ART, CHAOS + OZZY OSBOURNE: INSIDE MASON NEWMAN'S WORLD

From Sertraline to Sabbath - meet the chaotic, brutally honest voice of a generation.

words maisie jane daniels

From simple beginnings and pure self-belief, Mason Newman is the artist giving voice to the broken mess that is our generation. His work is chaotic, dark, funny, and wildly inappropriate at times. And while he describes himself as “a shit Andy Warhol,” what gets me is that it’s honest.

From DM’ing Ed Hardy into a major collab (no big deal), to landing on Forbes 30 Under 30, to being handpicked by Madonna for her Material Girl reboot, Mason is proof that doors don’t open for everyone… sometimes, you’ve just got to kick them down.

In this conversation, we talk about Brummie roots, Black Sabbath, Sertraline, and why his hero - the sadly late, always legendary Ozzy Osbourne - once told him: don’t pick the scabs.

Maisie Daniels: Ey up Mason, welcome to F Word mag! Let’s start at the very beginning - where did the artist journey start for you?

Mason Newman: I’ve been an artist my entire life, I just didn’t realise it until 2021. I left school in 2016 with no grades and started making clothes, but I was drawing the graphics. I went on to sell that brand and when I did I thought, right, I can conquer the world, let’s go and buy a canvas. It’s a simple start but that thought I had changed everything.

MD: You shot to fame back in 2023 with your Ed Hardy collab - featuring your artwork on a charity collection for the brand, making you the first artist since Don Ed Hardy himself to be featured - congrats! How did that collaboration come about?

MN: It’s funny — I DM’d Ed Hardy on Instagram in 2022 trying to get the collab, but they aired it. A year later I was scrolling down my DMs trying to find an old message and saw the chat with Ed Hardy. I unsent the message and resent it and all of a sudden they hit me back and we made it work. Insta is a powerful tool.

MD: You’re now collecting fans like Sharon Osbourne, Billie Eilish, and Teddy Swims, but most recently, it was your collaboration with Aries Arise that really turned heads. A limited run of T-shirts celebrating Black Sabbath’s final show at Villa Park. What did that moment mean to you - especially as a fellow Brummie?

MN: Honestly, the Sabbath collab is my life’s biggest honour. And to get to do an Ozzy tee for the show too — both are like winning a Grammy. Coming from Birmingham, you grow up looking up to Ozzy and Sabbath and how they made the life for themselves that they did and changed the course of music and much more. Always inspired. Always grateful.

MD: I’ve seen the Ozzy tattoo on your leg, and now, tragically, he’s no longer with us. You actually met him recently. What was that experience like?

MN: Again, a true honour. I don’t get starstruck, but when I was talking with him I was like fuck, Ozzy Osbourne’s in front of me. He’s kind of like an urban legend, you know? And then you realise he’s just a normal mortal man stood in front of you, giving me advice on how to heal my tattoo. He said, “Keep it clean and don’t pick the scabs.”

MD: Would it be fair to say that, in some way, Ozzy gave space to a working-class generation from Birmingham, and now you’re following in those footsteps, creatively?

MN: Although in a completely different way and artistic medium, Ozzy kicked down doors that didn’t even exist at the time — opening them for kids like me to come in and kick down the rest. I hope I tread in his footsteps in my way and inspire a generation of kids like myself, like my hero Ozzy did for me.

MD: Your piece The Depressed Generation, featuring a box of Sertraline, really hit a nerve. What inspired that?

MN: I think our generation is genuinely broken. You go to the doctors and say you’re sad and they instantly give you some Sertraline when a pint would fix it all.

MD: What are you hearing from people when they connect with that work?

MN: I wish I had an answer for this. I don’t stick around long enough to hear. People say I paint like a child — I’ll work on it.

MD: Is creating part of your own way of coping with the chaos?

MN: Diving into work, creating, and tequila. I’d be dead without the chance to create.

MD: You made Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2024 (such an incredible achievement!) and from a scroll through your socials, it looks like you really manifested it. But do you ever feel like milestones like that come with pressure too? Like there’s this unspoken rush to succeed before you hit 30? MN: Of course. I thought I was running out of time at 21. My friend Harry and I would always discuss it. Thank God I got it when I did because now at 25 I’d be having a panic attack. So yes, the pressure is there — when really it’s just not that deep.

MD: If someone had never seen your art before, how would you describe it to them, not just the visuals, but the feeling behind it?

MN: I say this to everyone who asks: I’m a shit Andy Warhol.

MD: Dream collaboration (alive or dead) - who’s on your list?

MN: The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Alexander McQueen, and Andy Warhol. Maybe throw in Jack the Ripper too — would’ve made him a great top hat.

MD: What’s your relationship with social media like? MN: I am so so addicted. It’s hard to scroll through every like now, but back in the day I would see every person who liked a post, and if someone who always liked didn’t, I’d question if it’s a good post. But it’s the ads that get me — I need to stop spending.

MD: Finish the sentence: The world would be better with… The world would be better without… MN: The world would be better with Mason Newman art in every home. The world would be better without cheap wall art.

MD: Words of advice for a young artist who feels like the doors are shut to them?

MN: Get yourself the biggest boots you own, and kick those doors until it opens. You may feel pain and tiredness, but as long as you keep kicking, the doors will eventually open.

MD: What’s next for you, creatively or otherwise?

MN: More legendary music and fashion collabs — and even better paintings.

MD: And finally, this is F Word Magazine… So we have to ask: what’s your favourite “F” word?

MN: Fuck has always been my favourite word.

DISCOVER MORE FROM MASON NEWMAN

MASON NEWMAN IS REPRESENTED BY INDELIBLE FINE ART GALLERY. YOU CAN DISCOVER MORE AND PURCHASE HIS WORK HERE