Artist Exhibit69 on new exhibition for Jealous Gallery and Big Issue: ‘It's a full-circle moment’

“I went to therapy and the therapist fell asleep,” Mark Anthony tells me. “I didn’t get help again from a therapist for another 10 years. 

“It’s like, well, this can’t be a problem and I must be boring. And my issue just spiralled and spiralled and spiralled. I got to a point where I had to make a change or I wasn’t going to make it.” 

As we speak in a studio space above Jealous Gallery in East London’s Shoreditch, there is little danger of falling asleep. Anthony, gold grill on his bottom teeth, vintage red 1990 England shirt, and branded “ecstasy” cap, is known professionally as artist Exhibit69. 

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When in the midst of his mental health struggles, unable to sleep, Anthony turned to painting. “All of these different places didn’t feel safe. And the one place that I did feel safe was creating because I’m pouring myself into what I create. There’s going to be an end result, and that builds confidence.” 

His art has brought him to an interesting place. This month, he will curate an exhibition in aid of Big Issue,
My Love is Your Love, held at Jealous Gallery. With works picked by Anthony that celebrate love, it is the latest collaboration between Big Issue and Jealous Gallery, marking our 35th anniversary year. To that end, 35% of the proceeds from every work sold will go to Big Issue. It is, Anthony says, a full-circle moment. 

“I remember going to feed the homeless in the 1990s at Cardboard City, which is now the IMAX. This is always something I’ve naturally done. Speaking with [Jealous Gallery founder] Dario and partnering up with Jealous and Big Issue made sense to me,” he says. “Big Issue has been going for 35 years. To do anything for 35 years, there’s real passion there.” 

Born in South London in 1980, Anthony moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut with his family. There, he enjoyed a middle-class upbringing in Reagan’s America, before coming back to the UK aged 10.  

“I got kicked out at 16. That was a really tough time,” Anthony says. “I got kicked out, but I was growing up and in love. My mum’s no longer with us, but I guess my mum at the time must have had her own challenges and demons that she was dealing with.” This period saw Anthony sofa surfing for a couple of years before living in hostels. 

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After turning to services that help those at their lowest ebbs, he began to work for them, supporting people with drug, alcohol, mental health and housing problems. “I would go home to paint to de-stress, and I realised I’m pretty good at this,” he says. 

The stories he came across paralleled his own. One day, on a day off with his newborn daughter in his arms, Anthony got a call from work. Somebody was about to jump off a building. The only person they’d speak to was him. 

“I’m with a newborn baby, convincing someone why they shouldn’t jump off a building, but meanwhile I wanted to jump off a building. It’s pretty mad. Life! 

“It sounds so cliche, and so many artists say this, but  [art] saved my life. I was able to focus and have a voice.” 

The exhibition, which will feature Noel Fielding, Bashy, Frank Carter and more, can marry the two strands. One thread is how we tend to ignore those on the streets.

“Once you go below a certain line, unfortunately you can be forgotten. Which doesn’t make things any better,” he says. “Even just walking across the road and someone’s homeless, just greeting them helps. There are so many times they say, ‘You’re the first person who’s spoken to me in a couple of days’.” 

Here, art can intertwine – and open connections. “It’s about sharing information; it’s about sharing love. It’s about being kind to one another. That’s the basis of art and music and creativity, to share a piece of you with everyone else. You leave yourself vulnerable, and hopefully it’s accepted, and if it’s not accepted then you carry on. It’s what you do,” he says. 

Just as personal is the name of the exhibition: My Love is Your Love. “My mum used to play that a lot – Whitney Houston.” He remembers driving in the car with her. 

“I said, why are we listening to this still? And she said, listen to everything and learn about other people’s cultures, and keep yourself open, and the world will open up for you. Her name was Angela Ferguson,” he says. 

“That’s the best piece of advice I ever got, and that’s how it comes out in my work, because I keep myself open to different experiences with different people.” 

It’s in that spirit that Anthony hopes the exhibition will land. “You could come to the show and try and reconnect with a family member or a friend, something small, whatever that looks like to you,” he says. “The aim is for people to leave the show feeling gratitude for what they have. 

“Big Issue’s a name that you can trust. You guys have been working for such a long time to end poverty in the UK. Having that type of story as part of my story, it means something. So you’re gonna partner with the best.” 

My Love is Your Love is showing at Jealous Gallery, Curtain Road, Shoreditch 12-21 February.

Big Issue x Jealous Gallery: a history

Art, with its power to transform and lift up, is at the heart of much of what Big Issue does. Over the years we’ve worked with the great Dario Illari and his Jealous Gallery on many projects celebrating the outsider. 

2016: 200 million sales 

In 2016, as Big Issue marked 200 million magazines sold, Kay Burley, Julia Bradbury and others went down to Jealous for an exhibition featuring prints from Ben Eine with a simple message: Celebrate. 

2017: Charming Baker 

Guest editor Charming Baker led a workshop at Jealous, including a demonstration of screen printing techniques. The issue focused on tipping points: the idea that small events can have a huge influence on lives. Readers hoped their copy contained one of 10 golden tickets. 

2020: Ben Eine 

In 2020, celebrated street artist Ben Eine took over as guest editor of Big Issue. The one-off magazine had three different covers around the theme of ‘UP’, making use of his signature typography, and was accompanied by an exhibition. 

2023: My Dog Sighs 

All eyes on…the eyes. My Dog Sighs commandeered Big Issue for an art-themed edition. On the roof of Jealous, one of his eye murals peered out over Shoreditch. 

2025: Deck the Walls 

Printed in Jealous’s studio, a special run of artwork from artists including Pure Evil and Noel Fielding raised money for Big Issue. Twelve artists came together, each contributing to an eclectic mix – all with the aim of raising money for people affected by poverty. 

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