To stay true to his roots, this new collection maintains
the core characteristics of a Mr. Controversial artwork. The beautiful,
glamourous, empowered women combined with the witty, sarcastic captions. As
true to his creative process, he takes things relegated to the past and brings
them back to life in a way that resonates with a new generation of art
collectors and buyers. He has introduced photography of icons, from Hollywood
actresses to civil rights protagonists. A new san serif font, new mediums, new
colour schemes (and lack thereof), new presentation in the framing style but
the same Mr. Controversial twist – beautiful vintage aesthetic with witty,
relatable and current captions that tell an enticing story.

There is a theme and an
undercurrent that runs through this new collection; The Underdog. Mr.
Controversial takes the down trodden, the forgotten and reinterprets them in an
empowering way. Almost making them film stars with diamond dust adding a
glamourous finish through the glitzy shimmer it creates. As well as Pulp
fiction book characters, he reinterprets controversial figures; Huey Newton of
the revolutionary 1960’s Black Panther party, Playboy models, one of the first
black Hollywood starlets Dorothy Dandridge, Monroe. The captions that accompany
the images play with the heros journey and the battle between aspiration and
reality, the fight to belong in a world you’re not supposed to be in.

A journey
and battle he is all too familiar with, coming from humble beginnings in West
London, no formal art training, privilege or connections he has relentlessly
pushed forward against all obstacles and is quickly becoming the one to watch
in, what’s often seen as the impenetrable fine art world. A world he believes
is ripe and ready for disruption. Armed with nothing but creative ideas, work
ethic and self-belief, he is forging his own path