Dean Faulkner

In this piece, I shine a light on Welsh singer songwriter, Ren, and his track Violet’s Tale — the finale of an utterly heartbreaking trilogy of songs which explores a tragic tale of domestic abuse, and the attempt to break free from a cycle of behaviour that grips each future generation tighter than the last.

As a self-taught portrait artist fuelled by the transformative power of music, my aim is to capture a shared emotional experience that connects the universal language that music and art both speak. The subjects I choose are not just faces; they are living embodiments of their respective genre — whether that’s the rebellious spirit of grime, the powerful lyricism of hip-hop, or the frenetic energy of drum & bass.