'Shadow Aspect' by Snik

About

With over a decades experience painting walls inside and out worldwide, Snik have successfully established themselves as one of the most interesting and progressive stencil artists in the UK. All stencils are intricately hand cut sometimes up to as many as 9 layers.

Through an exhibition of new and classic works, Shadow Aspect explores the affects of light on a subject or moment through the medium of stencil and spray paint.

Over the last 10 years, Snik have developed an intense and bold aesthetic which has come to define their style. Portraits are shown emerging from darkness in a gradient of vivid colours. The intensity is created by the composition, often portraying frozen moments of dynamic action, the engaging stare of the subject, or a theatrical play of light. It is this almost Caravaggesque contrast of light and dark, which is the focus of this new exhibition; Shadow Aspect.

Shadow has always played a pivotal role in Snik’s work. Drawing inspiration from theories of Impressionism and the dramatic lighting techniques of the Italian Renaissance, Snik present a reverse perspective to bring ‘light’ to the fore. By directing our attention away from the impact of the stark vacant spaces, light illuminates the more delicate details of their intricate cuts; the tangled strands of hair, the folds and textures of the fabrics.

Pushing the boundaries of medium and tools; Snik encourage us to question the value of art and the progressive techniques which continue to move it forward. The exhibition will feature a number of unseen originals, as well as a few classic pieces showcased with their original stencils.