Eduardo Paolozzi (1924–2005) was a central figure in British art from the post-war period and throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Responding to Surrealism and Dadaism, his innovative approach is widely viewed as a precursor to and driver of the British Pop Art movement.

Paolozzi first exhibited at YSP in the early 1980s and in 1994 the Park presented a major exhibition to mark his 70th birthday.

Acknowledged as a highly accomplished and inventive printmaker, this display includes graphic works taken from the series BUNK, Moonstrip Empire News and General Dynamic FUN, part of the YSP collection, gifted by the artist in 1994. These works stand as pictorial sourcebooks that reveal Paolozzi’s eclectic fascination with post-war popular culture through advertisements, films, toys, magazines, packaging and emerging technology. 

Seen through the lens of the concurrent KAWS exhibition and with a distance of over half a century between both artists, this display reveals a powerful artistic lineage while revealing ways in which our society has changed together with its evolving preoccupations. Both artists share a passion for toys, making art that is responsive to contemporary culture and reflecting an evolving cultural iconography.