BENJAMIN IRRITANT

Legend has it that Benjamin Irritant was raised by a colony of anarcho-syndicalist eco-warrior rabbits. He’s certainly been a distinctive voice on the street for decades. Irritant by name, relentless paste-aholic by nature, his work covers the spectrum from sweet utopianism to a screaming disbelief at the recurrent stupidity of humankind. Some of his interventions leave passersby in no doubt. Hence, four of his typically pithy texts on a wall read: ‘Success is based on growth’, ‘Growth is based on consumption’, ‘The earth has finite resources’, ‘You do the math(s)’.

Irritant has developed a wealth of captivating visual motifs. His rabbits play various roles. ‘It’s our world too’ reads a placard held by a rabbit in the throes of being arrested. Another forlorn solitary rabbit figure bears a sign that says, ‘Forget you ever saw me’. A more gangsterish half-masked bunny printed atop an exploded diagram is coupled with the phrase ‘We are ungovernable’. They may look simple, straightforward – that’s part of their allure – but the wordplay is always sharp, deft. And in a work referencing the invention of a magic trick: ‘The great wizard of the north’s hat rabbit says save the planet, smash the state. Don’t buy the illusion. Life isn’t beautiful until it’s beautiful for everyone. That’s where the real magic lies’ there’s a rich narrative history waiting to be discovered.

Anti-consumerism is a constant theme. Irritant’s goggle-eyed boy’s face with ‘They lie’ and ‘We buy’ plastered across his spectacle lenses being one iteration. A figure with a blocky object for a head – varieties of radio and television sets – accompanied by concise phrases often appears. The latest flyingleaps artist’s poster belongs to this rich vein of Irritant’s prolific output. A mottled figure with an antique radio for a bonce looms in front of the phrase ‘Prisoner of More’ on repeat. It’s the perfect antidote to Xmas excesses. There’s a label round the figures neck that also reads ‘Prisoner of More’ if anyone is in doubt.

In the street, gallery shows and personal collections Irritant’s innovative, witty, idiosyncratic collage style of image making spliced together with economic, conscientious wordsmithery is just what we need right now. As another of his human scale paste-up bunny interventions would have it: ‘The world won’t change itself’.