Superheroes are vulnerable for a day in Aussie street artist's take on fast-track celebrity
Aussie street artist Meggs says Batman is his favourite Marvel comics hero because 'he doesn't have any super powers'.
'He's not like Superman, who's super and can just do anything,' Meggs (pictured) said. 'Batman wants to do good but at the same time he's tortured by his inner demon.'
The 31-year-old artist was in town on Friday at the opening of his exhibition 'King for a Day' (running until August 4 at Above Second gallery in Sai Ying Pun), followed by an after party at Central's Roxie club.
His mixed-media artwork portrays classic cartoon heroes with their faces blurred; another series of images juxtaposes a skull with faces of heroes such as Captain America. The idea goes beyond mere hero-and-villain tales, it's meant to be a reflection of Meggs' frustrations of today's fast-track celebrity fame. His work puts the superheroes in 'a state of vulnerability and frustration' to echo the theme.
'Today, fame can be acquired from reality television shows, whereas people used to work so hard for a long period of time to develop their career,' he said.
'Now you can rise into fame overnight and the next day all the glamours are gone.'
About 400 guests turned up to congratulate him at the after party. But few followed the dress code as super heroes or super villains - not even Meggs.
