Dale vN Marshall’s career began over twenty-five years ago as a graffiti artist on the streets of Bath and Bristol, UK. Marshall would paint his own rendition of poetry which challenged the graffiti stereotype under the moniker ‘VERMIN’ or ‘Vn’. To Marshall, the walls were sacred. They recorded his own personal journey and the words he wrote on them had power and enduring meaning. Marshall enjoyed this form of expressive freedom and youthful rebellion but it ultimately brought upon him the gritty consequences of street culture, which for Marshall led to drug use and psychotic episodes.
We are extremely proud to have collaborated with Dale on a 22 layer screen print titled ‘Vacant Hero’. The print is based on one of Dale’s canvas paintings that formed part of his most recent solo exhibition ‘I am not a child’ (Edinburgh, 2016). The exhibition was the culmination of a project in which Dale collaborated with local youngsters suffering with mental health issues.
