SO ME PORTRAITS

If you just so happen to be walking the not so mean streets of Toronto anytime soon or well at least in the next couple of months you might want to pop your ear buds out and strut your airforce-1’s into the Studio Gallery on the 2nd floor of 294 College Street from March 21 to May 22.

Inside you will bump into So-Me AKA Ed Banger art guy extraordinaire AKA the guy who directed that clip that Kanye made a fuss about when he was beaten by it at the MTV music awards or at least some of his pieces.

The exhibition comprises a series of portraits done in So Me’s trademark style, incorporating the vibrant colours and tongue-in-cheek references which define his work as Art Director for Ed Banger Records. Like previous album-art designers such as Peter Saville and his relationship with Factory Records (Saville designed album art for Joy Division and New Order), So Me has found a way to make tangible albums relevant and worthy of your coin – a feat in today’s world of digital music distribution. So Me provides the artistic and visual identity which accompanies Ed Banger brand of music and culture that has recently experienced tremendous growth – largely via the internet. So Me’s work is often described as influenced by the iconic pop art of the 1960s, French comic books and graffiti, and contemporary iconography.

I probably should mention that in addition to creating album art, So Me has explored other channels of media. He has created award-winning music videos for the likes of Kanye West, Justice, and DJ Mehdi, as well as prints, jewelry, and limited edition sets of t-shirts for H&M and Japanese clothing label Revolver.


So if you haven’t already realized, So-Me is like the best guy in the world. Who knows you might even get the chance to wear your heart on your sleave buy (100% sic volume I) purchasing a limited edition So Me Ed Banger tee shirt?

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