Jim Moir 'Hot Buttered Mattress' Exhibition at The Biscuit Factory Newcastle. Photography by Sean Elliott

Jim Moir, born in Leeds in 1959, is an artist, actor, comedian and author. Although best known for his alter-ego ‘Vic Reeves’, Jim has always been a painter at heart, with his love for art nurtured throughout his childhood.

With artist parents Jim’s youth was immersed in the life of craft and art fairs, and he was encouraged to pursue his own love for creativity. Over the years that has included painting, drawing, photography and sculpture, with Moir maintaining his love of art throughout his television career.

.“Painting is what I always wanted to do. Even while doing Vic and Bob shows, the art was always there, even when it might have looked like it was in the background. Now, though, I can sit in my studio all day, with my own schedule.”

Images by Sean Elliott

‘Hot Buttered Mattress’ was a month-long show that featured a myriad of real and imagined characters taken from popular culture as well as showcasing Jim's ornithological interest, following the release of his 2021 book Birds. From the naive to the expressionist, his style and subject matter reflect a character of extremes; the artist and the performer, the humourist and the thinker.

The collection perfectly captured the range that Moir harnesses as an artist. From the skilled draughtsmanship evident in his representational drawings and painitngs, to the playful and expressive abstracts; Moir's artistic ability is reflected in the various layers of his subject matter.

Ultimately, this exhibition is one of love and nostalgia; 'serious art' peppered with silliness, but all with an underlying affection that reflect memories and passions of the artist himself.

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