Having left behind a successful career in fashion (which included working for brands such as Vivienne Westwood), Magnus Gjoen describes himself as an “accidental” artist. His art is a wild blend of styles – street, pop, fine – where classic portraits of neat and dignified men, women and children exist alongside corporate logos, modern pills and bombs. Old masterpieces are manipulated, injected with a punk sensibility. But these acts of destruction lead to transfiguration – newer meanings emerge that can be more relevant to the contemporary viewer.

Magnus examines our preconceived notions of objects (skulls, animals, weapons, etc.) and plays with them. He is interested in the correlation between religion, war and beauty. His art, he believes, is at once uplifting and damning – something of a salvational force for a godless generation.