New review: Deedee Cheriel’s Little Spirit and the Infinite Longing

Dee Dee Cheriel_3.jpg

Although Deedee Cheriel has commented on the “very male-dominated world” of street art, there are an increasing number of women leaving their mark on urban landscapes. It’s also one of the art forms most often used feminist campaigning; check out Stop Telling Women To Smile, a project against street harassment, or Women on Walls, a street art group that fights for gender equality in Egypt. This Pinterest board also displays a number of feminist slogans and tags sprayed or stenciled proudly on the sides of buildings.

Nevertheless, it is certainly unusual for a woman street artist to have an exhibition all to herself. Cheriel’s Little Spirit and the Infinite Longing is therefore quite an event, and it certainly lives up to the hype, thinks Lara Tutton – including the art that spills out of the gallery into the surrounding streets.

Meanwhile, in the surrounding alleys and side streets, prints in the style of old Western wanted posters, depicting a roaring bear and the bold statement “you have everything you need” can be found pasted to walls and doorways. Playful yet poignant, the beauty of both Cheriel’s street and canvas art is that it contains a rare and buoyant sense of fun. Like her street art, every piece from her new series has a joyful feel of the subtly celebratory to it. Her colour palette is vivacious and her subject matter not without a touch of the whimsical; each piece is a real delight to behold.

Click here to read Lara’s review.

Picture used with permission.