Amongst a life-size model of a woman dressed in a 'stars-and-stripes' burka, human hearts half buried in sand and children chiseling away at an edible depiction of the crucified Jesus, is the creator of all the aforementioned works: iconic artist and graffiti pioneer Nick Walker. Through satire and humour does he question religious and political beliefs, brought together for the first time in 2 years to London at Art Sensus Gallery: 'In Gods We Trust' - covered for you by Crane.tv. He reminisces over his teenage years spent honing down on his art, finding the perfect frame for his pieces, picking walls he just knew he had to "hit"; even with the opening of his solo show he insists that he "keeps his foot in the street" as that is the biggest and most important gallery of all.
Speaking enthusiastically of the nature of street art - finding your spots, site-specifics of designs, methods of engaging and interacting with the general public - he describes it as "one of the best things in the World" when he succeeds in communicating his themes and ideas to the public, gaining some degree of acceptance. His motivations do not revolve around whether an individual opinion has a good or bad opinion of the work itself, but moreover involved with the knowledge that people continuously document what's around them and by providing inspirations readily available in the public domain, these will then lend to influencing the fluid state of opinions of the World in a greater sense. For Walker casting a highly sceptical (to say the least) light on subjects such as religion, he welcomes his work to be scrutinized and talked about as much as the issues they refer to. No surprise that it's getting the attention it so deserves.
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Text by Carmen Ho for Crane.tv
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I don't have the words to describe just how completely fantastic this man's work is!
Some of the same pieces in this exhibition were first field tested in Brooklyn this summer.
Our 3 postings on Nick that week;
http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=12522
http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=12566
http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=12579