Paul Insect: The Art of Concealment and Identity

Paul Insect, born in 1971 and based in London, has built a career on the aesthetics of subtraction and concealment. Emerging in the 1990s as part of the insect collective, he blended rave graphics and DIY aesthetics with pop culture and digital futures. His breakthrough came in 2007 with the exhibition Bullion at Lazarides Gallery, London, which was purchased in its entirety by Damien Hirst before the opening. Insect has since collaborated with Banksy on projects such as Santa's Ghetto in Bethlehem and murals in Palestine. His practice spans collage, silkscreen, painting, and installation, often incorporating materials like glitter and diamond dust to elevate kitsch into a noble language. His pixellated or masked faces critique the filtered image era, oscillating between Dada and Pop Art with irony. In recent years, he has expanded into sculpture, installation, and puppets, with solo shows in New York, London, and Hong Kong, and participation in Beyond the Streets. His Instagram presence reveals color as a detonator, not decoration, exploring what individuals choose to hide.