Nuart are delighted to be returning this spring to Aberdeen, dubbed ‘The Granite City’ for their third festival. Following the triumph of their previous festivals both in Stavanger and Aberdeen, Nuart has assembled another strong line up of artists; a combination of global titans and ascending stars.
Nuart’s mainstay Dotmasters (aka Leon Sessix) will return, bringing with him his idiosyncratic edge, eccentric wit and sardonic take on British populist media. Although the aesthetic to his work is forever in flux; his meticulously crafted detail is consistent, whether it be in a dark alley or for a luxury brand. This artist’s reach is vast and he is as diverse as he is skilled.
Miami based artist Axel Void will be joining Nuart Aberdeen for the first time. Known for his intensely fervent art, his works often address acute social and psychological problems emphasised by his use of dark oil paint. His murals are layered with large lettering, a clue to the message lying beneath. Few muralists pack a harder visual punch than he, as demonstrated in his piece for Banksy’s 2015 Dismaland theme park.
Key innovator of the early British street art scene and ‘Master of Typography’ Ben Eine will also be leaving his distinctive mark on the city. British superstar Eine came of age with the likes of Shepard Fairey and Inkie, and is regarded as a pioneer in the exploration of graffiti letterforms. Eine’s work is currently held in the permanent collections of the V&A and The Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles.
Following a successful visit to Stavanger in 2018, Nuart will bring Emenem to Aberdeen to transform pavement cracks and pot-holes into refreshing, bursting pools of color.
Also contributing to the playful construction work in the city will be Jan Voorman, known for patching up broken crevices on buildings with Lego. Known for his ‘Dispatchwork’ project, his work has been a massive hit in New York, Tel Aviv, London and beyond.
And from walls to pot-holes, several of Aberdeen’s electrical boxes will be getting a special make-over by Berlin based artist Evol. Many of Berlin-based Evol’s works are influenced by former East Germany’s volatile history and brutalist post-war socialist architecture. From generic, gray electrical boxes, Evol creates tiny blocks of bleak high rise flats, homing numerous miniature occupants. The detail is staggering. Nuart are huge supporters of his and many a mini high rise block can be found on the streets of their twin city, Stavanger.
Evol will be joined by the supremely talented Norwegian artists Strøk, and Hama Woods; both known for their hand cut, multi layered stencil and spray paint work. Strøk’s surrealist, long-shadowed figures seem to defy gravity and their photorealistic quality often stops people in their tracks.
Hama Woods aspires to empower and invite viewers to rethink their environmental choices. Although the message behind her work is about greed, human consumption and its knock on environmental impact, she somehow manages to achieve this with a light and playful touch.
Another astounding addition to the line up is British artist Helen Bur. Known for using a classic approach to her visceral portraiture, Helen is equally at home painting oil to cloth in a make shift studio or up in a cherry picker working on gable end. A true innovator, she often opts for using a roller and brush on murals instead of aerosol paint, capturing raw emotion deftly and with huge empathy.
Hush will be joining Nuart Aberdeen for the first time, beautifying walls his mesmerising fusion of traditional Eastern art and Western painting, collage, graffiti, stencil and drawing work. Often inspired by Geishas, one of the major themes to Hush’s work is the representation of women, sexuality and pornography in Japanese culture.
Young Spanish artist Julio Anaya Cabanding is also on the festival line up. Classically trained in fine art, Julio creates meticulously detailed replicas of renowned masterpieces and places them on abandoned and often graffitied walls. He starts sketching his pieces with aerosol and uses acrylic paint to create the minute details and clever trompe l’oeil ‘frames’. Julio loves to juxtapose these perfect copies of museum-worthy works by placing them in settings considered unworthy of receiving decadent art: his work is a rebellion against museum institutions.
Rounding out this year’s festival are two of the biggest names in street art: Smug & VHILS. Australian born, Glasgow based muralist Smug worked on two large scale photo-realistic pieces at Nuart in Stavanger, to raise awareness and to celebrate the fantastic work of his colleagues at ATTENDE. Smug’s perfectionistic portraits are simply phenomenal and I must admit he is one of my favourite artists.
VHILS’ pioneering bas-relief carving technique has been lauded as one of the most original approaches to street art in the last decade. This Portuguese artist’s astonishing masonry is both savage and complex, yet permeates a simplicity that speaks to people on a core, emotional level.
Nuart is extremely honoured to bring this huge wealth of talent to Scotland and look forward to exploring the works and rich stories behind them with the people of Aberdeen.
The festival organisers hope these artists will add something to the conversation both in Aberdeen and on the international stage.
The festival will run from 18th – 21st April 2019.
