Joseph Ford x Skirl, 2024
These are limited edition archival pigment photographs printed on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm paper. Joseph signs and numbers each piece on the front.
Edition sizes
60x45cm (23.6" × 17.7") including white border - edition of 15 prints + 2 artist’s proofs.
120x90cm (47.2" × 35.4") including white border - edition of 5 prints + 2 artist’s proofs.
When the edition is sold out, no more prints will be made at that size.
About this picture
Skirl is an Austrian street artist known for his distinctive abstract monochrome murals featuring fluid, swirling patterns. His work, often created using freehand techniques, interacts harmoniously with urban architecture, transforming walls into dynamic, almost organic compositions. Skirl’s style is rooted in movement and rhythm, evoking a sense of continuous flow, making his murals both mesmerising and immersive. His art can be found on streets and buildings across Europe, blending street art with contemporary abstraction.
I met Skirl through a gallery and was instantly captivated by his work. I suggested painting Sizewell A nuclear power station in Suffolk - the vast brutalist building seemed ripe for reinterpretation. The site itself is in a restricted zone, patrolled by armed police so painting it for real is obviously impossible, but you can walk along the beach just outside the heavily fortified perimeter. I rephotographed Skirl’s painted photograph on a balmy summer’s evening and thought the photoshoot was over when I saw a patrol car coming past. They blipped their siren and left me alone, to my relief.
Information about Impossible Street Art
In this project my starting point was to imagine if street artists could work on any surface, not restricted by scale, accessibility, safety or rules. By challenging these conventions I explore the tensions between artistic expression and the restrictions imposed by social norms and governments. I have photographed landscapes that would be amazing for a street artist to paint, but are impossible to paint for real, because they're too big or inaccessible.
I have chosen some of my favourite street artists and given them large photographic prints, which they have painted to create original, hand-made artworks with no digital manipulation.
I then re-shoot each artwork on an easel in its original location, creating captivating windows into a parallel universe where street artists have been given free rein.
These images are created for real, not with CGI or AI.
Blogs & Press
Corriere della Sera
Awards
Art Directors’ Club New York - Merit
AOP Photographers Awards, UK - Silver
Trieste Photo Days, Italy - Finalist
Lishui International Photography Festival, China - Overall festival Gold winner
Applied Arts, Canada
Museums
Lishui Museum of Photography
Note
Picture of print on wall is for illustration - size varies according to which print you purchase.
Only the limited edition prints are for sale, no easel or original painted print included! Photographs and videos are to illustrate the process behind the photographs.
