An introduction to Trackie McLeod

Trackie McLeod is one of the sharpest voices in contemporary British art, turning working-class humour and queer survival into bold, unruly work that refuses to stay in its place.

In February 2026, he joins Factory International’s Young Curators for UTOPIA – an immersive art installation that transforms the Warehouse at Aviva Studios into a functioning pub.

Get to know the Glasgow artist who treats nostalgia like evidence, class like a battleground and the gallery like a place where you’re allowed to put your feet on the furniture.

Whiteinch Was My Foundation Course

Born somewhere between a CBBC ident and a busted climbing frame, Trackie McLeod makes art for people who grew up learning the rules by breaking them. Raised in Whiteinch, Glasgow, his work comes from that specific British ecosystem where Mr Blobby coexisted with casual nihilism, where playtime ended early and humour became a survival tactic.

Playgrounds, Patter and the Politics of Print

Moving between print, installation, fashion and text, Trackie rejects the idea that art needs translating. He’s openly suspicious of elitist gallery culture and committed to making work that speaks in a language people actually use. His humour is sharp, his references are local but transferable, and his politics are embedded.

Trackie’s practice is built from the stuff you’re told not to keep: slogans half-remembered from tracksuits, playground architecture turned hostile, pop culture warped through working-class life. His work looks familiar on purpose. It borrows the visual language of youth clubs, motorways, corner shops and TV schedules, then twists it just enough to reveal the class politics underneath. Nostalgia isn’t cosy; it’s evidence.

SOFT PLAY: VIBRANT HUMOUR AND COLOURFUL NOSTALGIA

Trackie recently presented the solo exhibition Soft Play at the Charleston gallery in Lewes, building a world that stages multiple moments of youth culture – each embedded with the artist's own personality and sense of humour.

Central to the exhibition are large-scale works such as a swing and a climbing frame, which instantly spark childhood curiosity and excitement. Filled with text such as ‘No One Likes A Grass’ or the 70-point list of ‘Things That Were ‘Gay’ In School’, it reminds us of how awkward and difficult it was to grow up in an era of contradictory conventions around masculinity and queerness. Hyper club tracks recorded by Trackie on a Sony Ericsson Walkman, such as ‘Come With Me’ by Special D and ‘Better Off Alone’ by Alice Deejay, are played. Together, these multi-sensory elements evoke nostalgic memories of pre-digital childhood.

BEYOND THE GALLERY: FROM CLIMBING FRAMES TO BILLBOARDS

Trackie extends his practice into the public realm. The artist has recently taken over the UK with large-scale billboards showcasing quotes such as ‘Boys will be… what we teach them to be’ and ‘Text me when you get home’. Both works confront familiar phrasing, offering audiences the opportunity to reflect on societal expectations around masculinity and the disparities in how safety is experienced by queer and female identities.

No Concept Wall Text, Just a Pint

UTOPIA is Trackie McLeod’s first ever show in Manchester and, instead of rolling in with a bunch of canvases and a four-paragraph wall text about ‘liminality’, he’s built a pub! Inside a warehouse. With a bar. With pints. With Irn-Bru in the fridge and snacks on standby. A bit like wandering into an old working men's club on the edge of town, if that club had somehow swallowed a gallery, a youth centre and a memory box full of 90s telly, discarded scratchcards and your Grandad's aftershave still clinging to the collar of his best shirt.

The UTOPIA must be built

Dreamed up over the past year as a collaboration with Factory International’s six young curators – Jack Clarke, Otega Ajuchi, Anita Ezeh, Fauziya Johnson, Rachel Morgan and Madison Marcantonatos – the result is presented as UTOPIA.

By day, UTOPIA is a pub, a gallery, a hangout spot. You can come in for a chat, a crisp, a soft pint, and look at art without being made to feel like you need a degree in it. And by night, it's not just last orders and lights out; it's gigs, drag and late-night takeovers from some of Manchester's finest.

On the 19th, Bailey J Mills takes the stage for a one-night-only comedy, cabaret and pure ‘what the fuck is going on’ brilliance.

On the 20th, there’s a roundtable session, bringing together voices like DJ/organiser Rebecca Swarray, Haçienda legend Dave Haslam, and White Hotel affiliate Rebecca Elizabeth Shaw to chat about Manchester’s changing spaces. Expect stories and some big questions on third spaces and the future.

And on the 21st, things are going full rave gremlin at Cheetham Hill’s Derby Brewery Arms, one of Manchester’s most iconic queer community pubs, as UTOPIA turns into a dancefloor. Inclusive, sweaty, no dress code, no pretence, just vibes and volume.

At the heart of UTOPIA is Trackie’s commitment to working-class community spaces that are shaped by inclusion rather than exclusion. UTOPIA isn’t a metaphor. It’s a shift rota, a sound system and a stool with your name on it.