Street art trailblazer Kid Acne’s new show opens in Copenhagen
- Text by Alex King
Kid Acne is an artist, illustrator, print-maker and sometime MC from Lilongwe, Malawi who grew up under the grey skies of the East Midlands.
Huck caught up with the spotty-faced wunderkind and street art legend as his show All Hail Glycon goes on show at Copenhagen’s Limited Works gallery, until November 1.
Things That Inspire Me
The Birth Of Hip Hop
This mural was painted in conjunction with The Festival Of The Mind in Sheffield. FOTM is curated by Professor Vanessa Toulmin of the National Fairground Archive. One strand of the festival teams up academics from The University of Sheffield with makers and practitioners from the city. My unlikely collaboration is with Dr Katie Edwards who is currently researching the use and significance of religious imagery within popular culture. After seeing The Birth of Hip-Hop illustration I did some time ago, I was commissioned to paint the mural last week, which has been accompanied by a talk and Q&A at The Spiegeltent.
Lost Civilisations
I take inspiration from all over the place, though I’m particularly interested in theories of alternate history and lost civilisations. I’ve been watching documentaries and reading books by Graham Hancock, John Anthony West and Robert Bauval. All of which are informing my studio practice, both visually and lyrically.
Ramm:Ell:Zee
I’ve always been inspired by Ramm:Ell:Zee. His artwork, music and Ionic Treatise are all well worth checking. I think his analogy of wildstyle graffiti and illuminated scriptures are very interesting. I feel honoured and humbled to have met him and talked about his theories for a minute. Big up New Flesh. Rest in Panzerism!
Quentin Blake
Although I found my feet through painting graffiti as a teenager, with everything said and done – the real inspiration for my style comes from the work of Quentin Blake. I love the simplicity and rawness of his work. He and Roald Dahl were the perfect partnership in my view.
Travels
I would say traveling is the most rewarding thing to have come out of what I do. I feel very fortunate to have visited so many places around the world and to have met all these different people. Even the bad times become good times in the end. I always feel inspired after I’ve been away.
Music
I couldn’t work without music. Good music definitely helps me to switch off and get into the zone when I’m working. I’m currently enjoying the likes of Mndsgn, Strange U, Burgundy Blood and Jonwayne. I am also working on a new album and a couple of EPs due for release in the near future under the name Mongrels.
Check out Kid Acne’s All Hail Glycon show at Limited Works, Copenhagen until November 1.
You might like
A luminous portrait of Black life over six decades
Shared Memories — As staff photographer for The New York Times, Chester Higgins captured Black culture and spiritual connection like no other. A new exhibition celebrates his life and impact.
Written by: Miss Rosen
A tender portrait of life and ritual from Mexico City’s streets
Órale — For the last six years of his life, photographer, collector and designer Michel Hurst documented death rituals, street life and religious pageantry in contemporary Mexico. A new monograph showcases his work.
Written by: Roxana Diba
In photos: Washington DC’s Black communities facing up to gentrification
A Language We Share — A new exhibition featuring the work of Beverly Price and Gordon Parks preserves historically Black neighbourhoods in the USA, before development and economic forces made them disappear.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The London passport picture studio that became an unexpected repository of 20th century stars
Passport Photo Service — From Mick and Bianca Jagger to Muhammad Ali and Poly Styrene, the unassuming Oxford Street store was frequented by hundreds of musicians, actors, artists and more over its 70 years of operation.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Sophie Green’s maximalist, technicolour vision of Britain’s fringes
Tangerine Dreams — The photographer has spent over a decade documenting the rituals, subcultures and social gatherings that form the collaged fabric of the UK’s society. A new exhibition at the Martin Parr Foundation celebrates her work and the communities she captures.
Written by: Roxana Diba
When the Chelsea Hotel was New York’s countercultural epicentre
Closed doors, open minds — Albert Scopin’s new photobook collects photographs that were once thought to be lost, documenting the city’s creative scene that gathered during the building’s 1969 to 1971 heyday.
Written by: Miss Rosen
