Ahead of the launch of this week’s Moniker Art Fair, Cybersecurity giants, Kaspersky Lab drive and Dean Stockton, better known by his alias D*Face, have unveiled the first-ever Formula E art car, in East London. As a fervent supporter of the arts and motor sport, Kaspersky Lab is presenting its own unique take on the art car concept, made famous in the 1970s.
Kaspersky Lab wanted to breathe new life into the high-end hot rod art car concept, by selecting a new set of wheels to work with and, giving an accessible, urban artist free range to do what he wants with it. The result is D*Face imprinting his bright, bold and colourful artistic trademarks on the Virgin Racing Formula E car; signalling the first Formula E art car ever made.
The car, emblazoned with ‘Save the World’, features several of D*Face’s iconic wings and acts as a vehicle to illustrate a powerful message – that art can empower people to make a change.
The London-born artist hopes that his work will force viewers to consider the notion that they have the power to be a super hero, stating: “Does everyone have a good and bad element to them, and how much does the bad outweigh the good? In times like now, we all need to take on the mantra of the super hero and help Save the World. It is time for all of us to stand together and make a change. Be that stopping data steals, addressing climate change and plastic waste or using damaging fuels. We all have the power to do one thing that will help make a change. It has been exciting to work with Kaspersky Lab on this project and create art with a real message of hope for a brighter future. This is, after all, our world and we need to look after it. It will take every one of us to make a real lasting, impactful change.”
The medium is also the message, as although Formula E is in principle a sport, its raison d’être is to creatively tackle the issue of climate change and accelerate technological developments in the world of e-mobility.
About D*Face
Undoubtedly one of the UK’s most prolific street artists, D*Face (Dean Stockton) has occupied the forefront of his practice ever since his initial breakthrough in 2005. Instantly distinguishable and flawlessly executed, his work upholds the vibrancy of Pop, whilst injecting it with a signature dose of satirical subversion that has become synonymous with British street style. With countless murals and numerous sell out shows dotted across the globe, D*Face is undisputedly one of the most international street artists working today. Such a global reputation however would not have been possible without the artist’s earliest beginnings on the streets of East London where he helped to shape the category of Street Art and where his studio remains based today. It was here that the many concrete facades of Shoreditch offered the perfect canvas upon which the artist was able to realise his creative potential and ultimately shape the area into one of the global centres of urban street art. Such a synergy of city and artist is one rarely seen to such a degree and classifies D*Face as one of the most important figures working in British street art in the twenty-first century.
On top of solo exhibitions, global mural commissions and a host of secret projects, D*Face also runs his own London gallery, ‘StolenSpace’, which hosts numerous sell out street art exhibitions on an annual basis within the heart of East London. In more recent years he has also begun a new venture into motorbike design with his ‘Rebels Alliance Motorcycle Company’, similarly based in London’s east end. With so much in the works, it’s hard to say what’s next in store for one of the UK’s most eminent street artists.
