What do Laurel and Hardy, John Coltrane, Dirty Harry and Michael Owen have in common?

They have all inspired artist Simeon Farrar, whose latest exhibition, The Street Poets An Exhibition of Cityscapes, is now at Gallery Q2 in Battersea.

Simeon works at Wimbledon Arts Studios, and it was during one of its Open Studios events that his work was spotted by Q2.

But there is much more to this exhibition than a few choice works hung on the wall. Simeon has used oil drums and car doors on which to paint murals.

"This is a show about the city in all its different forms," Simeon says.

On the surface, Simeon Farrar's bold canvasses portray the gutsy realities of city life; oil and household paints combine with stencilling, drawing and screen-printing techniques to create hard-hitting images of the endless buzz of the inner city.

Streets in San Franciso and New York feature strongly, as do faces of people who have excited him Dirty Harry, John Coltrane, Laurel and Hardy, and Michael Owen.

"Some of the people are just images yet others like John Coltrane and Jack Kerouac who have both been huge influences on me," Simeon says. "Their music and writing embodies the sort of freedom I am trying to accomplish."

But behind the arguably brutal faade of Farrar's paintings lies an optimistic message. Crime, hatred and fear may be in the urban landscape, but these works remind us of the positive eternal heartbeat found in any city en-vironment.

"The idea behind the show is a spiritual one," says Simeon. "It is about the options facing people who live in a big city. At any one time they can be exactly who or what they want to be, or I could be anyone I want to be."

And this show is a testament to all those who have come up from the streets and made their voices count. It captures the human spirit in all its glory, rather than focusing on the down-side of life. And so far it has been going very well.

"I was really excited about the preview night. There was a lot of positive feedback because there is more to this exhibition than me just hanging a few paintings on the wall and seeing how much I can get for them," Simeon says.

"The people who own the gallery have let me have a free reign with the space so there are some huge floor to ceiling murals, which will be painted over when the show is finished."

The Street Poets An Exhibition of Cityscapes runs until December 14.

For details see the listings.

November 23, 2001 12:01