'Drug Lord: Pick n' Mix' by Imbue, 2024
Based on the artist's original 'Drug Lord' from 2017.
11.8 x 7.87 x 1 Inches
30 x 20 x 2.5 Centimeters
Designer wood cross sculpture in mat white finish.
Assorted pill capsules behind clear perspex secured with stainless steel nuts + bolts.
Limited Edition of 150 (#143/150)
Laser-engraved year, title and edition on reverse.
Hand-signed by the artist on reverse in black Sharpie marker.
Includes artist Thank You card, handling cloth, sticker and COA.
Comes in original canvas drawstring bag/box.
ARTIST BIO
“In a thousand years’ time, if they look back at us, will they think people worshiped Barbie?” –Imbue
Perish the thought, but, just in case, there’s Imbue. Call him a smart aleck, a wisecracker, a practical joker guerilla artist. Imbue distills revisited iconography, constantly questioning images from advertising and pop culture by perverting its context. Mickey Mouse on a cross, Snow White in a cheesecake pose, installing a Steely Dan machine on Brighton Pier”street art is Imbue’s way of mixing things up.
Imbue was born in London on January 19, 1988. He spent his childhood in the Southeast England county of Kent. The artist recalls always having a creative bent, a pursuit fueled by his father. Many times his dad brought home boxes and tape from work, and the youth set to cutting them up, sticking the pieces together, and otherwise making a great mess. It also proved a lot of fun and served as an early introduction to a crude and rudimentary form of working with found objects and installations.
Art became Imbue’s favorite subject in school and his only area of study in college. He has stated that college granted him a freedom to explore, and the experience provided him a great opportunity to discover many different types of art.
After his school days, Imbue took a spare room with his brother who had moved to Brighton, relocating to Great Britain’s south coast. The young artist was immediately taken with his new surroundings, especially its people and it local feeling of community.
Imbue’s initial street art experiments in Brighton covered numerous techniques, employing paint, markers and printing as he worked towards his unique style. By 2009, he had made his mark, artistically speaking, and held his first solo exhibit, “A World Gone Mad,” at Brighton’s Ink-d Gallery.