Xenz, Feral, 2009
Silkscreen on Arches paper
68 x 48 cm (visible), 94.5 x 74.5 x 6.5 cm (framed)
Condition: Very good, with mould specks visible on the matboard. A change of frame is advised.
Edition of 5
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Graeme Brusby (British, b. 1974) began painting graffiti at age 14, inspired by books and films that chronicled New York’s street art scene. He originally tagged his work as “Sense,” a name that later evolved into “Xenz” (pronounced “zenz”), the signature he now uses for both his murals and studio paintings. Over more than three decades of practice, his approach to graffiti has shifted significantly, moving beyond traditional street art. His early experiments in the abandoned warehouses of Hull, Yorkshire, laid the groundwork for an imaginative and highly personal visual language.
Xenz creates dreamlike landscapes from memory, using spray paint to evoke fleeting impressions of nature. While living in Bristol, he worked with the TCF crew and collaborated with artists like Banksy and Inkie, pushing the boundaries of graffiti. His studio work often explores atmospheric worlds filled with birds, forests, and flowers, blending influences from Japanese prints, Chinese watercolours, and Impressionist painting. Though nature is central to his practice, he occasionally turns to more urban subjects, reflecting the environment around him. Xenz studied at Edinburgh College of Art and currently lives and works in London.
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This silkscreen print depicts a small flock of birds gathering on the ground, heads bowed, picking at scattered seeds. Their movements are caught mid-motion, captured with crisp outlines. There’s an implied presence just outside the frame, someone who may have tossed the seeds and moved on. Perhaps it was without thinking, but to the birds, it is everything, it is an offering, a reason to gather. The birds descend quickly, tightly packed, driven less by grace than by need. Titled Feral, the print turns this ordinary movement into something raw and immediate. A flurry fueled by hunger and instinct, causing them to scramble for survival.
(Photographed in July 2025)