Biography of Bambi
Speculation is rife over the true identity of Bambi, the hugely popular graffiti artist who’s stencilled artwork adorns the homes of mega-celebrities like Kanye West, Rihanna, and Adele. Bambi first came to prominence in 2010 when her stencils of Amy Winehouse started appearing on the streets and underpasses of North London. She is now Britain’s best known female graffiti artist.
Deeply concerned with issues of gender, and its relationship to patriarchal society, she is irritated by the media’s lazy and demeaning referrals to her as the “female Banksy”—in retaliation she refers to Banksy as the “male Bambi”. Her work is often jarringly humorous, socially conscious, and highly topical. She is inspired by everyday pop culture, drawing much of her material from celebrity culture and gossip magazines. Continually returning to the topic of social injustice, she believes that it is “impossible to ignore injustice and the corrupt world we live in.”
She is inspired by everyday pop culture, drawing much of her material from celebrity culture and gossip magazines. She rallies against the commodification of the work of urban graffiti artists: where once it contained biting satire and revealed unpalatable truths, it is now a major component of the art market. Now even established Hollywood figures like Brad Pitt are buying Bambi’s artwork (£60,000.
Although biographical information about Bambi is scarce, we do know that she grew up in London. Her first memories of making art happened at the age of nine, when she was given an airbrush spray kit. She soon mastered the kit and began defacing her mother’s precious Poole ceramic collection. She has continued defacing surfaces and spraying on walls ever since.
She attended the City & Guilds of London Art School, in Kennington, South London and finished her M.A. at Central Saint Martens also in London. In 2012 her work Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend, depicting a young Queen Elizabeth II as the Queen of Diamonds was featured in Time Magazine. Her first Italian solo show occurred during the 57th Venice Biennale, and during the international festival Bambi unveiled the work The Pope Gives Us Hope, which was designed to bring attention to environmental destruction. Collected around the world, she recently passed up the opportunity to decorate the home of One Direction’s Harry Styles.
