Jef Aerosol - Spray It Loud

Spray It Loud
8th - 22nd February 2008
Artist: Jef Aerosol

Blind Angle is proud to announce Jef Aerosol’s first solo show in the United Kingdom where he will present his most recent body of work in Spray It Loud.
 
Jef Aerosol was working on stencils of Syd Barrett when he heard the news that he had died. Jef Aerosol boarded the first train to London to pay his tribute: the following day doorways and walls in Camden and London’s East End were haunted with the stenciled image of Barrett.
 
Jef Aerosol belongs to the first and groundbreaking generation of street artists who has inspired and influenced many of today’s big names in Street Art. While stencil street art is relatively new to Britain Jef started out in 1982 and soon made his mark in cities such as Paris. Using cultural iconography he has tirelessly continued to leave his distinctive and intriguing mark on the streets of major cities around the world such as Paris, Venice, Chicago, Amsterdam, Lisbon and London. Turn a corner in Paris, you might encounter vivid and life size stencils of Jim Morrison, in Chicago Bruce Springsteen or in Venice Dirk Bogarde.  On a wall by Camden Lock you could come across Joe Strummer dressed as a spy or around Brick Lane, Gandhi in lotus position on a “No parking” sign. As well as the celebrated, Jef Aerosol also reminds us of subjects we chose not to see; the busker, the old beggar, the homeless mother and child and the runaway kid are recurring motifs in his work.
 
Jef takes great care and effort in the preparation of his stencils – although street art may seem throw away to some, Jef’s extraordinarily well cut stencils prove the skill and commitment involved in such work.  Aerosol’s careful and insightful placement of his works serves to underline and heighten its message and mood.
 
For Spray it Loud, Jef Aerosol will take over a converted church opposite Holloway prison. Using his library of stencils walls inside the church will be covered with his iconic characters, another converted into a live project wall (which Jef will stencil on during the exhibition) and another will be a projection wall where images of Jef’s  ‘Street’ stencils and paste ups will be screened.