WAKEFIELD.- This winter, Yorkshire Sculpture Park presents a solo exhibition by illustrator Jonny Hannah. Visitors are invited to take a stroll down Main Street in Hannah’s vintage-inspired homage to the independent trader. The exhibition runs at YSP, near Wakefield, from 14 November 2015 to 28 February 2016.

Transforming YSP Centre, Jonny Hannah: Main Street features three pop-up shops made entirely from the artist’s 2D and 3D artworks, all of which are available to buy. Navigate Main Street using Hannah’s traditional hand-painted signs suspended above the YSP Centre concourse; natter with the owner of the Record Store; and nip to The Hand and Heart junk shop to pick up anything your heart desires!

The exhibition – a tribute to high streets of the past, lined with independent retailers stocking an assortment of curiosities – features a collection of new linocuts, screenprints, and paintings. Incorporating strong colours and typography, and inspired by Hannah’s love of jazz music, the works are reminiscent of 1940s shop signs and concert posters. The exhibition also features Heavy Wool Products Come to McVouty’s – a limited edition screenprint printed at The Penfold Press in Selby, created exclusively for YSP – together with a small hand-painted and printed edition of unique wooden ukuleles.

Two special new products are launching with the show: Fast Cars and Ukuleles: A Jonny Hannah A to Z, a limited edition hardback publication published by The Mainstone Press, Norwich, and Songs from the Mermaid Café Jukebox, a limited edition CD of music, curated and packaged by Hannah with St Jude’s, under their Random Spectacular imprint.

Born and bred in Dunfermline, Jonny Hannah studied Graphic Arts and Illustration at Liverpool Art School and later Illustration at the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1998. He is now a lecturer for the BA Illustration course at Solent University, Southampton, and continues to work as a printmaker, creating screen-printed books, posters and prints for his own business Cakes & Ale Press.

Hannah also works as a commercial illustrator for clients such as The Sunday Telegraph, The New York Times, English National Opera and Penguin books. The artist worked with London-based animation company Sherbet on Charles Bukowski’s The Man with Beautiful Eyes, which won the Best Short Animation award at the 2000 BAFTA ceremony.

Visitors are invited to join the artist (plus his ukulele!) and friends for a captivating evening of entertainment, food and music in a unique artist-curated evening of cabaret with Jonny and friends on 13 February 2016. Reminiscent of a sultry jazz club, all the evening’s décor is designed by the artist – from the beer bottles to the menus. An exclusive lino-cutting workshop on 14 November 2015, two family mask-making workshops on 27 February 2016 and an Artist Talk on 28 February 2016, all delivered by the artist, also accompany the exhibition.