves only to gather imagery. 

“We’re at a point in the world where environmental issues are caused by technology costs. And many people see technology as a problem. But I feel it is part of the solution now. We need to embrace nature and technology at the same time,” noted Rocket01. This idea is also visible in his work where the cosmic elements are often blended with nature and wildlife. 

 “As I progressed through styles, I went into wild style graffiti which has a lot of movement. I wanted a graffiti tag that wasn’t long and something that included the letters ‘T’ and ‘K’ so I could play with them. Rocket was good for this. And it also aligns with my interests.”

Rocket01 not only wants to present the topics of science and environmentalism in his work, but he also wants to emphasize the importance of technology and nature working together. “We need to direct our focus and efforts on using technology to fix the problems we work with,” mentioned Rocket01.

Additionally, there is another topic constantly present in Rocket01’s art, namely the CND badge. CND stands for Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. It represents disarming the world of nuclear weapons and being cautious about nuclear energy. “This symbol is always present in my recent works because the whole nuclear thing worries me, elaborated Rockets01. In fact, the damage from nuclear energy can last thousands of years. Moreover, the CND symbol sign has become a nearly universal peace symbol used in different contexts.

“I recently started using AI to help me with my designs. It really sped up the process. AI has allowed me to create designs much better than what I used to do in the past,” explained Rocket01.

These days the creative process of painting a mural takes more work for the artist than it used to in the past. “I always work from a sketch and design,” noted Rocket01. He explained that he would create digital designs on his iPad to prepare for painting them on walls for upcoming festivals and events. “First I need to see a photo of the wall,” explains Rocket01. “Sometimes the walls have windows and I have to adapt my design around them. I also want to get a feeling for the wall and the environment around it so the artwork can fit in it. For example, if it’s a neighbourhood, I will try to make the artwork more colourful and friendly, maybe with more flowers and if not, then I might lean towards a design that’s a little darker and sci-fi inspired.”

“We’re at a point in the world where environmental issues are caused by technology costs. And many people see technology as a problem. But I feel it is part of the solution now. We need to embrace nature and technology at the same time,”

In conclusion, Rocket01 has created a unique sphere in the urban art scene by mixing street art with sci-fi. Drawing inspiration from his personal interest such as technology, nature and sci-fi films, his murals captivate not only with their beauty and visual complexity but also with their messages related to environmentalism and the interplay between technology and nature.

Written by Polya Pencheva