News – FISTA showing in Yorkshire – UK

Simon Sunderland, aka FISTA or AJAX, was given five years in '96 for 'defacing railways, bridges and walls'. The sentence was considered, by most, nothing short of shocking, and kicked off a ‘Free FISTA’ campaign. Subsequently his term was dropped to two years and, although I have no idea how much time Sunderland finally spent inside, six months for his so-called prolific tagging would have been overkill. Since, there have been murmurs concerning Sunderland’s work; art agent Mark Ticktum reckoned he might be a Basquiat in the making. While this may well be hearsay, Sunderland, who is now in his 30s, will soon be exhibiting his work at the Archipelago Gallery in Yorkshire. A bona fide legal show, it will launch Sunderland as a legitimate talent; though many would say he was legitimate decades ago.