THE Art Of Protest Gallery, in York, is bringing Scarborough duo Static back to their northern roots for their first solo exhibition in their home county.

On show from October 19 to October 31 at the Little Stonegate art space, their Born & Raised show follows exhibitions in Asia and the United States, to go with their high-profile presence on the London street art scene.

Street artists Craig Evans and Tom Jackson have been working together under the name Static since 2006. Earlier this year, they headlined Upfest, Britain's premier mural festival in Bristol, as well as joining the artistic protest in Bethlehem, ignited by the opening of the Banksy hotel.

Now, for the first time in their long career, they are to mount a North Yorkshire solo show. During their York residency, Static will paint a floor mural in the Art Of Protest Gallery and a wall mural at Brew York, Walmgate, as part of the on-going public art programme instigated by The Art Of Protest since the gallery opened two years ago.

Static’s studio work is created using a combination of screen-printed and stencil/spray-painted techniques. They also produce layered glass artworks that play with space and how perceived 2D visuals can shift to reveal a 3D picture.

Their very first print, the Chinook Chandelier, quickly became an important motif of their work and has appeared across the world, including at this year’s Upfest, where they painted a mural using patterns found in their latest body of work and a 5ft stencil of the signature Chinook Chandelier.

This year. the image also has appeared half way up one of the watch towers in Bethlehem, near the Banksy hotel, when Static were invited to Israel with a group of influential British street artists.

Craig Humble, co-founder of the Art Of Protest Gallery, says: "This exhibition, although focusing on new spray and collage work based on Modern Muses & Connexions, will also work as a mini-retrospective.

"This way, the gallery can show Static’s journey and successes down south and around the world over the past 12 years, including key signature themes, like the Chinook Chandelier, which have had so much coverage in Bethlehem and Bristol.”

Gallery partner Jeff Clarke adds: "We love the way Static react to the ephemera of our everyday environments. The Connexions pieces in the show started as a commission project with Network Rail, where the guys have described the journey between York and King's Cross through patches of pattern and design encountered on a specific journey."

The Static duo say: "The Chinook Chandelier has been our logo since we started working as Static back in 2006. It came about from us bouncing simple images and ideas back and forth between us and has appeared in many guises down the years.

“There are two parts to it and individually they have their own meanings, but when combined those associations are altered and flipped on their head.

"We think it’s a positive message and have always received a good response from members of the public, who have seen us painting or pasting them up, and we’ve always enjoyed reinventing it and reinterpreting it, depending on what style or direction we’re working in.”

Static's impact reaches wider as founders of one of the largest community street art projects in Britain, Wood Street Walls, which uses street art to drive awareness and funding for community schemes and projects involving children and education.

Their works are collected by the Saudi Royal family and musicians Natalie Appleton, of All Saints, and Liam Howlett, of The Prodigy, among others.

Static's Born & Raised exhibition runs at the Art Of Protest Gallery, Little Stonegate, York, from October 19 to 31, preceded by a preview evening on October 18 from 7pm.

Charles Hutchinson