Visual Noise: Walls Talk: Skulz MTL

In Episode 5 of Visual Noise: Walls Talk, hosts TRP613 and Urban Ninja sit down with one of Montréal's most recognizable and creative street artists, Skulz MTL.

A true multidisciplinary artist, Skulz MTL has built a reputation through wheatpastes, stickers, fashion design, illustration, and a seemingly endless list of creative projects. Based in Montréal but constantly on the move, her work can be found far beyond the city's streets, popping up in unexpected places around the world.

Known for her signature ACAB — "All Cats Are Beautiful" slogan, Skulz MTL has created a unique visual identity that combines humor, rebellion, and a deep love of cats. What started as a clever twist on a well-known acronym has evolved into a recognizable street art movement of its own, appearing on stickers, wheatpastes, clothing, and walls across multiple countries.

During the conversation, Skulz shares stories from her travels, how Montréal's vibrant street art culture helped shape her artistic journey, and the challenges and rewards of balancing multiple creative careers. The episode dives into the evolution of her artwork, the importance of community in the street art world, and how she continues to stay inspired while constantly creating on the road.

Montréal has long been one of North America's most active street art cities, known for its murals, graffiti, and thriving urban art culture. Skulz MTL represents that spirit perfectly—fearless, creative, and always leaving her mark wherever she goes.

Whether you're a fan of stickers, wheatpastes, fashion, cats, or street culture in general, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Tune in as TRP613 and Urban Ninja get behind the paste, the stickers, and the stories to discover the artist behind the skulls, the cats, and the movement known as ACAB: All Cats Are Beautiful.

Music credit:

“Funk Groove Music” by Alex Gus via Pixabay

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

What's up everyone? Welcome to our podcast Visual Noise Wall Talk Ninja and Trip here. What up, Ninja? Hey, what's going on, man? Chilling, chilling. You having a good day? Yeah, I'm doing fine. All right. So in our podcast, we interview street artists and talk about art. Welcome to the show. Today we have Skulls MTL all the way from Montreal. What's up, Skulls?

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Hello, I'm fine. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

All right, happy to have you here.

SPEAKER_03 0:35

I'm happy to. Uh, just tell us about yourself, like where are you from and uh your background basically?

SPEAKER_00 0:41

I'm from Montreal, like you said already. I do street art for a few years, like maybe four years, like pasting, but I always used to be a fan of street art, and I also used to make paint on the street, but I wasn't good. When I was younger, I was doing painting, and I was not loving the fact that you have to rush to do it. So I prefer like what I like about pasting is that you can do it uh in your studio and then take your time, make a beautiful work, and then just paste it, take like three seconds. So that's what I like. Uh otherwise, I that's it. I'm from Montreal, I have a background of fashion designer, and I love street art. So that's why uh I'm here today.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Okay, okay. Um, are there any uh recent street artists out there that you really like and that have inspired you?

SPEAKER_00 1:33

I love the community. Like uh I love local artists a lot. I have uh a store in Montreal where I represent a lot of artists, uh, so I'm very inspired by uh local uh from Montreal, like you guys from Toronto. And uh I travel a lot, so when I meet people, like I just came back from New York like uh one uh month ago. Uh so there's a lot of artists inspiring me. Uh if we are talking about like big names, I love like things like Invader, like this type of artist, uh unknown artist, but very known artist. Like uh sure.

SPEAKER_03 2:12

So I like yeah, Invader is great. I like Invader as well. Like just for the idea. Yeah, but just the idea of like he's still active, you know what I mean? Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

So for so many years. So I love it for so many years. I I everybody knows him, but he's like uh anonymous, like so. That's uh that's what I like about this artist.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Um tell tell us a bit about your store. Where is it, the name, give us a little details about your store?

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Yeah, my store is uh in Montreal in the north side of the city. It's called UnSIC, the area. Uh, you know guys because you came. So and uh I have like more than 100 uh different artists, all local artists from Quebec province. So I have fashion, art, uh I have uh jewelry, I have all kinds of crafty things, but local.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Yeah, it's a beautiful store. We Ninja and I went and uh loved it.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

Big fan. Thank you very much. Yeah, I really enjoyed it. Yeah, how do you feel when someone covers your art on the streets?

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Actually, I don't really care about that. It's part of the game. It did not really happen often, but sometimes some people are doing it on purpose, like tag or but I just leave it and I just don't care about that. I I'm not going to uh like uh I want to fight with the person, and I'm just sometimes it's actually very nice because people cover it, but it's like a never-ending story of the art piece. So they add something and somebody else had something. So I love this kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Nice, that's great. What's the most memorable experience you've had doing street art? Is there one experience that you went out pasting or whatever that really sticks with you?

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Last summer I was in uh Amsterdam and I went to the Strat Museum, the biggest uh uh street art museum in the world. And all around this area, uh there's a lot of street art from lots of artists like uh painting, uh, pasting, sculpture. I just was alone doing my stuff and just like pasting, and I had a whole crew like around me. It was my first time in Amsterdam, so I was just like speaking with the people, they were curious, asking me questions, and then after that, we just went all together, take a beer or two, or and then we just like discuss about art and how it's nice to just connect with people when you do uh art in the street. So that was really very nice experience. I had a lot, but this one is uh very memorable memorable.

SPEAKER_03 4:52

Oh nice. How how is um in Amsterdam or any other country, but like the police, do you find uh you're very cautious about uh in Amsterdam?

SPEAKER_00 5:04

I had no uh problem because this area was like made for that. Uh it's like everybody goes there to do it. I put a lot in the street also, uh not uh especially in that area, but I think that pasting is very different in Europe than in America. For example, in Montreal, there's pasting, but not so much as Berlin or uh Paris or uh and because I I went in all these countries, I can compare it and uh it's more like tolerated for pasting. Because if police like just say something to you, you can always take off your thing, so it's not a problem. It's not like painting. Painting is different, but for pasting, uh it's not uh it's not a big deal. I was uh arrested by a a cop in Berlin and I just took off my thing. That's it. So you cannot do nothing after.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

So well, it's not permanent, right? It's not it's even stickers too. It's like, okay, I'll just peel it off.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Like it's yeah, exactly. You know, it's tolerated. So uh you can play with that, and the fact that you can just take it off, it's not a problem, usually, unless you get like a very bad cup. Yeah, but I never had that kind of problem.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Yeah, people people ask me a lot too. They go, Well, you know, you do illegal stuff, and I'd I see it's borderline illegal, you know, because it's not permanent, you know, we pick our spots, we're not putting it on a school, or so it's eh.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Uh last week I went to uh pace like big pieces uh near the highway in Montreal, and uh there was a lot of traffic because it was like the rush hour, and people from uh I think trucks from the city of Montreal were just like good, that's so beautiful. Yeah, I was like, okay, I'm okay. I'm okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

Is that by the skate park? Is that is that the one where the skate park is?

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Uh no, it's not uh near uh the skate park, it's more like uh near my uh my store near Cirque du Soleil area. They're gonna make like an urban art gallery there. Where I've put your things already.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Oh, we saw it.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

It's gonna be very nice uh during the summer because lots of people are gonna bring things there, but it's not super legal yet, but we have to uh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:21

When we were in Montreal trip, do you remember that when uh we were putting something up? It was night, nighttime, and the cruiser cop car comes right up behind us, right? They shit of us. Yeah, we were like scared, we're like, oh, because we're in Montreal, we don't know, right? Yeah, and they rolled out, they roll down the windows and they're like, Oh, very good.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

And then we were about to run. Do we run?

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Do we what do we do? You know, no, we just stood there. Sketch rat took off. Yeah, of course you did. Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

But they have they have other things to do, like they they are so busy, like even if they get a call, like, oh, there's like an old teenager like pasting in the street. What do you want? They're not gonna come, they say, okay, take it off.

SPEAKER_03 8:01

Okay, yeah, I I heard well in Toronto that wheat pasting and stickering is considered littering, so that's very, very low. While of course, spray paint is considered vandalism, yeah, and that's more of a you know a thing. When you say stickering or weed pacing, it's considered as littering. Like jaywalking, yeah, yeah, like jaywalking. It's just meat.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

I know my kids are always like, Oh, that kid's jaywalking, and it's like no one ever gets a ticket for jaywalking. That's like a fake, that's like a made-up thing.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

Well, I I knew a guy that got a ticket for jaywalking, but it's because he gave the finger to the cop. And the cop's like, Yeah, there you go, jaywalking.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Worth it.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Just like, but it's same, uh, same rules in Montreal. If the police catch you painting or tagging, or uh you can get like a very big uh fun for that.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

So yeah, but the thing with you know, with Montreal, and if if people listening have never been to Montreal, there are stickers and we paste and tagging and graffiti fucking everywhere. You know, like it's like I know you've been to Ottawa before and it's like night and day. You know, you come to Ottawa, and there's like nothing, they spend millions of dollars cleaning it and and buffing it. Whereas in Montreal, they just kind of you know as soon as you're like almost in Montreal, because it's just like there's just like graffiti on every sign, on the back of signs, on the walls. It's beautiful. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

They can't control a big city like that. It's like you go to New York, it's part of the spirit of the city.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

I agree.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Same thing, like when you go to Europe, uh, even like uh in Vienna, you think, oh, Vienna it's the opera and classic city. No, it's like crazy street art everywhere, but not on because they are they have an area that they are allowed to do it, like all around the canal. You can do spray paint and you don't get arrested. But if you do it like on a very old building, maybe you're gonna have a problem. So we should have like more places legal to do street art.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

What do you think people feel or think about your work when they see it on the streets?

SPEAKER_00 10:19

I actually had like uh lots of comment uh with my cats uh Siri and Arna Catarky Cats, especially in New York. People were like very um, oh wow, I love that. Can I buy one? And blah blah blah. And they they love it and they ask me why the cat. I say, oh, I love cats. I can't have because I'm hyper hyper allergic, but I love the uh the way they are, they just don't give a fuck.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Yeah, but yeah, such disks on the move for me.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

It just like you say, Oh, come here, come here, and it's gonna turn like at the last minute. I just like I don't want to see you. So I I love that. I'm just like having fun with what I'm doing. So and people think uh I think people uh have the same feeling, they have fun when they see my things and they they they write to me, and it's nice.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

I agree. It makes me laugh, it makes me smile. This punk rock kind of badass cat. It's just it's it's funny. Yeah, yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

I kind of mentioned this earlier, but like how do you handle yourself when you're putting stuff up on the streets? Like when people are staring at you doing it, like are you kind of like secretive, or do you you just don't care?

SPEAKER_00 11:34

I I don't care, but I I'm not doing it on purpose to go like when there's a lot of people in the street. Uh, but I usually don't care. I go early in the morning or in the night. And when there's people uh looking, uh often they are curious. So they they oh they're asking me questions, they uh they want to know uh what it is, what's the meaning, and what do I do? Uh why why did I do that? And that's really fun because lots of people love street art when it's well done, when it's nice, when it's beautiful, uh people love that. Uh uh there's all kinds of street art. So uh but when they see oh it's art piece you put on the street, they love it, usually.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

How do you define success as a street artist?

SPEAKER_00 12:22

Um I think the the best thing for a street artist is to keep original soul. Like I don't know how to explain it in English, but it's like to stay the way they are, not to change to please people. Like, for example, you get like very uh popular because uh somebody uh saw your thing in uh New York and they want you in a gallery, but now you have to change your style and don't keep stay true to yourself. Exactly, exactly. So I think when you can just keep the way you are, it's the best uh tool to things for me, I think.

SPEAKER_03 12:59

Love it. And so when you had that art show in New York, did someone reach out to you or did you reach out to them? Because there was a bunch of it was a group show, correct?

SPEAKER_00 13:10

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh I in New York it's very funny because I contact like people first, and I made like uh a group of person, like people that I didn't know, but I love their art, and I just contact blah blah blah. And then okay, let's go uh let's go pasting. Oh, let's do a show. Oh, yes, let's go. Uh we're going to that's so funny because we're all going to uh London uh Pay Stop Festival in September. I don't know the chemistry between us, it's like crazy. So yes, I just found the best person, just like you, just like I'm lucky with that. I don't know, just to contact people and have fun.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Uh well, the community in in stickers and and street art is very cool. It's a very connected, helping. Everyone wants to help everybody.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

Yeah, that that's the thing I love. I think the the the most is the the community, yeah. All the people together. Uh it's so fun. We we made the uh exhibition last year in Toronto.

SPEAKER_03 14:13

Yeah, it's so nice.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

A lot of people I've met like people I didn't know. I knew the the the New York crew I knew before because I went there before, but uh a lot of people I met, oh wow, uh uh 33 Wallflower. Uh like that was it's all nice people, so I love that.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

Yeah, we'll try to get uh wallflower on this show.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah, come on, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:37

She uh kind of said she turned it down, but we'll keep bugging her. We'll work on her.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Keep asking her, keep asking her.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Do you have like a go-to excuse if you're getting caught mid-piece? So, like for me, I always say like I'm covering a swastika. Because I feel like no one could say anything. Like, I'm like, oh, there was a swastika here. I'm just putting a sticker over it. You know, I like to go and beautify the city, I like to cover dicks and stuff like that, um, which is a total lie, obviously. But yeah, is there is there any like excuse? You know, sometimes I'll grab my phone and pretend to like be on the phone, like, oh hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I go back to it, you know. Is there anything, any of those kind of tricks you use? Uh no, not really it's because Montreal is so cool, like everyone cares in Montreal, you know?

SPEAKER_00 15:27

No, I never.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:29

Montreal has a is a different vibe for sure.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Yeah, yeah. That's like for sure, like in uh Ottawa, you have to be more careful. So it's like the clean city, eh?

SPEAKER_03 15:40

Yes, very who was the like the first street artist that you met?

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Uh in person, but it's uh person from Montreal, of course. I think the first one is um I think it's uh make noise. Oh, really? A smiley guy, yeah. Yeah, we know make noise. It's not my friend, but uh I I I was like just writing him non-stop for my store. Like, come, I want a smiley at his fast flu, please come and paste one on my wall. And one day he came, and then I like that, and then we became friends, and now I'm selling his uh stuff here, so it's really funny.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

So I'm gonna I'm gonna reach out to make noise and get him on this show too.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

Yeah, I'm sure I'll do it.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

We've been kind of back and forth talking and you know, been trying to connect when I come to Montreal, but uh ask uh ask Agneau too.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

I know I'm a lot of course.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

I asked him.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

He doesn't really speak English, but he can like uh maybe you can help with the yeah, yeah, I could we can translate.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Yeah, we could do a voiceover and and and translate that. I did this, I did this documentary years ago, and it was a French documentary. And the guy's like, Oh, can you speak French? I'm like, Yeah, fuck, of course I can speak French, and then you know he's already interviewing me, and I'm like, fuck, I can't, I can't do that. My French sucks. So they I wore a bandana and I covered my mouth, and I spoke English, and they voiced me over to make it look like I was speaking French.

SPEAKER_02 17:05

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

I know it turned out really well, but yeah, you can always do that. For sure. So uh one one last question. Is there anything you want uh to say to the audience to leave them with a sentence, a word, anything you want to say?

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Don't try to be somebody else, just uh keep it real, not fake.

SPEAKER_01 17:31

Keep it real. I love it. Such a 90s thing to say. Keep it real.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Of course, I'm a 90s kid. Yeah, yeah, we all are.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Yeah, we're all love parts.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

It's funny because I think like pasting community, it's really 90s kids. A lot of people from teenagers from the 90s.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Absolutely, and and growing up with like Nirvana and Wu-Tang and Pearl Jam and Grunge and Hip Hop and you know, all those classic cartoons, too. Like everything just kind of you know comes through our art.

SPEAKER_03 18:02

Yeah, you could tell, right? Like with the the influences when you see a street art of uh street artists' work, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:09

You can recognize and with the pose, the music people put, uh like sure.

SPEAKER_03 18:14

Oh, yeah, the music for sure. The music, of course.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Um, any any last words, ninja? Keep it real, that's a good one. Keep it real. I agree, yeah. Well, thanks so much for joining us today on Visual Noise Wall Talk, and we'll see you next time. Yeah, pizza. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Be you in three weeks.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Oh, yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Three weeks. Yeah. Uh that's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

I'll be in Ottawa.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

Uh come, come, come.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

One day, we'll all come to Montreal this summer and we'll thank you, guys.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Bye-bye.