Ikon and SHOUT Festival present a solo exhibition by Coventry-based artist John Yeadon.

Over five decades, John Yeadon’s artistic practice has explored issues of politics, sexuality, food, national identity, the grotesque and carnival. A painter and printmaker, who also experiments with digital and photographic techniques, Yeadon embraces the pornographic, humorous, oppositional, disquieting, difficult, obsessive and unfashionable. 

Channi Dorset, Cultural Producer, has selected works from Yeadon’s archive to present alongside Ikon’s exhibition Edward Lear: Moment to Moment . Together they have considered what is ‘seen’ and ‘unseen’ in Lear’s landscapes, taking into account his complex attitude towards his homosexuality.

Please note some artworks contain explicit nudity.

A free artist’s talk accompanies the showcase, Queering Edward Lear with John Yeadon, on Friday 11 November, 2-3pm.  

This showcase has been organised in partnership with SHOUT Festival as part of the Slow Boat programme, supported by Freelands Foundation. 

About the artist

John Yeadon’s art education started in the 1960s with a Pre-Diploma at Burnley Municipal College and School of Art, followed by a Diploma at Horney College of Art and an MA from the Royal College of Art. Having taught Fine Art at Coventry Polytechnic for over 30 years, Yeadon has recently supported Ikon Youth Programme to reimagine Slow Boat as a local art school.  

About the producer 

Channi Dorset has an MA in Interdisciplinary Practices (Art and Design) from Birmingham City University (2019). A female, queer illustrator, they also work as a cultural producer. Dorset was most recently a producer of the Neighbourhood Live Sites for the Birmingham 2022 Festival. Their role was to produce a 2-day festival in partnership with the deaf-blind charity Sense at its community hub in Selly Oak.