Worse than heroin

a group show by leading graffiti and street artists

Since its explosion in the 1970s, the increasing popularity of graffiti as an art form has won commercial success for its artists and a regular presence in pop culture and the contemporary art world. This form of artistic expression has always been associated with subcultures and marginalised groups rebelling against authority and injustice.

It is no surprise then that Cape Town, with its history of social injustice, has produced a lively and creative street art scene that continues to present new and young artists inspired by the early pioneers who spoke out against discrimination now more than three decades ago. Because graffiti is illegal in most cases, this form of art has flourished in the underground, requiring little money and providing an opportunity to voice what is often excluded from dominant histories and media.

An exhibition of artworks by some of today’s most prominent local street artists will be on show from 6 – 27 July at Cape Town’s WORLDART gallery.

The exhibition is titled Worse than heroin, a reference to the fact that a street artist can get up to three years in prison when caught, while punishment for doing drugs in public is significantly lighter and will be the third instalment hosted by WORLDART since 2019.

Internationally graffiti has been a springboard to international fame for a few. Jean-Michel Basquiat began spraying on the street in the 1970s before becoming a respected artist in the 1980s. The Frenchman Blek le Rat and the British

artist Banksy have achieved international fame by producing artworks with stencils, often making political or humorous points. Works by Banksy regularly sell for more than R1 million, while local artists like MOTELSEVEN, Nardstar*, Mars and Dekor-One have also achieved international recognition and success.

Artists who master the craft of painting on the street can create perhaps even greater work in the studio, where they have more time, resources and don’t have to worry about the weather or the police, while a new generation of collectors who are familiar and comfortable with the street art aesthetic increasingly pursue their work”, says Charl Bezuidenhout, owner of the WORLDART gallery.

Artists on show will include:

Anoy – Anoy has been doing graffiti since early 90’s and was originally known for painting scary characters fused with sharp edged razor blade like lettering.

Henry Hamilton – Originally went under another alias and was an active bomber for many years. He has a fascination with imagery associated with folklore such as aliens and sasquatches and these are commonly depicted in his detailed canvases and most recently tuft wool pieces.

Kem – The by-law in Cape Town saw the erasure and retirement of many Cape Town based graffiti artists except Kem. He has stayed consistent with tags and his signature 2 letter throw-up.

Rules – A notable graffiti artist from Durban uses a mix of colourful lettering and characters mixing retro iconography and Japanese caricatures.

MOTELSEVEN – She has painted in cities all over the world. Her work is recognisable by the use of brightly coloured geometric letters deconstructed to the point of animation and sometimes accented with a goofy character to bring humour and accessibility to the image.

Smet – most known for his creative lettering style. He is a founding member of the Awks crew (Nardstar*, Fers and Smet) he has used his knowledge to host graffiti competitions and Park Jams.

2Kiler and Mors – these two can be credited with re-emergence of graffiti in Cape Town after the by-law almost grinded the scene to a halt. This duo re-ignited the scene with the foundation of graffiti tags.

Plaig – spreads his name around the city exactly as his name suggests often depicting a character wearing a gas mask and a hood on billboards and the likes.

Zombie – known for their black and white graphic, gothic style.

Malay – acting under a different alias, is a fairly new but active graffiti artist that has done his fair share in Cape Town, from billboards to rooftops.

The exhibition will open on the July First Thursdays event when art galleries in Cape Town’s cbd are open to the public till 8pm.

For more information, contact the gallery at info@worldart.co.za