Pete McKee: Yorkshire artist on his latest exhibition

He has created a number of famous murals across Sheffield, which have become the subject of debate in recent months. Fans were up in arms after two of his iconic paintings on city centre streets were covered over – with some saying it was “like getting rid of Banksy”.

Now the artist is recreating a career-defining exhibition and is asking the public to get involved. His trademark humour still punctuates throughout, uncomfortable and unflinching

examinations of contemporary life are also on offer.

He said: “During the pandemic everyone’s life was completely turned upside down with most of us increasing the time they spent online, especially on social media. I turned to my phone for companionship and used it as a window to the outside world. When scrolling its screen over the following months, I saw a mixture of anger, injustice, LOLs, contrary opinions, misinformation and a plethora of community-spirited endeavours to lift the mood of the nation.

“I decided to start organising and making sense of what I saw by creating art which examined the world that surrounds us, much of which we view through a device.”

Mr McKee seems to connect with the public in a way few other contemporary artists manage.

A new exhibition comes after an earlier show drew in almost 9,000 visitors over 20 days at London’s Hoxton Arches and Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery in April and May.

Exploring themes of digital dependence, climate change, police brutality, internet fame and socioeconomic disparity, Don’t Adjust Your Mindset has been released online at www.dontadjustyourmindset.com.

Mr McKee has asked people to send in memes which will be displayed as part of the digital exhibition. It was created in response to what he observed online during the 2020/21 lockdowns.

He has long been known for his observational and warm portrayals of working-class life, often set in the 1960s and 1970s, drawing on memories from his childhood.

The website features all of the works from Don’t Adjust Your Mindset alongside curatorial and artistic insights; an interview with Pete McKee, and an online shop with exhibition prints, merchandise and original paintings. The website will also feature a wall of competition entries from the public that will form part of the online show.

To enter the competition, all you need to do is to send in a meme you have created to [email protected]. This involves emailing in an image, either your own photograph or an image from the internet, alongside a caption you have written.

All of the memes we receive will be featured on the Don’t Adjust Your Mindset website and will be looked at by Mr McKee. The winners will be chosen based on which memes make Mr McKee laugh the most. The competition will be open for three weeks and will close at midnight on October 12.