David Haines: Chavs, violence and a sneaker fetish

David Haines' take on contemporary youth culture is a unique one. Fascinated by the Northern English ‘Chav’ culture, he draws huge hyper realistic pencil drawings. By looking at brand names like ‘Nike’, ’Osiris’ and ‘New-Balance’ in a literal way, Haines is able to place the ancient myths these names are based on in a present day setting.

I was truly flabbergasted when I saw his work at Art Rotterdam last week. The amount of detail is immense and its photorealism overwhelming. The pictures posted along with this post are (literally) only a small indication of what to expect (the first work beneath this text is 140×204cm). For exposition dates, check his website.