Billy Childish and Sweet Toof to exhibit at New Voices in Hackney exhibition

‘Ears’ by Ruth Solomons

Acclaimed artists from Hackney and beyond including Billy Childish are coming together for a group exhibition at BL-NK in Shoreditch later this month.

Over 20 artists, most with local links, will be exhibiting work at the New Voices in Hackney Art exhibition, which aims to raise funds and awareness for the Prince’s Trust, St Mungo’s and a pro-reconciliation charity from the city of Haifa.

The most famous artist taking part is William Hamper, better known as Billy Childish, who founded Stuckism, an art movement that valued figurative painting over conceptual art. A successful musician and poet also, Childish will bolster his reputation as a polymath by exhibiting his first ever bronze sculptures at BL-NK.

Skeletal figures with big pink mouths will be recognisable as the work of Hackney Wick stalwart Sweet Toof, while the mythological figures and amorphous hybrid creatures of Aly Helyer will also make an appearance.

The works on display by these ‘new Hackney voices’ promise to be varied in style and tone. A satirical painting of the Queen by Annie Zamero shows the British monarch enjoying a ‘day off’ by going wild on a garden swing. At the other end of the spectrum, Michelle O’Mahoney’s oblique paintings explore relationships in life and death through the use of repeated imagery.

The week-long exhibition will be launched with an evening of music on 29 May from gypsy and east European influenced Klezmer duo Balabustah, who will perform with the virtuoso violin and accordion of Don Levitski and Chris Taylor.

Speaker’s Corner: New Voices in Hackney Art is at BL-NK, 37 East Road, N1 6AH from 29 May – 6 June.