This one really piqued our interest when we saw it – renowned illustrator Ben Brown will be holding his next solo show at The National Grid this week, and the theme looks to be right up our alley.

Taking popular idols who have passed before their time, Ben has delved into the darker path, splitting them in half to represent both their images in life, and as they would appear if, well, dug out out of the grave …

“Ben’s obsessive-compulsive artistic relationship with skulls and bones is clearly a consequence of being born with super human illustration skills and x-ray vision.

His latest series of candy coloured portraits split Kurt Cobain, James Dean, Sid Vicious, Jimmy Hendrix, Buddy Holly and music’s most recent victim, Amy Winehouse, quite literally, in half. The Andy Warhol inspired comical renders, are part morbid tongue in cheek (or skull) and part eternal depictions (flesh). Die Young salutes popular idols with untimely deaths. As Ben puts it…”the celebrity life-style that we seem to aspire to, had killed them all by the age of 27″

An illustrator for over twenty years, Ben Brown is a regular contributor of comics for editorial, including the notorious surfing publication ‘Stab’. He has designed extensive clothing graphics for brands such as Mambo, Insight, Globe, O’Neill, Rip Curl, Ocean & Earth, Nice Produce and Supply, and he has designed music and festival posters for the likes of Nirvana, Frenzal Rhomb, Silverchair, Fat Boy Slim, The Hoodoo Gurus, Big Day Out, Good Vibrations Festival, Homebake and The Falls Festival.”

Macabre? Yes. Intriguing and awesome? Most certainly.

Who: Ben Brown
What: Die Young solo show
Where: The National Grid, 24 Chard Road, Brookvale, Sydney NSW
When: Show opens Friday 9th December from 6pm til 10pm, and runs til 24th January.

Check out Ben Browns website, as well as the National Grid website for more info.