Adrian Wilson: The Anonymous Street Artist Behind New York's Altered Subway Signs

Adrian Wilson, born in 1964 in England, studied photography at Blackpool's HND Design and began experimenting with digital art using the Quantel Paintbox in the early 1980s. He later collaborated with Computer Images magazine. In 2004, he moved to New York, working as a photographer for LVMH, The New York Times, and Architectural Digest, and participated in interactive art shows like The Inutilious Retailer. He organized Space X Gallery in a fake startup loft in the Lower East Side. Wilson opened his first gallery in Jean-Michel Basquiat's former studio and residence on Great Jones Street, which led him to abandon gallery spaces for street art. Since 2012, he has created unauthorized modifications of New York subway station signs, renaming mosaic stops to honor icons like David Bowie, Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Eddie Van Halen. His tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, renaming the 50th Street station "Ruth Street," went viral. Wilson worked anonymously until 2020, when he revealed his identity after obtaining US citizenship. He uses removable materials like stickers and tape. During COVID, he collaborated with Heidi Hankaniemi on the "Wear a Mask" project, a dress made from 150 blue masks, and they visited Jordan Casteel's show at the New Museum. Wilson's work is influenced by the Situationist concept of détournement and digital text theory.