The anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s death is being commemorated this year with the launch of an NFT by the celebrated British artist Ben Turnbull.
Turnbull’s artwork, entitled I have a dream, a reference to King’s historic address on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, is made up of hundreds of cut outs from American superhero comics for 1950s and 60s. This has been fractionalised into 10,000 parts, each of which is being sold to raise money for a raft of charities, including The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Each fraction of the I have a dream NFT, which is a collaboration between the online gallery and publisher, ART808, and Ben Turnbull, will sell for £25. The currency is Polygon, and it can be purchased off ART808’s website. The other two beneficiaries are the Easton Cowboys and Cowgirls Sports and Social Club and Blueprint for All.
King was assassinated fifty-four years ago on 4 April 1968, at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis.
Of the work, Turnbull says: “Much of my work is quite tricky for the viewer, but this was something with an entirely heroic theme,” Turnbull explained. “Every comic I used was over 50 years old and because I take an almost journalistic approach to my work - which meant I began by researching King’s speeches - it is more than just a straightforward portrait; you have to look deeper to find out what’s underneath.”
A former craftsman working on film productions at Shepperton and Elstree studios, his 2007 show entitled Us Vs Them at London’s Lazarides Gallery kicked off an almost meteoric rise to fame for the self-styled ‘Angry Pop Artist’. He went on to stage solo shows at galleries in London, New York and Utah, attracting the attention of celebrity collectors including Jude Law, Harry Styles, Claudia Schiffer and Jared Leto.
Never afraid to tackle ‘difficult’ subjects, Turnbull has created sculptures featuring handguns and grenades carved into school desks, while his portraits have ranged from a movie poster-style image of Harvey Weinstein emblazoned with the slogan “Creepshow”, to Mad(e) in America, a Donald Trump portrait made up of cut-outs from the American satirical magazine Mad. Both were part of American History RemiX, a 15-year project culminating in a major show at the Saatchi Gallery, London, last summer.
Keen to honour King’s legacy, Turnbull, who has previously donated part of the proceeds from a book accompanying a retrospective exhibition held at the Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Art to the families of the firefighters lost in the 9/11 attacks, teamed up with publisher and gallerist Jon Lewis of Bristol-based Art808.
“In addition to the NFT sales, half of which will go to the named charities along, we have produced a very low run of limited edition fine art prints, which will be donated to the King Centre, Blueprint for All, Easton Cowboys and Cowgirls Sports and Social Club and other charities,” Lewis explains.
For more information, or to register an interest in Ben Turnbull’s ‘I Have a Dream’ NFT, visit: art808.co.uk/nft
For all media enquiries and press images, please contact:
Mark Inglefield
mark@albanyartscommunications.com
t: +44 (0) 20 78 79 88 95; m: + 44 (0) 75 84 19 95 00
About Ben Turnbull:
Ben Turnbull (b. 1974) has, since his first exhibition in 2002, created a compelling body of work that draws its inspiration from American culture and politics. He is best known for his collages and sculptural works, most notably his I don’t like Mondays series (2008), which featured various weapons carved into school desks, a wry commentary on gun massacres in U.S. schools. America and Americana are a staple of his work. Turnbull has exhibited with a number of galleries. He has recently had a solo show at Saatchi Gallery (2017), and at the Bermondsey Project Space (2019).
About ART808:
ART808 is an online gallery and publisher which works with creatives from across the UK, Europe and Japan. Their collaborations include Banksy, Ben Turnbull and Stanley Donwood.
About The King Center:
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) was created to empower people to create a just, humane, equitable and peaceful world by applying Dr. King’s nonviolent philosophy and methodology. Established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr. It is, in her words “no dead monument, but a living memorial filled with all the vitality that was his, a center of human endeavour, committed to the causes for which he lived and died.”
About The Easton Cowboys and Cowgirls Sports and Social Club:
The Easton Cowboys and Cowgirls Sports and Social Club have supported a significant and diverse number of community and charitable projects over the last 30 years, both locally, nationally and internationally. Some of the organisations and communities they have supported in the last few years are listed include the Bristol Community Care Package food box scheme, the Palestine Film Festival, and Teenage Cancer Trust. They have successfully supported a number of individual refugees and asylum seekers against deportation attempts, as well as the Calais refugee support.
About Blueprint for All:
Blueprint for All deliver high impact programmes work with disadvantaged young people and communities, providing tangible opportunities and support that enables them to thrive, whilst driving systemic change in organisations and society. They work with schools, universities, community groups and employers to inspire and enable young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, aged 13-30 to pursue the career of their choice.
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