JayOne
5 June - 30 June 05

Kemistry Gallery in collaboration with Haiti73 presents the legendary JayOne in his new solo UK exhibition.
Guadeloupe born JayOne lives and works in Paris. An early initiate to graffiti culture, JayOne formed the infamous “Bad Boys Crew” in 1982. A rising star of the underground graffiti scene during the 80’s, his credentials were decisively established when inclusion in a series of exhibitions during the 90’s introduced him to a global audience.
Invited in 1995 by Agnes B to take part in “Stripped, L’Exposition”, alongside luminaries such as Futura, Mode2, Sharp, Jonone and Echo, JayOne has since gone on to show internationally in both group and solo shows in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Italy, Berlin and Hambourg.
In this, his first solo UK exhibition, JayOne will present his latest work accompanied by limited edition prints and t-shirts. JayOne’s soft, dreamy, colourful designs are reminiscent of camouflage patterns filtered through a graffiti style, allowing design and slogan to cohabit and create a strong social and political statement. Also on show will be a short video diary by JayOne. The work is based on real life situations, as opposed to the new
“utopian” graffiti market which is based largely around nonchallenging marketing opportunities and utilises fantasy colour schemes and neutral imagery. Working in the medium of painting is an important element; “Paintings
are social in the way that it portrays the reality of the artist and his environment and brings it into institutional spaces such as galleries and museums, where such a reality has never found a place before. You finally have to face a different view on call it Negroes, the ghetto, Hip Hop... the lower or popular class of society...”