Introduction
JJ Adams, a trailblazing UK artist, reimagines cultural icons with a rebellious twist, infusing portraits of celebrities and landmarks with intricate tattoo motifs drawn from his early days as an aspiring inker. His dynamic mixed-media creations pulse with vibrant energy, transforming familiar figures into edgy avatars of contemporary cool—where Marilyn Monroe sports sleeve tattoos and Big Ben bears graffiti scars. Blending bold acrylic sprays, stencils, and digital layers, Adams crafts a visual lexicon that celebrates pop rebellion and urban grit, drawing viewers into a world where tradition meets mischief and every canvas hides a sly, hidden message waiting to be uncovered.
Biography
Born in Plymouth as the son of a Baptist preacher, JJ Adams grew up in a household steeped in moral rigour and spiritual discourse, which he later described as fostering his innate contrarian streak. The family relocated briefly to Manchester before emigrating to Cape Town, South Africa, when he was just six, in the early 1980s. There, amid the vibrant hues of the African sun, young JJ found his artistic spark in the bustling studio of contemporary painter Derric van Rooyen, whose graphic boldness and explosive palettes ignited a lifelong passion for colour and form.
At Cape College, Adams pursued graphic design while moonlighting as an apprentice at Wildfire Tattoos, a thriving parlour in central Cape Town, where he honed skills in line work and shading that would later define his oeuvre. Returning to the UK in the mid-1990s, he resettled in his native Plymouth to study commercial printing at the Plymouth College of Art and Design. Dreams of tattoo artistry lured him to London, where he scraped by selling wares at Camden Market, but financial pressures soon sent him back southwest. For nearly a decade, he toiled as a graphic designer and sign-maker across Devon and Cornwall, quietly experimenting with acrylics on salvaged canvases during stolen evenings.
The turning point came in 2009, when a handful of his paintings sold through a local gallery, emboldening him to relocate once more to London and commit fully to art. Drawing on his tattoo heritage, Adams unveiled a breakthrough series of monochromatic, inked portraits in early 2011, catapulting him onto the international stage. His work now graces collections worldwide, with commissions from luxury brands such as Rolls-Royce and Bang & Olufsen, alongside features in Vogue and GQ. Beyond fine art, he has curated bespoke interiors for eateries like Covent Garden's The Frog, weaving murals and installations that marry his graffiti flair with sophisticated design.
Today, ensconced in a sunlit studio in West Sussex, Adams balances creation with family life—married with five children and two lively dogs. His downtime reveals a playful geekery: rolling polyhedral dice for Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, geeking out at Comic-Cons, or rumbling through the countryside in his battered Land Rover Defender or VW Campervan. A steadfast philanthropist, he has channelled auction proceeds into causes close to his heart, from teen cancer support to liver disease research, proving that his rebellious spirit extends to quiet acts of communal good.
