Darren Cullen (born 1983 in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, England) is a British-Irish artist and activist whose artwork satirises topics ranging from the insidious nature of advertising, from the culpability of the "Santa lie" to armed forces recruitment propaganda. In 2014, his anti-army recruitment comic 'Join the Army' was added to the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

permanent collection.

Art

Cullen came to prominence as a student in 2005 when his plan to erect a billboard that attacked the commercialisation of Christmas was scrapped. Cullen says his 2012 work Baby's First Baby was about "the way these toys intrinsically train girls to have and care for children while they are still only children themselves". In 2014, Cullen opened a shop installation called 'Pocket Money Loans' in

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

at Atom Gallery. A payday loan shop for kids, which appeared to give children an advance on their pocket money at 5000% interest. In 2015, he took the work to

Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigram ...

Dismaland Dismaland was a temporary art project organised by street artist Banksy in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. Prepared in secret, the pop-up exhibition at the Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, Tropicana, a disused Lido (sw ...

, opening the shop in a portacabin next to the children's play area. In 2015, alongside Veterans for Peace UK, he released a series of films called "Action Man: Battlefield Casualties".Action Man:Battlefield Casualties
Retrieved 19 July 2021. Directed by Price James, featuring

Matt Berry Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as '' The IT Crowd'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', ''The Mighty Boosh'', ''Snuff Box'', ''What ...

and written by Cullen, the films parody '90s Action Man toy adverts to draw attention to the possible outcomes of military service through three short 'adverts' for PTSD Action Man, Paralysed Action Man and Dead Action Man. They were part of a campaign by Veterans for Peace UK to raise the British military age of recruitment from 16 to 18, in line with other European and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

countries. In a protest against the

Kreuzpflicht The (‘cross obligation’) is a requirement for a cross to be mounted at the entrance of public buildings in the German federated state of Bavaria. The regulation was enacted by the state government of Bavaria in 2018. Colleges, museums and thea ...

law, in 2018 Cullen sent out dozens of crucifixes to Bavarian state buildings, having altered each cross that the hanging hook was on the bottom edge, forcing the crucifix to be hung upside down. The packages contained instructions and a letter designed to look like official Bavarian state communications. This was funded and assisted by the non-theistic Satanic Temple's UK chapter. In 2019 he opened a Museum of Neoliberalism in Leegate Shopping Centre,

Lee, London Lee, also known as Lee Green, is an area of South East London, England, straddling the border of the London Borough of Lewisham and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located northwest of Eltham and southeast of Lewisham. It is within the h ...

, which he co-curated with art historian Gavin Grindon. In 2021 Cullen created the 'Hell Bus' a mobile exhibition inside an old school bus that satirised Shell plc's

greenwashing Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on " whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aim ...

advertising campaigns, and brought it to Glasgow for

COP26 The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The ...

. The project featured on

Joe Lycett Joe Harry Lycett, also known by the self-given moniker Mummy, is an English comedian, painter and television presenter. Known for his sardonically camp style, whimsical public stunts and elaborate set designs, Lycett has been described as one ...

's Channel 4 documentary

Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant ''Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant'' is a 2021 documentary in which the comedian and presenter Joe Lycett protested against the oil company Royal Dutch Shell. It sees Lycett produce two adverts mocking the company and its CEO Ben van Beurden for greenw ...

. It has since appeared at Glastonbury Festival and

The World Transformed The World Transformed (or TWT) is a political festival which takes place in September, at the same time as the Labour Party conference. Beginning in 2016, organisers describe its purpose as "to create a space in which ideas can be freely exchang ...

in Liverpool.

Music

Cullen played drums in the bands

Shitdisco Shitdisco were a dance-punk band from Glasgow, Scotland. They formed in 2003 while studying at the Glasgow School of Art, consisting of Joel Stone (bass, guitar, vocals), Joe Reeves (bass, guitar, vocals), Jan Lee (keyboards, backing vocals) ...

and Age of Consent. While a member of Shitdisco, he worked with the

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements ...

group 80_pan to compose and arrange the song "crazy", released on the 2008 album ''DISCO BABY''.

Writing

Cullen co-wrote a monthly satirical 'horoscopes' column with Mark Tolson for ''The Skinny'' magazine until 2017.

References

External links

Artist website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cullen, Darren Artists from Leeds Living people 1983 births People educated at Mount St Mary's Catholic High School, Leeds