BEN VENOM: ALL THIS MAYHEM

MAC (Midlands Art Centre)
from 22 June – 8 September 
Free Admission
macbirmingham.co.uk

An exhibition using traditional quilting and Heavy Metal aesthetics. Working with repurposed materials to create textile- based pieces, Ben contrasts the often menacing and aggressive counterculture components of gangs, punk/metal music, and the occult with the comforts of domesticity. This collision of traditional quilting techniques with elements tied to the fringes of society re-envisions the story of the material through a softer lens. The salvaged fabrics Ben Venom uses often contain a multitude of personal stories, be they unexplained stains or rips, which form part of a larger narrative and collective history within his work. Ben Venom has shown nationally and internationally and was recently artist-in-residence at San Francisco’s de Young Museum.

This will be his first solo UK exhibition.