Exhibition "Triple Trouble" in London: the alliance of three urban art “troublemakers” — Invader, Martin Hirst, and Obey.
- Delphine & Romain Class
- Oct 2
- 6 min read
From October 10, 2025, to March 29, 2026, Newport Street Gallery in London will host Triple Trouble, a collaborative exhibition bringing together three major figures of contemporary and urban art: Shepard Fairey, Damien Hirst, and Invader. Curated by Connor Hirst, this artistic encounter is conceived as an unprecedented visual dialogue—a confrontation between three worlds that, at first glance, were never meant to intersect.
Painting, sculpture, installations, mosaics, and experimental works intertwine across the gallery’s six expansive rooms. The result? A series of hybrid creations where Hirst’s clinical precision, Fairey’s activist graphic style, and Invader’s pixelated energy mutually contaminate and transform one another.
L’entrée est gratuite, et la Newport Street Gallery — conçue par Caruso St John à partir d’anciens bâtiments victoriens — ouvre ses portes du mardi au dimanche, de 10h à 18h.
Admission is free, and Newport Street Gallery — designed by Caruso St John from former Victorian buildings — is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Invader: the pixelated intruder, the pivot of the encounter
Among the three artists, Invader holds a central place. He deliberately remains elusive: an Unidentified Free Artist (UFA), masked and anonymous, who has built a worldwide body of work by scattering his 8-bit mosaics in public space. For over twenty years, his “invasions” have appeared in nearly 90 territories — reaching as far as outer space and under the sea.
His works transform the city into a playground, while also following a global logic of symbolic conquest. With the Flashinvaders app, he created an interactive system allowing fans to “hunt” his mosaics, blending art, technology, and community. His creations are no longer limited to the street: Rubikcubism, installations, invasion kits, screen prints, and gallery pieces all extend this invasive practice.
Invader in Triple Trouble
In London, at the Triple Trouble exhibition, Invader goes beyond simply repeating his iconic mosaics. He pushes them into an unprecedented dialogue with his two collaborators:
Rubik’s Cube mosaics mirrored against Shepard Fairey’s activist posters.
Hybrids between Damien Hirst’s “spot paintings” and his own pixelated motifs.
Sculptural installations where his visual language intersects with Hirst’s pill cabinets and clinical objects.
A brand-new wall on the façade of Newport Street Gallery, blurring the line between clandestine street art and museum institution.
A Creative Catalyst
Invader himself describes the power of this encounter:
"Besides being troublemakers, we are three artists with extremely different visual universes. I’ve always thought that combining my pixelated mosaics with Damien’s scientific precision and Shepard’s graphic engagement could create something unexpected. Fusing our three styles could only result in astonishing, almost explosive works. What struck me the most was the richness of the creative process: hundreds of messages, sketches, models, and ideas circulated among the three of us. Each of us would build on the other, pushing the boundaries of our own artistic language further. One could say that Triple Trouble is not just an exhibition, but a true collective laboratory where confrontation becomes a source of innovation."
This quote perfectly illustrates Invader’s role: that of a catalyst, reinventing the relationship between clandestinity and institution, between street anonymity and the museum space.
Shepard Fairey: Graphic Conscience
Shepard Fairey, a major figure of American street art, is best known for his politically engaged posters, such as the Marianne “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité,” his iconic “HOPE” portrait of Barack Obama, and his Obey Giant project. His visual language relies on striking images, subversive slogans, and a propaganda-inspired aesthetic, used to denounce political, social, and economic abuses.
In Triple Trouble, Fairey brings a militant dimension. His compositions permeate the spaces of Hirst and Invader: his bold colors and slogans resonate with the pixels and colorful circles of his collaborators. The artist has said he was fascinated by Invader’s ability to transform 8-bit aesthetics into tangible urban art, despite formal constraints.
His works in the exhibition intertwine with those of the other two artists, creating hybrid murals where the power of political messaging merges with visual play and scientific rigor.
Damien Hirst: Clinical Precision at the Service of Collision
Damien Hirst, an iconic figure of the Young British Artists, is known for his spectacular and often controversial works: animals preserved in formaldehyde, pill cabinets, and clinical installations. His approach questions life, death, consumption, and science, often with methodical detachment.
In the Triple Trouble exhibition, Hirst opens his universe to contamination. His famous “spot paintings” become experimental grounds where Invader’s pixels and Fairey’s slogans are embedded. His medical cabinets engage in dialogue with mosaics, and his repetitive motifs brush against urban and activist disorder.
Hirst has stated that this collaboration pushed him to rethink his practice: working with Invader and Fairey meant embracing the unexpected, the accidental, the surprising. Where he normally controls every detail, Triple Trouble imposes the coexistence of different styles.
A Visual and Conceptual Shock
What stands out in Triple Trouble is the unstable balance between three worlds:
Invader’s playful, modular clandestinity.
Shepard Fairey’s visual and political critique.
Damien Hirst’s clinical and methodical precision.
The result is not a mere juxtaposition, but a true creative fusion. The exhibition explores how street art can enter the museum space without losing its subversive power. It showcases the energy of a collaboration where artists willingly blur their own boundaries.
The Invasion Kits
Since 2000, Invader has sold ready-to-use “invasion kits” on his website. These are pre-assembled mosaics, made up of around a hundred tiles, packaged in anti-static protective bags, ready to be placed anywhere. The original idea was to allow anyone to participate in an invasion, so that everyone could have an Invader in their home, on their street, or on a building. The kits even bear the message “Bonne invasion.”
However, because these kits are sold in limited numbers, authenticated with a unique serial number, and some even signed by the artist, they have become collectible items whose value has steadily increased, especially over the past four or five years. Very few have ended up on the streets; most are part of private collections. Acquiring an authenticated kit with proper provenance can cost between €20,000 and €30,000.
To date, there are 18 Invader Invasion Kits: Invasion Kit #1 Albinos, Invasion Kit #2 Blue Octopus, Invasion Kit #3 Hollywoodee, Invasion Kit #4 Rubik Space, Invasion Kit #5 Atari, Invasion Kit #6 Runner, Invasion Kit #7 Union Space, Invasion Kit #8 Third Eye, Invasion Kit #9 Hypnotic Vienna, Invasion Kit #10 Paris, Invasion Kit #11 Blue, Invasion Kit #12 Home, Invasion Kit #13 Made In Japan, Invasion Kit #14 3D Vision, Invasion Kit #15 Glow In The Dark, Invasion Kit #16 Flash, Invasion Kit #17 MSF, Invasion Kit #18 Los Angeles.
The Screenprints
In addition to the Invasion Kits, street artist Invader has also produced around fifty screenprints. The most sought-after by collectors are those featuring embossing, which creates a relief highlighting the pixels of the motifs. These are often the oldest prints.
Practical Information
Location: Newport Street Gallery, London SE11 6AJ
Dates: October 10, 2025 – March 29, 2026
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
Organized by: HENI
With Triple Trouble, London hosts a rare artistic confrontation. Three artists with distinct universes engage in a game of mutual contamination. At the heart of this alchemy, it is perhaps Invader who best embodies the spirit of “trouble”: an intruder who, by pixelating the world, redraws the boundary between street and museum.
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