If you’re Brighton-based, chances are you’ve seen the work of Pattern Up by now. This revolutionary collective of street artists have been raising eyebrows and making people laugh with their tongue-in-cheek political works which range from doctored Brighton council signs announcing ‘Designated Crack and Heroin Zones’ to paste-ups denouncing the Tories, The Sun, HMRC and more.
Given their similarities, it’s no surprise that Pattern Up caught the eye of Haus of Lucy – an artist with a unique knack for taking works of art and adding contemporary flourishes for a satirical twist.
Today, as we launch their collaboration – Insainsbury’s – we’re chatting to Haus of Lucy and Pattern Up to learn about the inspirations behind the piece and how the collaboration came about.
Insainsbury’s is available exclusively at Enter Gallery now.
From Guerrilla to Gallery
It was late last year that Pattern Up’s work caught the eye of Haus of Lucy, after she walked past one of their works on East Street and did a double take. Lucy tells us:
“I saw what I thought was an ad for Tesco Bottled Water and did a double-take when I realised that it actually read ‘Tesco Bottled Bong Water’. All the small print was about getting high. It really made me laugh. I took a photo and was excited to have discovered them and then as the week’s went by I just kept seeing all of these paste ups pop up all over Brighton. There was one with Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel on some Hob Nobs, so basically calling them nobs, I liked that one.”
After tracking down who was creating these paste ups and following them on Instagram, Haus of Lucy received a DM suggesting they collaborate:
“We started firing ideas back and forth, and talking about paste ups that we could do together. There are a couple that are about to be released, which will be popping up around Brighton soon.”
Brand loyalty
Over the years, Lucy has created a number of pieces depicting supermarkets and big name brands like McDonald’s and Starbucks, so collaborating on a piece poking fun at Sainsbury’s was an easy choice. She tells us:
“Insainsbury’s came about as a natural progression of our conversations. I’d actually already created a piece using the same image but it was Aldi rather than Sainsbury’s and I had the villagers fighting each other outside because they just can’t wait to be inside. Pattern liked the idea of using Insainbury’s because they’d already done an Insainsbury’s logo. He’s since created a façade on Gloucester Street.”
“The piece is a comment on the rising cost of living and the insanity of prices in the supermarkets that are so ridiculous that people can’t afford to feed themselves.”
Speaking to Pattern Up, they tell us:
“This piece is inspired by the insanity caused by consumerism. It touches on the increase in the cost of living and the false lifestyle promised by big business to those who consume their products.”
Insainsbury’s is available now exclusively at Enter Gallery. A percentage of profits from sales of this piece will be donated to The Trussell Trust - a charity that works to end the need for food banks in the UK.
