Nuart Aberdeen is back in full force this year with yet another stellar line up to grace the streets of Scotland’s “Granite City.” The theme for this year’s festival is “Rewilding,” a subject that touches on many issues related to “Trespass and Transgression,” a topic extensively explored by the ingenious Nuart Journal associates during the past year.
“As anyone who knows me will profess, getting quotes from me is like getting blood from a stone – not because I have anything particular against quotes, and I’m aware it’s possibly some deep-seated insecurity about the value of my ideas – but looking at this year’s program I couldn’t be happier, so here it is. I guess it’s testament to the hard work from all involved and the welcome that Aberdeen’s citizens have given to Nuart these past years, that without exception, everyone we reach out to says, yes, they’d love to come to the city. Word has spread, and continues to do so, about just what an incredibly unique and authentic city and project we’ve created together. And in spite of greater societal issues and the challenges faced by the high street, we hope to continue contributing to shifting things, however incrementally, towards a richer, fairer and more inclusive relationship to art and culture. Maybe there is some value in this after all, so maybe there’ll be more quotes going forwards. On behalf of the team, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of those that continue to support this initiative – we can’t wait to get started on 2023.” – Martyn Reed, Nuart Director.
Among the artists contributing to this year’s festival is Aida Wilde, an Iranian-born, London-based printmaker/visual artist and educator. Wilde’s predominantly screen-printed installations and social commentary posters have been featured on city streets around the world and are responsive commentary works on gentrification, education and equality.
The brilliant UK based duo SNIK will bring their creative genius to Nuart Aberdeen for the third time. The internationally-acclaimed pair combine the creation of hand-cut, multilayered stencils with haunting, ethereal portraiture, born from a male/female dual perspective. This traditional-craft, progressive-ethos approach has seen SNIK commissioned on a hugely diverse array of walls the world over.
With Nuart’s support, Scottish artist KMG lifted Aberdonian spirits during the pandemic by adding her raw yet playful creations to the walls of her native city. She describes her own work as “a weird combination of youthful enthusiasm mixed with utter cynicism.” She will be participating in this year’s festival, so watch this space for her next Nuart Aberdeen creation! It is bound to turn heads.
Spanish artist ESCIF is based in Valencia, where he started painting graffiti in 1996 before progressing to murals. His work portrays social criticism in a minimalist and elegant way, and always with a message designed to rouse the public. His work is usually considered to exist on a border between popular and conceptual art.
This artist in particular implores people to look beyond the pure aesthetic of his work and to focus on the social message of his pieces.
Globally renowned French duo MURMURE (Paul Ressencourt and Simon Roche) work on a human scale with an acute eye for placement. Their collages create singular urban scenes by interacting with their specific location and, while often ephemeral, their scale and accessibility to the passerby imbue them with great substance.
Best known for his décollage covers of the Sex Pistols’ albums, British artist JAMIE REID is a self-described anarchist. Reid’s cover art helped define the aesthetic of the British punk movement through its faux-ransom-note letters and iconoclastic defacements of pop culture and nationalistic images.
Spanish artist MANOLO MESA describes himself as a street-art “poet,” curious about people and the world, he believes that one’s attitude and resilience create one’s identity. His painting is often a study of encounter and loneliness. An iconography of the absurdity of existence which goes beyond the physical. He is interested in the symbol of a painting, the metaphysical silence in which the past intertwines with the present.
UK based Polish artist NESPOON is on a mission to embroider the world! She enriches the already diverse urban art with her own unique brand of lace art. By using intricate doily patterns, the artist beautifies abandoned and unadorned spaces in unlikely urban jungles, transforming them into stunning works of art. Her process is based on an almost forgotten tradition of doily making. Always working with respect for the spot and the particular local context, NeSpoon finds her inspiration in the local textile traditions. By choosing an art form associated with women, she celebrates its femininity and harmony it creates.
British artist STANLEY DONWOOD will also be contributing to Nuart Aderdeen this year. This artist’s work is diverse, from designing Radiohead’s album covers and book covers for JG Ballard’s novels, to art directing a film about nuclear weapons, writing numerous short stories and creating artwork for Glastonbury Festival.
American artist SWOON is a Brooklyn-based street and studio artist known for her large-scale paper cut works and life-size installations.
The majority of Swoon’s work consists of intricate and delicate paper-cut portraits which are generally based on the people she met throughout her life. Swoon’s paper cuts pieces are just as well transient as they are not made with spray paint on walls like most street artists. Even though most of them survive for months, some may remain visible for just a couple of minutes. Fingers crossed that her works in Aberdeen will have a healthy lifespan and will be enjoyed by many.
Portuguese visual artist and illustrator TAMARA ALVES prefers to ignore conventional spaces such as galleries or museums and present her work in the street or in public spaces. She presents the erotic panorama of a contemporary body in her work. Her visual language is inspired by the urban aesthetic, she uses media with multifaceted characteristics – drawing, painting, ceramics and tattooing.
Barcelona based British artist ELOISE GILLOW is trained in classical realism, and her imagery is drawn from her surroundings, capturing subtle gestures in body language and movement. She is motivated by the direct connection between her artwork and the surrounding communities. Her imagery invites the viewer to reflect on where and how they find vitality and to reach into a deeper undercurrent of connection to each other, and the natural world.
Self-taught Brazilian artist THIAGO MAZZA first started graffiti writing in 2010 before progressing to painting murals. He’s known in the contemporary urban art scene for his mastery in the representation of fauna and flora. His current subject of studies are tropical plants, their exuberant structure and dense foliage. His work dialogues with classical painting, street art and contemporary art. Thiago Mazza brings nature within him, the ingenuity to transmute it and the art of taking us to it.
Nuart is extremely honored to bring this huge wealth of talent to Scotland and share the topical “Rewilding” focused works of this year’s festival with the people of Aberdeen.
The festival organizers hope these artists will add something to the urban art conversation, both in Aberdeen and on the international stage.
Nuart Aberdeen runs from June 8-11th 2023
Congratulations Nuart Aberdeen! Swoon is always magical.