About the Artist

Team Macho is Jacob Lionel Whibley, Nick Aoki, Lauchie Reid, Stephen Appleby-Barr, Chris Buchan and, unofficially, the studio cat Punchy who ends up being the inspiration for much of their work. His love for deli meat allowed the team to coax him from the street where he prowled garbage bins and scared off puppies with his 27 toes. His full name is Spaghetti Arm Punch-Claw, the 27 Toes of Destruction.

But enough about the cat. While the five friends can each hold their own as individual creators, it's as a group where they really shine. They've already had four shows at Magic Pony including their self-proclaimed "best-ever" earlier this year. Titled "Kitschy, Gay and Over in a Second", it showcased their usual tongue-in-cheek style perhaps most typified by a grave and tomb stone in the front window marked with "Team Macho RIP".

Their work isn't confined to any specific medium but tends to draw mainly from water colour, graphite, alkyds, acrylic, ink, and guache. They're influenced in part by pop culture, but mostly from one another and spend countless hours making fun of each other or just making up stories that amuse them.

The location of their studio is a guarded secret and is located in a part of Toronto they refer to as the "knocks". It's half underground, poorly lit and owes its heritage to an old munitions factory.

Currently, Team Macho is working on a group show for Giant Robot in Los Angeles curated by Mark Todd. It will include artwork only on Post it Notes and it's an annual thing for the magazine - although the first time these guys have been invited to participate. They also have a show currently on display at the Sid Lee Collective Gallery in Amsterdam, and continue to pen the Loves Bites illustration that can be found every Thursday on the back page of Eye Weekly.