Artichoke The Gallery Season 2

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Gender, disability, home, nationhood, environment, mental health, industrialisation and social injustice

My hope for Season 2 is that by sharing the challenges that face us all, we can feel more able to cope. I hope we can raise spirits, of course. And also raise the magnificent spirit of protest.

For me, the artists of Season 2 are saying ‘we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore’. You might be feeling the same way.

~ Martin Firrell, Creative Director ~

That's a wrap: Watch the highlights

The Season 2 wrap film. Filmed by Rob Hill, Edward H Spreull, Fluxx Films, David Bewick and Louise Mather. Edited by Patrick Bethell.

Can artists help decode what’s going on?

11 timely and powerful artworks responded to the theme ‘The State We’re In’ on thousands of billboards and outdoor digital screens across the four nations of the UK.

The exhibition ‘The State We’re In’ spanned towns and cities, freely available to millions of people for 4 weeks: from London to Glasgow to Manchester, Southampton and Cardiff.

Seven artworks were selected from almost 1,300 works submitted to our global, public open call. The Gallery also commissioned four new artworks. The works were created in diverse mediums including photography, illustration, oil painting, collage and digital printing.

The Gallery is a new kind of cultural institution, a major gallery without walls, created by Artichoke in collaboration with Public Artist Martin Firrell. It is the result of a unique partnership with the UK Out-of-Home* industry including the industry leaders, Clear Channel and JCDecaux. Our mission is to make art accessible through bold and unafraid exhibitions that appear as part of people’s daily lives.

*The term Out-of-Home refers to any visual advertising media found outside of the home, including on-street billboards, digital screens, bus-shelters and train stations.

Artists

Allyson Packer

CRY | View Bio

Becca + Clare

What We Do | View Bio

Dola Posh

Care | View Bio

Hugh Malyon

Forced into a ‘TickBox’: an Acceptable Method of Gaslighting? | View Bio

S Mark Gubb

Profit and Self | View Bio

Bobby Baker

GROSSLY UNDERVALUED DOMESTIC PRODUCT | View Bio

Trackie McLeod

NOW! That’s What I Call Anxiety | View Bio

HEYDT

Last to inherit | View Bio

Natasha Klutch

Rue The Waves | View Bio

Richard Woods

A house upside down | A house on its side | View Bio

Sarah Maple

Let Them Eat Nothing | View Bio

'The State We're In' hit billboards and digital screens all across the UK

A billboard of the artwork 'Care' by Dola Posh on a busy London road. A black woman sits atop her bed with a toddler sat cross-legged in front of her. She is wearing a floral robe with a burgundy head wrap. The woman combs out her daughter's afro and puts it into twists.

A metro station screen of the artwork Forced into a ‘TickBox’ (2023) by Hugh Malyon in Manchester. A bird’s eye view of what appears to be an open tin of sardines. Stuffed inside are numerous green tinged images of Hugh Maylon (the artist). The many clones of Hugh are uncomfortably crammed together.

A billboard of the artwork ‘What We Do’ (2023) by Becca + Clare on a busy London road. A group of people from different backgrounds who vary in age sit in a room together. The room's furniture is constructed from colourful paper and cardboard as if it were the set of a children's show. The cardboard scene details; two children playing with a console game; someone hanging a picture frame; someone knitting and someone lighting candles.

A billboard of the artwork ‘GROSSLY UNDERVALUED DOMESTIC PRODUCT’ (2022) by Bobby Baker against a sunset. A colourful sketched character on a red background. The central figure is adorned with cooking utensils, washing and other domestic symbols. She has several arms; one holds a bulging shopping basket and another arm leans on a walking cane. A child's hand tightly grasps onto another hand and one arm holds a large flag with text across it. The text reads: 'GROSSLY UNDERVALUED DOMESTIC PRODUCT'.

A billboard of the artwork ‘Rue The Waves’ (2022) by Natasha Klutch on a busy London road at night. A painted portrait of a regal looking woman in patriotic British colours. She is holding a bent trident, a round Union Jack shield and a helmet with a lion on it. She has a black eye and is covered in tomato juice.

A billboard of the artwork ‘NOW! That’s What I Call Anxiety’ (2022) by Trackie McLeod against the sky at sunset. A vibrant yellow background fills the image. Text in scrawled bold bubble lettering reads: 'NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL ANXIETY'.

A billboard of the artwork ‘Let Them Eat Nothing’ (2023) by Sarah Maple on a busy London road. A blue and white frosted cake sits against a blue background. The cake is decorated in alternating rosettes of blue and white frosting. Piped onto the cake in cursive lettering are the words: 'Let them Eat Nothing'.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘CRY’ (2022) by Allyson Packer on a busy London road at night. A barren landscape. A freight train can barely be seen in the distance. A road sign in the foreground reads 'CR Y'.

A billboard of the artwork 'Last to inherit' (2020) by HEYDT on a busy London road. A parody of an old children's building blocks advert. Pictured are two smiling white children playing with what appears to be a miniature scale city in ruins. Debris and vehicles are strewn across the play-set.

A billboard of the artwork ‘Profit and Self’ (2022) by S Mark Gubb on a busy London road at night. The background is a gradient of yellow to orange. In large fuchsia letters, the text reads: 'Profit and self above all else'.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork What We Do (2023) by Becca + Clare in Manchester. A group of people from different backgrounds who vary in age sit in a room together. The room's furniture is constructed from colourful paper and cardboard as if it were the set of a children's show. The cardboard scene details; two children playing with a console game; someone hanging a picture frame; someone knitting and someone lighting candles.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘GROSSLY UNDERVALUED DOMESTIC PRODUCT’ (2022) by Bobby Baker in Manchester. A colourful sketched character on a red background. The central figure is adorned with cooking utensils, washing and other domestic symbols. She has several arms; one holds a bulging shopping basket and another arm leans on a walking cane. A child's hand tightly grasps onto another hand and one arm holds a large flag with text across it. The text reads: 'GROSSLY UNDERVALUED DOMESTIC PRODUCT'.

A billboard of the artwork ‘A house upside down’ (2023) by Richard Woods on a busy London road at night. Four geometric blue houses with grey roofs and orange doors. Three stand upright and one is upside down.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘Let Them Eat Nothing’ (2023) by Sarah Maple on a busy London road at night. A blue and white frosted cake sits against a blue background. The cake is decorated in alternating rosettes of blue and white frosting. Piped onto the cake in cursive lettering are the words: 'Let them Eat Nothing'.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘Care’ (2021) by Dola Posh in Manchester. A black woman sits atop her bed with a toddler sat cross-legged in front of her. She is wearing a floral robe with a burgundy head wrap. The woman combs out her daughter's afro and puts it into twists.

A billboard of the artwork 'Forced into a ‘TickBox’: an Acceptable Method of Gaslighting?' (2023) by Hugh Malyon on a busy London road. A bird’s eye view of what appears to be an open tin of sardines. Stuffed inside are numerous green tinged images of Hugh Maylon (the artist). The many clones of Hugh are uncomfortably crammed together.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘CRY’ (2022) by Allyson Packer in Manchester. A barren landscape. A freight train can barely be seen in the distance. A road sign in the foreground reads 'CR Y'.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘NOW! That’s What I Call Anxiety’ (2022) by Trackie McLeod in Mnachester. A vibrant yellow background fills the image. Text in scrawled bold bubble lettering reads: 'NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL ANXIETY'.

A billboard of the artwork ‘Rue The Waves’ (2022) by Natasha Klutch on a busy London road. A painted portrait of a regal looking woman in patriotic British colours. She is holding a bent trident, a round Union Jack shield and a helmet with a lion on it. She has a black eye and is covered in tomato juice.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork 'A house upside down’ (2023) by Richard Woods in Manchester. Four geometric blue houses with grey roofs and orange doors. Three stand upright and one is upside down.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘Profit and Self’ (2022) by S Mark Gubb on a busy London road at night. The background is a gradient of yellow to orange. In large fuchsia letters, the text reads: 'Profit and self above all else'.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork Last to inherit (2020) by HEYDT in Manchester. A parody of an old children's building blocks advert. Pictured are two smiling white children playing with what appears to be a miniature scale city in ruins. Debris and vehicles are strewn across the play-set.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘Let Them Eat Nothing’ (2023) by Sarah Maple in Manchester. A blue and white frosted cake sits against a blue background. The cake is decorated in alternating rosettes of blue and white frosting. Piped onto the cake in cursive lettering are the words: 'Let them Eat Nothing'.

A billboard of the artwork ‘GROSSLY UNDERVALUED DOMESTIC PRODUCT’ (2022) by Bobby Baker on a busy London road. A colourful sketched character on a red background. The central figure is adorned with cooking utensils, washing and other domestic symbols. She has several arms; one holds a bulging shopping basket and another arm leans on a walking cane. A child's hand tightly grasps onto another hand and one arm holds a large flag with text across it. The text reads: 'GROSSLY UNDERVALUED DOMESTIC PRODUCT'.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork 'Forced into a ‘TickBox’: an Acceptable Method of Gaslighting?' (2023) by Hugh Malyon on a busy London road. A bird’s eye view of what appears to be an open tin of sardines. Stuffed inside are numerous green tinged images of Hugh Maylon (the artist). The many clones of Hugh are uncomfortably crammed together.

A billboard of the artwork ‘CRY’ (2022) by Allyson Packer on a busy London road. A barren landscape. A freight train can barely be seen in the distance. A road sign in the foreground reads 'CR Y'.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘NOW! That’s What I Call Anxiety’ (2022) by Trackie McLeod on a busy London road at night. A vibrant yellow background fills the image. Text in scrawled bold bubble lettering reads: 'NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL ANXIETY'.

A billboard of the artwork ‘A house upside down’ (2023) by Richard Woods on a busy London road. Four geometric blue houses with grey roofs and orange doors. Three stand upright and one is upside down.

Two billboards of the artwork 'Care' by Dola Posh on a busy London road at night. A black woman sits atop her bed with a toddler sat cross-legged in front of her. She is wearing a floral robe with a burgundy head wrap. The woman combs out her daughter's afro and puts it into twists.

A billboard of the artwork ‘What We Do’ (2023) by Becca + Clare against a sunset. A group of people from different backgrounds who vary in age sit in a room together. The room's furniture is constructed from colourful paper and cardboard as if it were the set of a children's show. The cardboard scene details; two children playing with a console game; someone hanging a picture frame; someone knitting and someone lighting candles.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘Rue The Waves’ (2022) by Natasha Klutch in Manchester. A painted portrait of a regal looking woman in patriotic British colours. She is holding a bent trident, a round Union Jack shield and a helmet with a lion on it. She has a black eye and is covered in tomato juice.

A bus shelter screen of the artwork ‘Profit and Self’ (2022) by S Mark Gubb in Manchester. The background is a gradient of yellow to orange. In large fuchsia letters, the text reads: 'Profit and self above all else'.

A billboard of the artwork 'Last to inherit' (2020) by HEYDT on a busy London road at night. A parody of an old children's building blocks advert. Pictured are two smiling white children playing with what appears to be a miniature scale city in ruins. Debris and vehicles are strewn across the play-set.

A photo from a schools workshop in Cardiff for Season 2 of The Gallery. A group of young people sit in a classroom with piles of art supplies on their work stations. They are creating artwork in repsonse to the theme — Cardiff Workshop with Fio and Cara Walker, The Gallery Season 2, 17 January 2022. Photo by Beth King

The Gallery is for everyone

Each biannual Gallery season sets out to nurture and develop artists at all levels; giving them a platform and guidance on producing art in the public realm.

Season 2 introduced our new Learning and Participation programme which engaged with young people across the UK. We’ve been lucky enough to work with young people throughout Northern Ireland and Wales.

This programme highlights the power of art in public space and provides inspiration and guidance for creating your own impactful public artwork.

Learn about the history of art in public space and create your own impactful artwork! Take part with our interactive video: thegallery.org/participation