I’ve been very excited about the prospect of Kid Acne‘s first exhibition at Millennium Galleries in Sheffield. His work is on the walls of buildings in the city, both famous and forgotten. Like the iconic Tinsley Towers, his work can similarly be erased and he seem to relish the temporary nature of the art form.
Known for his street art, Kid Acne has played with recognisable characters and text based imagery, the latter becoming more prominent in current day Sheffield. There’s the ‘You’ll miss me when I’m gone’ message on the side of a building site wall on the Moor (a message to those who criticise the ugly post-war buildings that stand there), ‘That’ll Learn em’ (referencing the curious South Yorks version of the phrase ‘That will teach them’) and the popular ‘Knife and Forkshire’ print.
The name of the exhibition comes from Kid Acne’s own changes to his signature style over the years; the idea of reinvention and killing off your most famous characters in order to start again and create something new. He may have particular phases like other artists, but this exhibition really shows how is work has progressed through the years, from his earlier thick pen line drawings to playing with rougher sketches, to the creation of his more famous female warrior characters. These women have been created in many forms, with Kid Acne creating a mythical world for them where they are strong, powerful creatures rather than overtly sexual beings, often seen in male dominated street art.
The first part of the exhibition chronicles these past drawings but also prints, record covers, photos of his graffiti across the world and even 3D versions of his characters.
The back part of the gallery is given to an installation he has created. The centre piece is an old Victorian table, adapted to form a Ouija board with the scratched in words covered in gold form. The board echoes his street art – some may see the table has being ruined by the adaption, others may see beauty in creating something beautiful out of an everyday object. Ghosts float from the centre of the table, familiar Kid Acne characters in style.
Drawings on the walls and images on spray cans show his female warriors again, with Kid Acne developing their worlds and recreating them as mythical icons to worship, shown in the totem pole that features their images. There’s also a film to watch, where you see the warriors roaming their wild forest world.
The exhibition is different and new, an excellent contrast to the John Martin exhibition next door in the larger gallery space. Too many dull and often biblical paintings jar with the fresh, playful nature of Kid Acne; the very fast nature of street art contrasting harshly with these huge beasts of Victoriana art.
Tags: art, graffiti, Kid acne, millennium galleries, Sheffield, street art
