What began for Williams as experiments with Posca pens, paint and paper has led him to working digitally. “There’s a huge namedrop coming in,” Williams forewarns. “Me and my wife went round to David Hockney’s house, and he was showing me stuff on his iPad. I don’t think there’s any way I would’ve looked at the iPad as a medium unless David Hockney had done it. So, because of technology I can facilitate my ideas. There’s a lot I couldn’t do without the iPad because it would take me 20 or 30 years to be talented enough to do what’s in my head.” He also cites David Shrigley (“the OG”) and Vic Reeves (Jim Moir) as influences, as well as supporters of his own creative ambitions.
Despite his reticence in revealing his art publicly – “I seem to have flown under the radar so far” – Williams has, this year, enjoyed two successful solo shows with Moco Gallery in Amsterdam and Barcelona: a series of giant colourful prints of his illustrations. His work appears naïve and charming, with deliciously naughty slogans or cheeky cartoon-like characters. The illustrations enable him to poke fun at himself, at celebrity and the trappings of success. But it also addresses the more serious side of addiction, self-loathing and shame that he lives with.
The work also offers a glimpse at a trademark sense of resilience and positivity. That’s the thing that Williams does so well as a person, in music and art: he constantly shows his vulnerability. And because of it, his artwork is good. Maybe surprisingly so. Of course, there’s ego and a keen eye on commerce, which for him are reassuring markers of adulation rather than a need to make (even more) money. As he says, he plans to “Keith Haring this s–t”, in reference to the late American artist known for posthumous canny licensing deals. Is he concerned about what the art critics say, one wonders? “Honestly, Becky, I haven’t read anything so I’m happy,” he admits. “The music critics haven’t always been nice to me and I’ve still managed to sell over 100 million records. I just try to stay away from the words and then nothing will hurt me.”
So, what’s next for Williams’ burgeoning sideline in art? For starters, there’s a series of hand-cast earthenware mugs also launching this week (made by 1882 Ltd) with a collection of Williams’ handwritten slogans.
