SLAWN: GONE? ➳ Milan

Heralding their entrance into the African content, CIRCA presents GONE?, a site-specific study on the theme of hope by Nigerian-born, London-based artist Slawn.

Throughout November, the artist locked himself inside an empty shop in Piccadilly Circus, London, and was filmed face-on by CIRCA spray-painting directly onto bespoke cut perspex sheets, scaled to fit eleven of their global screen locations. Referencing Picasso at his home in Vallauris, painting on glass (1950) with a camera rolling on the other side, or The Pharcyde in their Drop music video (1995),an inward/outward illusion is achieved between the artist and viewer. Gradually removing himself from the picture, with a different painting created for each city, Slawn indirectly asks the world: ‘Has all hope GONE?’

The work of London-based Nigerian artist Slawn (b.2000 in Lagos, Nigeria) pendulates between street art and abstract expressionism while exploring pertinent issues of politics, race, and identity. At 23 years old, Slawn stands as a cult icon, celebrated not just for his art but also as a street artist and skateboarder, esteemed by figures like Virgil Abloh and Skepta. His acclaim arises from an artistic signature that manipulates reality on large-scale canvases, intertwining cartoonish-like pop figures, bold, colourful forms, and stylish shapes defined with vivid hues that beckon the viewer. At first, seemingly playful and a descendant of street art, it is upon closer inspection that we see the intense human element that Slawn endows to each work, where he explores human psychology, politics, race, and other complex topics and issues still challenging society.