Kid

My artist name is 'Kid' because I left school without a formal education. I never attended college or university, so my understanding of the world is through a youthful lens willing to learn and passionate to lead. My artistic perspective is shaped by that sense of youthful simplicity, which is why I chose this name.

Working-class people, especially those without formal education like myself, are sometimes unfairly perceived as unintelligent — but that’s far from the truth. The struggle to express ourselves clearly can sometimes obscure our true intentions. My art style reflects this reality.

This project stems from a lonely mind that has explored various philosophies and ideas, including Advait Vedanta and moral relativism. Influenced by thinkers like Rupert Spira and Franz Boas, I’ve come to understand that collective belief can shape our reality.

I believe in the power of unity—when we see ourselves in each other, we can act on what truly matters. Instead of being divided, we should recognise our shared frustrations and work together for mutual progress.

When I was at my lowest as a teenage boy I realised that I did wish harm on myself, yet passionately felt affected when witnessing the harm of others. Many young men, feeling lost, are drawn to divisive figures, who offer hope but often through harmful methods.

I came to realise that there are young people—my age or younger—who would give anything to live with the kind of freedom I often took for granted: a healthy body, a family, a home where one can complain in comfort without fear. Since then, I’ve felt consumed by the idea of living as if I were one of those kids—helpless, struggling, and vulnerable—not by choice, but because that’s the reality forced upon them by the decisions of those in power.

I live in London, and what separates my life from theirs is often nothing more than geographical chance. But is it really just luck? What makes it "lucky" for me to be born in England, and "unlucky" for them to grow up in devastation? Our bombs fall on their land. Theirs don’t fall on ours.

Perhaps if their innocent homelands had been allowed to flourish, we might better understand the depths of our own ignorance. Before we can help others, we must first recognise the faults within ourselves. That is what 'Kid' represents.

I'm not a genius—and neither are the countless innocent children across the world who suffer under the weight of political greed. But you don't need to be a genius to see the truth. For this, you only need a heart.

This project aims to create a new moral standard that emphasises empathy and collective growth rather than competition and judgment. We may feel lonely, but together, we are not.

I like football and work as an ice cream man—a trade passed down from my father, who also struggled academically. I followed in his footsteps. When I recognised that others have suffered, are suffering, and will continue to suffer in the same life we’ve been given, an overwhelming sense of guilt and purpose arose from my misused privilege.

I came to understand that those who need change the most will never receive it, due to a lack of organisation and shared passion across our individual interests. As individuals, we prioritise ourselves, leading to the ignorance of others. Our human nature drives us to keep moving forward, but we must acknowledge how powerless that drive to individually succeed would be if our lives could be taken away from us in an instant. Exampled more recently than ever. We are such complex, capable beings, yet so consumed by self-interest, we seem to have lost touch with the very things that make us who we are.

The ones we expect change to come from are often the same ones who are perpetuating the problems. We are the ones continually exploited. Tax money paid from our pockets is funnelled into the hands of those who profit from our struggles and it’s time we addressed that.

Socially, we’re so divided on what we should prioritise or act on, since we are all self-consumed individuals in constant disagreement.

Opinion is subjective, yet agreement often carries more weight than truth. We seem to be individually seeking agreement in our separate echo chambers, rather than coming together to find a mutual truth that serves humanity—one we have the unique power to create.

This project’s moral consensus, expressed in numbers, would set a new standard and expectation for the world—one where we recognise our gift of life as something to be experienced in freedom universally in order to change and progress the world for the better. 

I, you. You, me.

And us, all.

See yourself.