The life of stencil artists is one of contradiction. The act of spray-painting is immediate and chaotic; yet the stencil is created painstakingly & with absolute precision. The wild art of the can is tamed, controlled & brought to solid form by the template, surgically hand-carved. The details & care that goes into creating the stencil is artisanal, committed and focused. A stencil artist seeks not necessarily to create but to recreate. To relocate. From the impermanent recesses of the creative mind, to the authority & permanence of the stencil.

Studying fine art at university, I was fascinated by miniature design, Japanese animation & propaganda posters. It was while living in East London during the early 2000s that I became intoxicated by a graffiti movement that was coming of age. One couldn’t help but notice the colour & imagery that soaked the otherwise drab grey walls of Dalston & Shoreditch. For me & my brother, trying to find the latest D-face, Flying Fortress, Obey or London Police to name a few, was like a city-wide treasure hunt. This city was Banksy’s Hollywood, his reputation blew up in London; and so too did the grafters & the artists of the shadows as they stepped into the light of the gallery. But this wasn’t just a time for the commercialization of graffiti. It was the playground of the one-off creative & the political activist; the walls were speaking, screaming & I was all ears. DS Art was the love-child of this movement.

“There are two attributes that significantly divide the good from the great. The first attribute is vision. The people who become successful in this world have a clear perspective of their ultimate goal. The second attribute is passion.  If a person picks a job he doesn’t like for the sake of comfortability one must question one’s ultimate want. The men and women who have become great did not do so by being comfortable. Icons become iconic because they have a clear vision and passion that cannot be interrupted by certainly and mediocrity. Most importantly the men and women who leave their mark on history do so by taking a risk. London’s own ‘DS’ is a living breathing testament to this notion.” H.A.S Magazine

“The works of ‘DS’ takes the art of stenciling to levels of exceptional detail. Multiple layers create imagery beyond the monochromatic designs that adorn the walls of our streets; instead we are presented with depth, colour & detail that is complex, tactile & mentally engaging. Themes of violence & fragility are underscored by the playful & outright stupid – all dressed in the robes of rich colour & form.” Andres Olow Clase, Orion Contemporary

2011 – Evisu 20th Anniversary Exhibition, London

2011 – Graffik Gallery, joint exhibition, London

2011 – Red Bull Studios, joint exhibition, London

2010 – Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, London

2010 – London Fashion & Art Event, ICA, London

2010 – Art Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

2010 – Cielo Gallery Solo Exhibition, Mayfair, London

2010 – FBBB event, Wesbourne Studios, London

2010 – With Clase Contemporary, Affordable Art Fair, Brussels

2009 – With Zebra Gallery, Affordable Art Fair, Amsterdam

2009 – With Clase Contemporary, Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, London

2007 – Mbargo solo exhibition, Coventry

2007 – Mbargo solo exhibition, Bristol

2007 – Bristol fine art, ’student kicks’ urban art, joint exhibition

2007 – Hush bar, exhibition Bristol

2007 – Stark, joint exhibition Bristol