Kindly Ease the Tension is the first major retrospective exhibition of the work of pioneering artist David Shenton. The exhibition will feature more than 150 works bringing together cartoons, illustrations, paintings, clothing, knitted artworks and large-scale textiles.

Shenton (born 1949), has been creating LBGTQ+ cartoons and comics for over 50 years. His book Stanley and the Mask of Mystery (1983) was one of the first LGBTQ+ graphic novels. The artist moved to Norfolk in the 1970s working as a teacher and in the Education Department at Norwich Prison before taking up art full-time. Kindly Ease the Tension traces his journey via early textile works made at Loughborough College of Art through to his fulltime employment as a freelance cartoonist. Highlights include the 'Duvet of Love', an extraordinary memorial to friends lost during the AIDS epidemic comprised of thousands of button badges, and a tribute to footballer Justin Fashanu.

Kindly Ease the Tension, is guest curated by artist Ian Giles, together with Ruth Battersby, Senior Textiles Curator at Norfolk Museums Service. Ian Giles' practice spans film, performance and social practice and which is rooted in queer histories, collective memory and language.

Ian Giles said: “David's ongoing and diverse artistic output is a true example of unbridled and joyful creativity in the face of adversity. David is a cartoonist by trade, but he also is a skilled textile artist, social activist and maker. He is a national treasure, and his work should be held aloft and explored alongside artists such as Sir Peter Blake, Sunil Gupta, Beryl Cook and Tom of Finland”.