Robi’s pieces are a reflection of his personal journey. They invoke the thousand-petalled lotus, a Buddhist symbol of enlightenment. He believes beauty can emerge from the most unexpected places. So he uses discarded tokens of affection, such as old birthday cards, to show how ‘waste' might be reclaimed, and also how anything which was once loved carries within it a vestige of that energy.
He’s up-cycled media from vinyl and rubber, but his most popular series uses greeting cards. A legion of fans donate them (with commissions, these cards often have personal history). He then sprays them to develop a unique palette. Then each collage is built entirely by hand, hundreds of pieces layered into patterns based on sacred geometry, and grows out of the meditation he does every morning. By reimagining the potential of what others see as waste, Robi harnesses the value of sustainability and resourcefulness in both art and life.
His work has been collected by Paul McCartney, Idris Elba, Goldie and Formula 1; he’s worked in residence with Aston Martin. He’s an official patron of the Royal Foundation, Earthshot and Centrepoint and counts Prince William among his supporters. He began in the 1990s as a designer and DJ, making record sleeves for musicians, which is where the vinyl in his work began.
