Kyle Wilkinson: 'I fell in love with art after I nearly died - now I've got an exhibition in New York'

HOT, a proactive and immersive art and design studio, has enjoyed mounting success since its launch in 2024, and has secured commissions from major names including Santander and Silverstone, as well as designing the 60th anniversary Mustang for Ford.

Now, just two years since it began Wilkinson is enjoying success across the pond.

Yet the 38-year-old, says his journey almost began by chance at college when a hospital admittance changed the trajectory of his studies.

"I studied more of an academic route. I studied maths, psychology, chemistry and human biology. I hated it, frankly, I wasn't passionate about it at all,” he says.

"I ended up doing photography as well, and the photography course is the one thing that was a bit left field for what I was studying in comparison, and I fell in love with it."

Halfway through the course Wilkinson suddenly ended up in the hospital when his appendix blew up, something he says almost lost him his life and put him on the backfoot with his studies.

"It got quite nasty and I ended up being laid up in hospital for quite a while, nearly died, and missed a load of coursework, so I didn't get the grade that I wanted and I knew that I was passionate about it."

Wilkinson considered re-taking the entire course, but tutors advised him against it and nudged him down another route.

"The tutors recommended that I go on the art and design course and the rest has gone from there.

"If I'd not gone into hospital then maybe things would have gone a little differently. I fell in love with it and then chased that dream ever since."

Wilkinson launched a London exhibition called The Clinic at the end of last year depicting society's obsession with digital validation, dopamine, social media, he says.

The pieces followed that theme and Wilkinson created a space that people could step into and understand instantly. "The Clinic was more of a social commentary on how everybody's addicted to dopamine validation and social media.

"When I create an art show I want it to have more depth to it and be more immersive than just the work on the walls,” he says.

"When you stepped into The Clinic, it seemed like a pharmacy.

"There were all the little mock boxes of medication that you'd normally see in a pharmacy and see things like views and likes and comments and shares and dopamine and all the things that you get on social media.

"You could literally buy followers and you could pick up a box of likes, and it described the side effects - the fact that you would have an inflated ego.

"And if that was a side effect, then you would feel instant validation as a positive.

"I also hired actors and actresses to act as nurses in the room so that people could be diagnosed. It made it a little bit more interactive.

"They would ask you about your screen time and question if you had a lot of screen time and talk about your followers.

"You could take selfies with them so you could share and we would follow you back so you could get a follower in return. So you got a lot of instant dopamine.”

The exhibition came complete with giant sculptures of dopamine pills made out of wood and shaped like a paracetamol but saying dopamine instead and a DJ dressed as a surgeon.

“The exhibition was there to have that social commentary on where the world is at the minute and that people are addicted to validation and the dopamine and instant gratification that social media provides - but it's done in a really fun manner as well.

"I think that galleries tend to be a little bit dry and uninviting, half the time, and I think it's time for that to change."

He plan the bring The Clinic to ‘a city closer to home’ later this year.

This spring HOT expanded into the US with Metropolis in Motion at the Myria gallery in Tribeca, New York.

The exhibition featured Liked to Death, a unique 24-carat gold and diamond-dusted skull exploring society’s fixation with social media and the validation of being ‘liked’.

"One of the pieces which is called Liked to Death, is a giant skull with heart eyes and it's all about how people are liked to death and that social media is shaping us to the bone.

"One of the main pieces, which is the 24 karat gold edition with diamond dust, got accepted into an exhibition in Tribeca. It was one of the pieces from the clinic that got accepted into this exhibition.”

Described as a “memento mori for the modern age”, the work reflects on how expressions of love and connection have evolved in the era of social media, and the tension between affection, desire and digital approval.

“The aim has always been to create work that people don’t just view, but step into - experiences that are energetic, immersive and culturally relevant.

"Exhibiting in New York was a major milestone and a defining step in expanding what Haus of Thrills can become.”

Wilkinson, who travelled to New York for the launch of the exhibition, is determined to stay true to his Yorkshire roots.

"I've worked around the world and with clients all around the world, but I'm still based up here in Barnsley and I'm proud of that because I think it's important to show that you can have the freedom to work in multiple locations these days, thanks to technology,” he says.

"Something I particularly enjoy is working in multiple different cities and different places at the same time.

"When I was younger growing up, I went down the academic route because I think we were never really shown or taught that a creative career was an option.

"It was always ‘you can't make a living from that, so go off and do something academic’ - it's total nonsense.

"I think it's really important to be proud of where you're from and kind of shout that there's a lot of creative people and creative businesses within this area that are doing great work and you can have that here as well as anywhere else in the world, but I think it's important that people know that you can have that option, because I just don't think it's spoken about as much unfortunately."

Wilkinson says having such a creative profession comes with a lot of variety, something he enjoys immensely. "I think the thing I enjoy the most is that no two days tend to be the same.

"I have the freedom and the luxury to be able to try and create things, which is, I think, one of the best things that you can do personally.

"Creating anything, whether or not that's writing, painting, drawing or creating music, I think creativity is something that is one of the best things that you can do.

"Creating Haus of Thrills is a platform for me to be able to explore whatever I would like to do.

"Working with some of the clients I have managed to work with, working with household names is always something that's deeply gratifying because why would you not want to work with some of the biggest ones in the world?"