The beaver is a proud and noble animal

Originally from Toulouse, Philippe Shangti started photography at the tender age of fourteen. Moving to Saint-Tropez allowed him to experiment more with his passion and ‘discover’ his artistic self. Shangti’s work is controversial in his aim at breaking down taboos and has become instantly recognizable amongst galleries and collectors since first exhibiting his photographs in his own restaurant.

The flawless detail, humorous undertones and lack of subtlety are classic hallmarks of Shangti’s work. It is surrounded by an exciting energetic buzz, with lashings of immoderation and glamour. The artist’s provocative and glamorous universe is the expression of his imagination, aimed to actively disturb minds. Through his series of photographic artworks like “Art vs Drugs”, “Luxury Overdose”, “No Prostitution Here” or “No Pollution Here” in 2017, Shangti manages to denounce serious causes by sublimating important messages.

Each new series is a tricky and bold challenge as it blows the whistle on immorality by making it attractive to see, and thus reaching a wide audience. His art comes in a variety of photographs, artistic concepts but also in limited edition sculptures. Constantly looking for new ideas and challenges, Shangti creates special works featuring sports personalities, collectors and their families. In addition, he collaborates with many luxury brands as part of the development of a range of products steeped with his art and his universe.

Angelo Lembo was born in Syracuse, in Sicily. The tempo of his whole childhood was given by the sound of his mother’s sewing machine – a dressmaker. He was fascinated when looking at her turning a modest fabric scrap into a tent dress or a three-piece suit. He thought: “when I grow up, I will do this! I want to create something! I want to see unthinkable things come true in my hands!”

This is the inspration for his MIXARTOYS. He felt the desire to have fun, to take his kid’s creative spirit up again. He thought again about his toys and games. All those cartoons characters who inhabited his room. His parents were not rich enough to satisfy all demands, so he often got wrecked figurines from friends. And yet, he fixed them up, mixing the characters to offer them a new life. It was an extraordinary life, made of fantastic adventures.

Today, he took his dusty toys out of their boxes. They are warriors. They came across wars, ashes and other bad experiences they had to bear. They didn’t give in to digital attraction. They went through areas and just don’t care about fashion, money and religion. They are immortal creatures.
Lembo wishes to offer them the life they deserve: an XXL life. Suddenly, they go taller and taller and by turns, they become brutal, rebel, sweetheart, thanks to MIX magic. They are MIXARTOYS.

Each of them is a mix of seriousness, derision, mood and humour. In a certain way, they are our childhood keepers.

Mr. Oreke was born in 1986, he is a French artist and does “Street Pop Art”. During early 2000’s, he came across pictorial art through graffiti. He began covering walls with spray painted drawings with shimmering colors before continuing the same process on canvas.

His style drew inspiration from the pop art movement and American comics of the 50’s and 60’s. Abstraction made a major impact on his style during his early years, while masculine and feminine faces in stencil became part of his universe. Human figures is Roy Lichtenstein’s inheritance, a painter he admires for his portraits. Mr. Oreke’s uniqueness can be seen through his backgrounds where he uses spray paint in a graffiti like manner. The artist combines ink with acrylic and sometimes varied elements such as bank notes. Narration is hinted with humor, fantasy and energy. A formal freedom is added by mixing collages, colors and typographic elements….and are a lot like comic books.

Colin Banks has a passion for exotic wildlife which is powerfully expressed in his innovative animal portraiture. Each stunning image gives the viewer a remarkable sense of closeness to the animal in question. Despite the semi abstract feel to some of the work, Colin believes that the eyes should always be the focus of any life study, so this feature is always very real, drawing the viewer in and inviting them to engage with the subject.

There is also a strong sense of narrative; these animals have a story to tell, of past adventures and uncertain futures. Colin is a committed conservationist and his concerns about endangered species, particularly tigers, add a frisson of empathy and authenticity to each piece.