New York artist Brandon Sines goes large with his Frank Ape exhibition

Frank Ape started off no larger than a sticker when Brandon Sines first drew him 15 years ago. Now he's set to appear as an eight-foot sculpture, the centrepiece of Brandon's Let's Be Frank exhibition, opening 1 May at the Cycol Gallery in New York.

Starting as a street art character, Frank has appeared on countless walls, billboards and lamp posts across the Big Apple, but this new show is a big deal for the artist in so many ways.

First of all, the sculpture will be the biggest rendition of Frank yet seen in public. "Making Frank slightly larger than a human creates this immediate feeling that he is both relatable and otherworldly at the same time," says Brandon. "It is the largest sculpture I have ever made. Creating something at that scale, something literally bigger than myself, brought me back to the feeling I had when I was a young artist full of curiosity and wonder. It reminded me why I started making things in the first place."

But there's plenty more to the show than a big primate. Visitors will be able to engage with Frank in more ways than ever before. Alongside the sculpture, you'll see Brandon's Frank Friends series of paintings, inspired by the people of the city. Brandon has created an immersive Frank experience called Growth and assembled an animation that tells Frank's story in three parts. Some lucky visitors will even be able to get a free, permanent Frank Ape tattoo, designed by Brandon and inked by Mira Mariah, AKA @girlknewyork. What more could you want?

"Sometimes the inspiration comes from something simple, just noticing someone going about their everyday life. Other times it comes from something completely unexpected," says Brandon. "One painting was inspired by someone I saw carrying a huge bag of laundry to the laundromat, which felt like a very relatable New York moment. Another was inspired by spotting someone on the subway with a giant iguana sitting on their shoulders."

Brandon and, by extension, Frank are constantly finding the extraordinary in the everyday. Through urban art, Frank has become not just part of the city's fabric, but part of its social fabric too – a simple drawing that gives people a sense of connection and reflects experiences that cut across backgrounds, ages, and outlooks.

"For me, Frank is not about pointing out specific problems as much as he is about highlighting the magic and potential within people. A lot of the work in this show reflects the idea that all of these individual stories and personalities come together to create a broader sense of home," says Brandon.

Apart from a stop-motion animation day camp he attended when he was 10, Brandon lists no formal creative training. However, those specific skills came to the fore during the making of his three-part animation. Combining photos he took of the empty streets during COVID with hand-drawn frames, he built the animation on his iPad in a stop-motion aesthetic.

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"It was really fun to photograph myself on a green screen and insert myself into the animation. Seeing myself interact with an animated Frank on screen ended up being strangely cathartic," he adds.

While the title is ostensibly about honesty, Let's Be Frank has a dual purpose. Frank Ape is inspired by New Yorkers, and in turn, Brandon's artworks inspire people across the city. More than that, the artwork reflects them, and throughout the exhibition, visitors will have opportunities to discover something about themselves. The show runs until 31 May at the Cycol Gallery, 91 Allen Street, New York, New York.

"If there is a unifying thread in my work, it is focusing on the positive things that connect us, such as kindness, humour, and empathy, rather than emphasising what divides us. By leaning into those qualities, I hope the work resonates with people from all walks of life," concludes Brandon.