Joe Blackwell is a Manchester-based artist whose work fuses street art and pop art into a striking, immersive experience. Using stickers and spray paint as his foundation, he builds layered, three-dimensional pieces that physically protrude from the wall—crafted meticulously from wood and card. His work isn’t just meant to be seen; it’s meant to be felt, both in its tactile nature and in the raw emotions it explores.

 

At the core of Joe’s art is an exploration of the human experience—feelings of being lost, trapped, loved, or challenged. Each piece tells a story, balancing chaos and clarity, complexity and simplicity. Up close, his compositions may seem overwhelming, a busy explosion of imagery and texture. But step back, and the bigger picture comes into focus. This visual tension mirrors his own experience with ADHD, where thoughts race, shift, and collide—an ever-moving collage of ideas that somehow, in the right light, form something whole.

 

Joe began creating in 2020 as a way to process and navigate a cancer diagnosis. What started as a personal outlet evolved into a powerful artistic voice, using layered compositions to reflect life’s intricacies. But as the saying goes, life imitates art—or perhaps, art imitates life. Nothing is ever simple or singular. Every moment, every emotion, every experience is a collage of what came before it. Joe’s work embraces this truth—layered, dynamic, and deeply human.