Embrace Style - The Whole 9

Hebru Brantley, breaks down the walls of cultural boundaries through his art. Originally inspired by comics, cartoons and graffiti, pop art and the AfroCobra movement - who’s murals spoke to the empowerment of the nation’s youth in a way that was no longer relatable, and Brantley looks to offer the same hope and optimism to the nation’s youth in a more engaging way. He uses his conceptualised iconic characters, to address complex ideas around nostalgia, the mental psyche, power and hope. 

Hebru Brantley has merged all of these adopted influences to create iconic and uplifting creations, one of them being Flyboy, symbolizing the desire to soar to new heights. His 1980’s Chicago upbringing - growing up tagging trains, walls, and then some, as part of the 1990s graffiti scene - inspires Brantley’s work. He touches on tough subjects in a way is easily digestible to the viewer, by telling his stories through youthful characters and their adventures. Expressing his active imagination and fantasies, Hebru Brantley’s comic book-style compositions create narrative-driven work that incorporates his own experiences of African American and urban life in America. 

Brantley has been described as “pop-infused contemporary art inspired by Japanese anime and the bold aesthetics of street art pioneers Jean Michel Basquiat, Kaws and Keith Haring.” Although spray paint is often at the go-to medium of his mixed-media illustrations, Brantley utilizes a host of mediums from oil, acrylic, watercolour and wood to non-traditional mediums like found items, coffee and tea.

Flyboy’s character is layered and multi-faceted. Initially inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen (fighter pilots during WWII) who flew multiple missions and did not lose a single person. An exceptional achievement, notably because of their ability to preserve the lives of their comrades, but also at a time where blatant bigotry was the norm and overcame the odds to achieve great success. This history gives Flyboy, even more, relevance as it highlights just how important mainstream representation is. His bold colour palette and visually diverse imagery challenge the art worlds traditional single story of the hero or protagonist. Which in turn has given birth to iconic art work with an accessible distinct narrative.

“You’ve got animated sponges and ducks and birds and whatever, and it’s very rare to see a popular character within any medium that is African-American, Latino, even Asian. What I wanted to do was create that, but in a space of high art and be able to have some historical context to that character.” Hebru Brantley (michiganavemag.com)

For the very limited edition Flyboy sculptures, Chicago’s Brantley worked closely with Fluorescent Smogg for a year to realise his vision. Fluorescent Smogg was set up by UK artist Sickboy to be the finest quality art rendering, limited edition creating and art show production house in its field.

Brantley’s iconic Flyboy character has never been made in bronze before. Of paramount importance to Fluorescent Smogg was to produce sculptures of the absolute highest fine art standard. The pieces were initially sculpted by Brantley and Fluorescent Smogg, then cast by one of the world’s leading fine art specialists using 3000 year old methods perfected by Renaissance artists such as Donatello and Lorenzo Ghiberti. The three editions are beautifully finished in classic bronze, gold and green patina. Throughout history, bronze has been considered the ultimate fine art medium, with its potential lifespan of hundreds of years.

Hebru Brantley spoke about his pioneering bronze collaboration with Fluorescent Smogg:

"I am excited to finally be working within this medium. I have created in several other mediums and have been working up to this point. Bronze is such a historically respected medium in the art world that it is truly a unique experience to see my work in this way."