London-based artists SLAWN and OPAKE announced a deeply personal and visually arresting exhibit at The Art of Hip-Hop in Miami, using paint, pain and past trauma to anchor their three-day show, “Heroes, Villains, and Violence,” during the city’s busiest cultural week.
Running December 3-5, the exhibition marks the second anniversary of The Art of Hip-Hop and lands right in the middle of Miami’s Art Basel festivities.
The show explores themes of personal redemption and transformation, drawing directly from both artists’ real-life struggles and creative rebirths.
SLAWN, born Adebayo Oke-Lawal, blends his Nigerian roots with a bold street art aesthetic, turning massive wood panels into layered reflections of race, class and pop culture.
His work has appeared alongside Hip-Hop heavyweights like Gunna, Skepta and Central Cee, and his early days founding the fashion label Motherlan cemented his status as a cultural disruptor.
OPAKE, also known as Edward Worely, brings a graffiti-influenced style that reinterprets childhood cartoon icons through the lens of addiction, psychosis and mental health recovery.
His chaotic compositions and repeated imagery mirror the cycles of substance abuse and the mental toll it takes.
The exhibit’s boxing motif symbolizes the artists’ ongoing internal battles and their fight to stay on track while providing for their families.
Original artworks are priced from $20,000, placing the duo firmly in the upper tier of the contemporary art market.
“This is a wild honor to have 2 huge international artists, who have recently been doing epic collabs, joining us for our most important week of the year. We can’t wait to show you what they’re going to pull off, in large part due to our strategic partners like Zig-Zag who gladly support new outlooks and fresh takes on culture,” said Allison Freidin, co-founder of The Art of Hip-Hop.
The event is backed by Zig-Zag, the 145-year-old rolling paper brand, which helped create an outdoor activation space featuring DJ performances, live painting and giveaways. Curaleaf and Monster Energy also joined as sponsors.
Admission to the whole campus—including the Museum of Graffiti and Private Gallery—starts at $25. Doors open at 11 A.M. on December 3, with a limited-edition merchandise drop scheduled for 1 P.M.The exhibit remains open through December 31, 2025. Tickets are available at artofhiphop.com.