Born and bred in London’s Stockwell – one of those formerly deprived areas that’s rapidly being gentrified – stencil artist Zombiedan was enraptured by the urban and street art scene that he encountered every day as a child in the city in the 1990s. It’s led to him becoming one of the most exciting and in-demand urban artists working in the UK today. Inspired the UK’s notorious and anonymous graffiti artist, Banksy, and his French counterpart Blek Le Rat, plus his own unique explosive talent and use of colour, Zombiedan creates vibrant graffiti art, using intricately cut stencils and multiple layers of paint over apparently vandalised backdrops. His energy-packed canvases excite the viewer and he manages to simultaneously maintain his urban credentials while having a foot firmly in the world of fine art.
Now living and working in the Midlands, Zombeidan is a regular exhibitor at cult events such as Comic Con and Upfest, Europe’s largest street art and graffiti festival, held in Bristol each year, where his images of cultural icons such as Amy Winehouse, Breaking Bad’s Walter White, David Bowie and The Joker (in his Heath Ledger incarnation) have gained him a devoted following. Zombiedan – the name, by the way, was given to him by a tattoo artist and reflects the image of a zombie nurse which he has tattooed on his forearm, and his given name, Daniel – says: “My biggest obstacle in life was not knowing what I wanted – then I picked up a spray can.”
