Akse P19 | Greater Mancunians

Photography by Weronika Kordonska, Aleks Paluszek, Jenna Kellock & Katie O'Neill

Akse is a French born Graffiti Artist of Vietnamese heritage, based in Manchester since 1997. Akse started painting in 1992 and is a member of the P19 Graffiti Crew. Over the last few years Akse has focused on freehand High-Definition HD photo-realism graffiti portraits. His work around the Manchester always commands people's attention and often reflects the social, political and cultural mood of the city. His highly acclaimed work is featured in other cities including Liverpool and London.

Akse is regularly commissioned to produce permanent artwork for private clients and businesses, but his more high profile murals regularly appear and then disappear from the walls and hoardings around the city

Akse at work in Manchester City Centre

David Bowie

Child (Akse's son)

Tony Wilson

David Bowie

Akse chooses to keep a degree of anonymity, rarely being seen in public without his ventilated mask. But what do we know about him? He lives in Hulme, a family man, a scientist, a thinker, a lover of Breaking Bad and a fan of The Smiths.

SHOOT 1 & 2: Burnage, Manchester

Akse with his controversial Kevin Spacey artwork in Burnage (part of his 'Psychopath' series)... replaced by Uma Thurman as 'Kill Bill'.

Student reflection: Weronika Kordonska

This was definitely a new experience for me, photographing people I don't know made me very nervous at the start of the shoot, but I just pushed past this and made sure I got the best images possible. It's something I definitely enjoyed and was a great opportunity. If I have a chance to photograph another subject for the project, I will certainly have more confidence in my ability.