Pure Evil at Bunny Contemporary, East London, February 2025 – Did kind of hope the first solo show at the reborn rebranded space now known as Bunny Contemporary would be something other than a Pure Evil show – I almost said something more than just a Pure Evil show then but that would be wrong and don’t get the wrong end of the stick here, two wrongs don’t make a right, I like Pure Evil, I like his pop art, his repeating of a theme, the almost fuck-off-ness and the smile on his face that comes with it all. But this is his place, it has been the Pure Evil Gallery for years and years, if you’re going to rebrand and relaunch, then maybe following the couple of group shows that you already heavily featured in to kick off the rebranding, to follow those group shows with your own solo show maybe isn’t the most exciting statement to make? Dare it be said it say it feels all kind of same old same old at a time when East London’s Urban Art leaning galleries and the whole so-called urban art scene feels a little tired and treading a bit of stagnant water.  Do like that the space is getting a bit of a much needed kick up the arse though, it was needed and hopefully were going to see an evolving programme of exciting exhibitions, events and artists when the Spring finally decides to show up and the year finally unfolds. There’s been some good shows in Pure Evil’s spaces over the last fifteen years or more – those minibus rides to that first big show by Mad C, the always interesting Marina Fages, that really good Gustavo Ortiz show back in May 2014 and that very painterly Cosmo Sarson exhibition in 2015 was particular good (although once again the East London gallery has never really taken a massive amount of interest in East London’s own artists, something that’s about par for the course around these parts). 

“Welcome to Bunny! Previously known as Pure Evil gallery we are now taking a new path towards working with up and coming contemporary artists and plenty of already established artists. We welcome everyone to come down for a free drinks and a chin wag with artists and fellow art enjoyers” is how the rebrand was trumpeted back in November….

What to make of a Pure Evil solo show and an early February opening on a cold wet East London Thursday night then? I might like his art but hey, the task of forcing myself out the studio door for a walk down the Hackney Road on an evening like this is not an easy one, it must be done though. Get out to that gallery, support the scene, drink his beer! Let’s see what Charlie has on his walls. Snoopy and his mates seem to be a new thing, pop art prints of the other Charlie, Charlie Brown and his mates, Peanuts never meant that much to me, I guess they’re kind of fun and Charlie Pure Evil does like to play with those pop art staples and do we see some new soup cans over there?

It kinds of fits that he should do the soup can thing more than the hundreds of other who do the same thing, he’s always been more of a Pop Art player than anything, the Pop Art traditions, repetition of image, hand made mass production, the Pure Evil Factory, not so much of the glamour though, Billy Name isn’t lounging on the corner, Candy Darling isn’t here (although who’s tht over there?). More of a middle aged street art boys club in here tonight, he does appear to have a never ending assembly line of silkscreens though. Yes, for once those soup cans make sense, they’re a mark made alongside those repeated tags and those tear drops. Hey, you know what Pure Evil does by now, he’s made a whole load of new work, slight evolutions rather than revolutions, you know the score, here’s a bag load of badly taken photos, phone in one hand, bottle of opening night beer in the other, here’s a bit of a flavour of an opening well worth the effort of walking to on a cold Thursday in early February, I like Pure Evil way of doing it. (sw)   

Bunny Contemporary is found at 108 Leonard Street, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 4RH. Just around the corner and over the road from the Old Blue Last if that helps? The Gallery is open Thursday through to Sunday, 10am until 6pm. No idea how long the solo show is on for? The gallery website offers no timeline.

As always, do click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show