Ben Turnbull has never been one to play it safe. The acclaimed “Angry Pop” artist, known for his politically charged collages, has taken his rebellion to the next level with Rebirth of a Nation, a provocative new exhibition at The Truman Brewery in Shoreditch. With the introduction of his alter ego, Candidate Q, Turnbull dismantles propaganda, misinformation, and the cyclical nature of history, using found objects, comic books, and guerrilla interventions to expose the absurdity of modern power structures.
Rebirth of a Nation marks a bold new chapter in your career, particularly with the introduction of Candidate Q. How did this alter ego come to life, and what does it allow you to explore that your previous work didn’t?
We are all born with magic and mischief, and ever so slowly, as we grow up, the world, our jobs, our peers, our families, basically everything, suck all that goodness out of us, and we are left empty, emotionally crippled, and basically lost. Turnbull (artistically) passed in mid-2022, and so Q was born to the sound of Ian Brown screaming – I am the resurrection, and I am the Life. He literally clawed his way out of another human being because he had had enough and wasn’t gonna take it anymore.
He also doesn’t care about pleasing all the people Turnbull wasted his career trying to please – He’s 100% Pure Uncut – which means he can do as he pleases whenever he pleases, so for this show – LET’S MAKE FASCISM FUN – let’s read The Turner Diaries, Unintended Consequences, Proud Boy manuals and have a crack at opening up The Invisible Revolution.
Your latest work tackles themes of political mythology, misinformation, and societal collapse. In an era of deepfakes and conspiracy culture, how do you see your art cutting through the noise?
Q is not political – his name is literally derived from a conspiracy cult. I’m sure everyone will have an interpretation of Q’s art being what they want it to be, but Papa Q don’t preach – that’s the road to nowhere when you’re just reactive to something. Q is a prophet -He’s ahead of the game by some margin. So yeah, Think more along the lines of a precognitive/matrix character – an artistic Nostradamus
1/6/21 presents a haunting reimagining of Lincoln’s statue, drawing from the Capitol riots. How do you balance satire with serious political critique in your work?
The balance is all about a division of labour between Q and Turnbull. Turnbull is the avid reader, the wannabe academic – Q is where the party is at – think of your untamed, wild, drug-taking/experimental period and mix it all in a massive cocktail of acid and knowledge, and there’s your end result – Magasound, a work that originated in a waking dream of Julie Andrew’s dancing around nazi flowers to the soundtrack of David Lynch’s, ‘Blue Velvet’ – This really happened.
Your pieces, like Liberty Once Lost is Lost Forever, use iconic American imagery—comic book heroes, propaganda, and pop culture. What do these symbols reveal about the power structures in America today?
If you want to discuss the symbology in this show, I give you two words – Collative Learning. This whole show is about subliminal manipulation. Kubrick was the master of this in his movies and Q’s art is founded and embedded in it. There are secrets that cannot be revealed as to how this is done, but trust Q on this – what your eyes are seeing is not what your brain is telling you. Have fun with it!
Guerrilla art and intervention play a huge role in this exhibition, with works like Magabuck being installed in public spaces. What draws you to this raw, unsanctioned form of expression?
The role of outside artwork was very chicken and egg on this project, it was up for debate in both of my minds which came first – did the idea of having work outside lead to the art or vice versa? In the end, it’s immaterial – Q made the work in such an extraordinary flurry of rave/Balearic beats that the reality is that that’s what made it all so different – An ecstasy-fuelled studio created the correct environment for Q’s art. The run of works in 2023 ( The MAGA Trilogy, for example ) was the ultimate form of expression for Q and were ultimately all shown as interventions, but the art came first, so was it chicken or egg?- you decide
Your work references films like The Parallax View and The Manchurian Candidate. How do these cinematic influences shape the narratives in Rebirth of a Nation?
If you link Turnbull’s knowledge of film/ television/ music/soundtracks/books and then set Q up with all the raw materials, this is what you get – But you have to remember Turnbull couldn’t take things any further( even with an extensive/bordering on autistic memory of useless information)- It’s Q who filled in the one huge gaping hole with a new Style – Degenerate Pop. But Knowing isn’t enough these days, we as artists have to take it up a notch – to stick your fist right up the viewers nose, sweat blood and lose years of our lives through stress and anxiety- all whilst praying for Armageddon.
You describe Candidate Q as taking “a hammer to the mirror that art is supposed to hold up to reality.” What remains in the reflection, and what do you hope viewers take away from this exhibition?
We are broken, the matrix has been revealed – The humanity I see, day in, day out, will probably not give one shit about this project. We live in an age of apathy and selfishness that will result in the end of times – Q has foreseen this. There is no room now left for change, politicians are just gangsters making land deals and that has filtered down into our own mini microcosm societies- do we even see each other on the street anymore – And that’s just London.
Shoreditch has long been a hotspot for rebellious, politically charged art. How do you see your work fitting into the area’s creative landscape, and why was it the right place for this exhibition?
Clearly, being opposite Rough Trade has its advantages (Music, Music, rock-in rock-in Music!) I haven’t done a show East for 12 years, so let’s see if we can continue in that historic vein. And who knows – could we make a difference?
Looking ahead, do you see Candidate Q as a permanent fixture in your artistic practice, or is this a moment of reinvention? Where does your work go from here?
I’m not sure working-class artists have much of a chance these days – imagine the artists from 20/25 years ago having a crack now – Not a chance! And where are all the galleries accepting of Lone Wolf/Outsiders like Q? But if this show has taught me anything, be very, very careful when you scratch beneath the surface of yourself – you might not be able to control what you find.
More realistically, the future looks like Poverty and working in B&Q (Ben and Q, you get me!)
xxx
Rebirth of a Nation: Ben Turnbull X Candidate Q
The Truman Brewery > Number 6 Dray Walk
28th March – 5th April 2025 – 11:00 – 19:00 daily
