Benedict Drew’s surreal, psychedelic and at times dystopian installations offer commentary on a crumbling society.

The Trickle-Down Syndrome specifically describes the neoliberal ideology that wealth at the top will reach those at the bottom; the failings of which are being laid bare in our current moment. Using music as a prompt for discussion, the artist is joined by writer Jonathan P. Watts in conversation about his current work, on the occasion of his major exhibition.

Benedict Drew lives and works in Whitstable and Margate, UK. He holds a BA in Fine Arts from Middlesex University and a MFA from Slade School of Fine Art. He recently had solo-exhibitions at Centre for Contemporary Art (Derry, 2016); Walker Gallery (Liverpool, 2016) and Art on the Underground (London, 2015) and has participated in numerous group exhibitions: British Art Show 8 (Leeds, Edinburgh, Norwich and Southampton, 2015-2016); Institute of Contemporary Arts (London, 2015), Jerwood Space (London, 2015); Baltic 39 (Newcastle, 2014); Adelaide International 2014 (Adelaide, 2014), and Museum of Arts and Design (New York, 2013). He is represented by Matt’s Gallery (London).

Jonathan P. Watts is a contemporary art critic, editor and occasional curator based in London. With seven friends he is a found-editor of A-or-ist, a journal of new critical writing on contemporary art.

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COMPETITION: Win 1x pair of tickets to attend Benedict Drew at Whitechapel Gallery at 19:00 on Thursday 10 August. To enter the competition, send an email to lizzy@run-riot.com with the correct answer in the ‘subject’ line. The winner will be randomly selected.

Q: In which region of the UK does artist Benedict Drew live and work?
A: .1) Yorkshire .2) Kent .3) Cornwall .4) Sussex