London, Shoreditch, Street art, Street artist, Freddie Mercury, Queen, Trash sculpture, Alex Arnell, Sell Out

Trash Sculpture Wants To Break Free

This morning one of our favourite trash sculpture street artists Sell Out created a hugely amusing street art sculpture paying homage to rock legend Freddie Mercury, the late lead singer of Queen.   In a classic rock video Freddie and fellow Queen band members appear in drag living in domestic drudgery with Freddie swanning around scandalously dressed in a tight pink top, short leather mini skirt and suspenders proclaiming “I want to break free” as she vacuums and dusts around their congested living room.

London, Shoreditch, Street art, Street artist, Freddie Mercury, Queen

Freddie Mercury: Screen Grab from official Queen video

Sell Out has recreated Freddie at his provocative cross dressing best complete with upright hoover.  A swarm of his trademark cut out paper butterflies swarm around Freddie’s head.

London, Shoreditch, Street art, Street artist, Freddie Mercury, Queen, Trash sculpture, Alex Arnell, Sell Out

I Want To Break Free

This video scandalized America’s bible belt, radio stations deleted Queen from their playlists, MTV banned the video and it put Queen’s US commercial career on ice. Europe LOVED it.

 

The song appeared on Queen’s album The Works which Wikipedia says was released on 27 February 1984, 22 years ago almost to the day. Damn tune was going through my head for the rest of this morning’s tour.

This isn’t Sell Out’s only rock star tribute, a few weeks ago while the world made a shrine of a pointilist portrait in Brixton by Jimmy C, David Bowie appeared immortalised in trash by Sell Out in Shoreditch.

Photo: Alex Arnell

Photo: Alex Arnell

Links: Alex Arnell (Sell Out) Facebook: Alex’s photo shows the trash sculpture without the …errr..trash

ALex has featured many times on previous Shoreditch Street Art Tours blog updates, click here

Photos: Dave Stuart aka NoLionsInEngland except where noted