By Clare Cooke
Art Exhibition “Express Yourself”. – The Loft, Stroud Brewery 9th-17th September 2023- featuring world renowned graffiti legend Inkie
Work has started, gathering art and artists for a bold new art exhibition with an important message, which will take place in September this year.
The exhibition is titled ‘Express Yourself’ and its aim, aside from exhibiting a range of powerful art through a variety of media, is to spread the message that being creative is not only useful, but sometimes vitally important for positive mental well-being.
Work from graffiti icon Inkie –“Banksy’s right hand man” (Daily Mail) will be featured amongst other local artists as they help spread the message of the importance of creativity. Originally from Bristol, Inkie has been hailed as the “British Graffiti King” (Rolling Stone Magazine). His individual style is a collaboration of graffiti and figurative work and draws on art nouveau influences with an urban twist. From the late 80s onwards he has earned a solid reputation from “Street Art Pioneer” (The Telegraph) to “Legend of the Urban Art Scene” (LeCool) and has been involved in and pioneered many major art projects all over the world, including fundraising urban art auctions.
Named in Timeout’s Top 100 most influential UK creatives 2012, Tom Bingle, aka Inkie, has emerged as one of the most prolific graffiti writers in UK history. He has painted with some of the most notorious artists in the scene, including Banksy, Nick Walker and Massive Attack’s 3D.
His work has been published in books such as Banksy’s Bristol, Children of the Can, Concrete Canvas, Street Fonts, 100 European Graffiti Artists and Graffiti World. His much sought after pieces have gained a celebrity following, as well as featuring in respected magazines such as Rolling Stone, GQ and Dazed & Confused, and graffiti documentaries, including the infamous ‘Bomb It’.
As well as creating his own works, Inkie has also worked as head of design for SEGA Europe and Xbox and, until recently, worked as Jade Jagger’s in-house designer. He also runs a West London design studio creating artwork incorporating his beautiful trademark aesthetic on large-scale pieces.
Recent exhibitions include London, Copenhagen, Vienna, Paris, Miami, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Gothenburg, Ibiza, Warsaw and Lisbon. His latest project is the Art Wars collective featuring artists such as Damien Hirst, the Chapman brothers, D-face and Mr Brainwash at Saatchi Gallery and The world’s longest graffiti scroll for the Guinness Book of Records at Jemeriah Beach in Dubai… and now we have the opportunity to see some of his work in Stroud!
The exhibition is being hosted by Stroud Brewery and will be organised by Clare Cooke from Healing Art- Clare works with children and adults, enabling them to express themselves through art and creativity. Clare is passionate about how being creative is so helpful for our emotional and mental well-being and that is why she decided to organise this exhibition – “If I can help show kids, teens and adults how being creative can be really helpful I feel I will have done something important and useful”.
She has invited a wide range of artists to help spread the work, including clients and local artists.
Are you an artist who has experienced the power of creativity? Please email clarehealingart@gmail if you would like to be considered for the exhibition.
“The exhibition will be free to visit, as art should be accessible to all- but we will be raising funds with donations and sales for 3 mental health charities”. Woman Kind, Bristol Women’s Therapy Centre (www.womankindbristol.org.uk) Talk Club Bristol (www.talkclub.org) and Young Minds (www.youngminds.org.uk)
Photos courtesy of Inkie.
