‘Villainy’ reigns supreme at Mayfair’s Maddox Gallery.
The UK may have Banksy, but NYC has their own answer: Jerkface. The anonymous street artist is known for their twisted subversions of iconic cartoon characters, and they’ve chosen Maddox Gallery in Mayfair as their playground for a new art exhibition, codenamed ‘Villainy’. An eye-popping array of familiar faces in unfamiliar situations can now be found at the gallery, starting with that giant Simpsons-eque doughnut above the front door.
‘Villainy’ adapts characters from The Simpsons, Peanuts, The Flintstones, and plenty of other classic cartoons, and slowly starts to distort them until they become gleefully unsettling. (Witness the painting of Winnie the Pooh with no eyes for the starkest evidence of this.) It’s Jerkface’s first solo UK show, and there’s no denying that their creations have provided quite the calling card…
By smashing together a range of styles, shapes, and characters, Jerkface aims to become the ultime ‘cartoon villain’ – hence the name of the show. Yep, the likes of Mr Burns and Team Rocket can step aside, because there’s a new villain in town, and they’re here to forever change the way you see your childhood favourites.
All in all, it’s a wild nostalgia trip with a tasty diversion into darkness, and we’re very much into it. You’ll find ‘Villainy’ at the Maddox Gallery until July 15, so if you’re planning to come down and peruse some thought-provoking art – or snap a shot of that giant doughnut for Instagram, perchance? – you’ll need to be fairly swift in doing so. To miss out would be, well, nothing short of villainy…
Find the Maddox Gallery at 9 Maddox Street, Mayfair, W1S 2QE. Nearest station is Oxford Circus. See their website here.