URBAN DK

Relic Art (Rod Mahony) with guest artist Drawing Boards (Adam McEvoy)

20 June – 13 July 2026
The Vault, Brighton Seafront

Private View: Friday 20 June, 3pm–7pm
Paella • BYO • DJ • Free Entry (Donations Welcome)

Small Worlds. Deep Walls.

There is something disorienting about encountering Rod Mahony's work.

At first glance, it looks familiar: a neglected alleyway, a battered skip, a garage door layered with tags and memories. Then the scale reveals itself. What appeared to be a fragment of the city is in fact a handcrafted miniature world, built piece by piece from found materials, observation, and imagination.

Working under the name Relic Art, Mahony creates richly detailed urban dioramas that blur the boundary between sculpture, storytelling and play. Drawing on a lifetime spent building, restoring, repairing and collecting, his works celebrate the overlooked corners of everyday life: places most of us pass without noticing.

These are not scale models of real locations. Instead, they are composite landscapes assembled from years of urban exploration, photography and memory. A doorway from one city may sit beside a wall from another. Layers of graffiti, weathering, rust and decay accumulate over time, creating miniature environments that feel strangely alive.

Every mark tells a story.

Beauty in the Backstreets

A former builder, antique restorer, plumber and fine-dining chef, Mahony brings a craftsman's eye to every surface.

Discarded materials become architecture. MDF offcuts, tiles, sealants, plumbing components and salvaged objects are transformed into tiny monuments to the city.

The works celebrate not only urban decay but also the people who leave their mark upon it.

Tags, posters, stickers and graffiti appear throughout the exhibition, many created by fictional alter egos invented by the artist himself. Through these imagined characters, the city becomes populated with unseen lives, forgotten histories and playful acts of resistance.

The result is work that is simultaneously humorous, nostalgic, deeply crafted and unexpectedly moving.

Guest Artist: Drawing Boards

Joining the exhibition is Brighton artist Adam McEvoy, founder of Drawing Boards.

For more than twenty-five years Adam has created skateboard graphics, murals, prints, books and illustrations celebrating humour, nature and skate culture.

His distinctive visual language brings an energetic counterpoint to Mahony's miniature cityscapes, creating a dialogue between street culture, storytelling and creative play.

Open Encounters

Throughout the exhibition visitors will have opportunities to:

• Meet the artists
• Learn about the creative process
• Explore miniature making techniques
• Discover the stories behind the work
• Participate in informal conversations and demonstrations

Dates will be announced during the exhibition.

Visit

The Vault
42–43 Kings Road Arches
Brighton BN1 2LN

Exhibition Dates
20 June – 13 July 2026

Opening Event
Friday 20 June | 3pm–7pm

Free Entry • Donations Welcome

Wach'Art CIC
Driving community wellbeing through positive imagery.

Participation is the new patronage.

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