Campbell Addy Bounces Back With Radically Defiant Exhibition 'I ❤ Campbell' At 180 Studios

180 Studios and New School Represents aren't alone when they say 'I ❤ Campbell'; we have little doubt that statement has done the rounds many a time before. Whether it be amongst students who aspire to the young image-maker, his nearest and dearest that make up the creative community at the heart of talent agency New School Represents, or those in charge of the multiple awards the artist has been the recipient of (Addy featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2021, has made the BFC's 'New Wave Creatives' list twice and has featured in Dazed 100 to name a few), it's well known the image-maker - who turned 30 recently - was given the industry's seal of approval some time ago and his illustrious reputation isn't going anywhere.

Honouring Addy's talent and continual devotion to his practice (and community), when you consider the above, 180 Studios' next exhibition was always going to be dedicated to the one and only. Produced by New School School Represents - the Sam Ross-founded collective of which Addy is signed - I ❤ Campbell is a cultural mash-up of endless experimentation, culminating in 36 original pieces covering the trials and tribulations of Campbell Addy whether it be film, paintings, photography and everything in between.

Enlisting all those around him to make the show happen, Addy - who also took part in last year's New School Represent's exhibition Major - teamed up with his friends and contemporaries alike, working with Ibby Njoa on the set design (who too had work in Major) and sound artist CKTRL to bring his real-life vision to fruition. The result is an exhibition of vulnerabilities, doubling down as an 'immersive experience' described as a 'world within love, grounded by nature'.

Marking a new start for the celebrated image-maker, what separates this exhibition from any other is the glaring need and attempt for Addy to rekindle the joy art gave him in the first place, away from the industry's incessant pries and wandering eyes, away from the social media leaches that makeup Instagram, away from everything that's pushed him to his limits and away from his true love of creating and making in recent years. 'I'd lost the creative Campbell that did NiiJournal', Addy states in the exhibition's press release. (NiiJournal was an independent magazine published by Addy in 2016 following his vision of 'creating a publication that embraces and encourages diversity'). 'The fearless person who dragged a door from the street into his room to make photographs. Who wrote poetry about being in a mental hospital. That initiated me into this world, and I forgot that.'

With that, a return was made, proving Addy's faultless and unwavering defiance. Acting on the desire to rediscover what had first sparked his ferociously creative curiosity in the first place, I ❤ Campbell affirms not only the love Addy has for himself but the love everyone else has for him. Speaking on the breadth of work on show covering a variety of themes, Addy told SHOWstudio in a statement that as his 'first major solo exhibition in London', the artist has 'explored themes around religion, colonialism and mental health.' Taking advantage of being able to exhibit more than one medium, Addy noted that the combination of 'new mediums such as paintings and moving image bring my most vulnerable body of work to [so far] to life'.

At its core, I ❤ Campbell is a recollection of Addy piecing together lost fragments and constructing a new image of himself beyond who the industry knows him to be. Devotion to one medium is a thing of the past, and when one understands that, coupled with an abundance of curiosity, the possibilities of beauty know no bounds. Campbell Addy has done it again.

I ❤ Campbell runs from 11 May until 4 June, 2023. Tickets are available now from the 180 The Strand website.