About

 “Addiction isn’t a hindrance, it’s a gift, you just have to learn how to use it”

Since the age of thirteen, Ed Worley, AKA Opake, has been fascinated with graffiti art. He was instantly enchanted with the idea that anyone could create large-scale artworks for the public to see and access, for free. At first, Opake began experimenting with tagging and later developed his artworks into monumental murals, featuring both elements of calligraphy and illustrative images. Now, he is known for depicting cherished cartoon characters in new, exciting ways, such as a glitching Mickey Mouse, or Pink Panther, situated amongst a background of skulls. This unique style is self-described as the “disintegration of pop culture”, by Opake. A key theme in his work is ‘insanity’, after having dealt with drug-induced psychosis himself. He plays with the infamous definition of ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.`, with the creative twist of subtly breaking the repetition of his characters, replicating his own story of overcoming addiction.