Joe Food sits down with Sheffield artist Pete McKee to discuss ‘Frank & Joy – A Love Story’, a brand-new exhibition that delves into the backstory of two of his most cherished characters.
Not too long ago, I was talking to a friend who’d recently moved house. When asked about how decorating the new place was going, she replied, “All good. We’ve sorted out the furniture and hung a new McKee in the front room, so it feels like home now.”
The fact that I knew exactly what she meant speaks volumes. In Sheffield households, a Pete McKee painting on a wall is now just as common as finding Dare in a record collection, a United or Wednesday crest in the wardrobe, or an orange-labelled bottle of relish in the cupboard. They bestow homes from Norton to High Green, Beighton to Stannington, and everywhere in between, with that all-important stamp of civic identity – a final sprinkle of local pride.
Step into the artist’s Sharrow Vale Road gallery and you’ll see more examples of the artworks that have seeped into the city’s collective consciousness over the years. Perhaps none has left a more lasting impression than ‘The Snog,’ created in 2013 for the Joy of Sheff exhibition and famously celebrated in large-scale form on the side of Fagan’s pub. Since its arrival, social media has been awash with loved-up couples of all ages re-enacting the smooch; it’s an especially sought-after spot for wedding photos, tipsy pubgoers larking around or visitors to the city looking for a memento shot.
‘The Snog’ is one of the city’s most cherished artworks and has inspired plenty of photo opportunities over the years. Here’s Chris and Jenny Sumner from Beauchief celebrating their big day in front of the mural.
Ten years later, Frank and Joy, the characters depicted enjoying a tender moment in the painting, will have their story told in McKee’s latest exhibition, Frank & Joy – A Love Story, taking place at Trafalgar Warehouse across two weeks in November. It’s for this reason I find myself upstairs at the McKee Gallery, taking a seat with the artist and his adorable Chihuahua, Eric, to hear what we can expect from the upcoming show.
“Frank and Joy had featured in my paintings before the mural outside Fagan’s,” he says. “But I hadn’t named them or come up with a backstory at that point. It was just an elderly couple, the type you might see around Sheffield, down the market or something; a pair that have seemingly been together for an eternity and don’t say much to each other, probably because there’s nothing left to talk about! However, when it came to creating the mural, I gave them names: Frank, which was my dad’s name, and Joy, a reference to the Joy of Sheff exhibition itself.”
Further flesh was added to the bones of their tale during the 2014 Pub Scrawl event, a one-day occasion which saw McKee exhibiting in Fagan’s and returning to Frank and Joy’s courtship, emphasising the important role of pubs in providing a backdrop to key life moments. The brief but well-received show sowed the seed of an idea that the artist would return to in the future and, in his own words, “do justice to their story”.
“I started painting in a new style about two years ago,” he explains, “and I returned to a Frank & Joy artwork I made during that Pub Scrawl event, ‘The Meeting’. I basically re-did it as a fully fleshed-out painting. I really liked the end result, and it inspired me to revisit the show, give it some extra legs and delve a bit deeper.”
Another significant driving force behind this project was further exploration of the role that pubs play within our communities. McKee, hailing from Batemoor, is well-versed in the importance of estate pubs and WMCs serving as essential social anchors for communities. “I can recall being fifteen or even five in our local pub, The Batemoor. Back in the day, people would meet, grow up, fall in love and get engaged in these places. They were essential parts of the community and that’s faded now because a lot of these buildings don’t exist anymore, many being knocked down and replaced by supermarkets. However, there are still pubs remaining that we hold our functions in, pubs that bring together communities, and I still see them as an important, quite unique part of our society.”
The artist’s latest exhibition explores pub culture through the years, showcasing some of the larger-than-life characters often found in local boozers.
Despite being tee-total since 2015, McKee still finds himself frequenting favoured watering holes for social occasions. Indeed, he proudly co-owns the Brothers Arms in Heeley with fellow band members from The Everly Pregnant Brothers, a move he claims inspired a collective mission to create the perfect pub: “Somewhere cosy, warm, with good music, real ales in abundance, and not a fruit machine or TV in sight.”
Shifting from real-life boozer development to fictional projects, he explains how an imagined public house, The Buffer’s Rest, will provide another focal point of the exhibition, charting its evolution across different eras alongside the journey of Frank and Joy.
Continuing to embrace his new painting style introduced in 2020, which involves eliminating black lines resulting in more detailed, intricate subjects, the artist remains committed to his personal creative growth. However, he’ll be staying true to the McKee manifesto: exploring themes that resonate with his local audience and striving for connection through healthy doses of humour, nostalgia and poignancy.
“They were essential parts of the community and that’s faded now because a lot of these buildings don’t exist anymore.”
Noting the importance of creating accessible art shows, he adds: “Art galleries nationwide have issues with encouraging wider audiences and particularly the working class to get involved. They feel like it’s not speaking to them, or it’s more of a middle-class pastime. Many people, myself included, can feel uncomfortable going into certain types of exhibitions. So, it’s important for me that we create welcoming art worlds that people want to visit and feel comfortable in. I feel like the story of Frank and Joy is a universal subject matter – people aren’t going to feel threatened or bamboozled by it. Instead, it’s hopefully going to be a joyous and emotional experience for those who attend.”
As well as an original set of paintings, the exhibition will feature a sound installation and interactive elements to transform the warehouse space into an immersive experience for visitors. To increase what he describes as a “sense of shared ownership” around the upcoming show, Sheffielders were asked to send in their own ‘snog submissions’ to be included. Hundreds of submissions poured in, and these individuals will now play a small yet significant role in Frank and Joy’s love story.
It’s important for me that we create welcoming art worlds that people want to visit and feel comfortable in.
Fictional pub The Buffer’s Rest will be at the centre of proceedings throughout the exhbition.
Even a decade later, the public reaction to ‘The Snog’ mural continues to touch him. “I still get a buzz when I drive past it and feel proud that it’s been adopted as something of a local landmark. I think people like the warmth of it and embrace that idea about love and longevity – this couple who’ve been together forever but can still find time for a snog. I think it’s seen as a powerful symbol of people’s love for each other, maybe a marker which we all aspire to, and that’s a really heart-warming thing.”
Frank & Joy: A Love Story runs from 4-19 November at Trafalgar Warehouse. The exhibition is part-performance and booking at www.frankandjoy.co.uk is required.
