Tobleroni, (real name is Jay Rechsteiner, www.jayrechsteiner.com) was born in Switzerland in 1971 where he spent his childhood. In his early 20s he emigrated to Japan with his wife where he devoted his time to the study of art. After six years they divorced and he set out on a journey through Asia back to Switzerland where he settled down for two years working as an artist while taking art courses at the College of Art and Design in Basel. Rechsteiner came to London in 2004. He exhibited internationally in Japan, France, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal and in the UK.

Sardine, (real name is Victor Silveira) was born in Portugal in 1972 where he spent his childhood. From an early age he was involved in the music industry as a musician. He toured five times in the USA, once in Japan and various times in Europe with his bands 77, Tedio Boys, The Parkinsons and [Blood Safari Victor moved to London in 2000 in the search for more opportunities in the music industry.

Both painters have close ties to the punk and hippie movement. Jay born into a Hippie environment spent a great deal of his early childhood in communes confronted with Indian and American native culture, drugs, politics and the 70 and 80s Punk and Rock music. Victor born in a quiet sea town in Portugal has been in Punk and Rock bands since a very young age supported by his loving and left-wing-minded parents. Victor's first band The Tedio Boys has become a cult punk band in the 80s in Portugal.

Sardine's and Tobleroni's artistic practice can be described as Conceptual Art Brut which is the equivalent to what Punk is in music, a desire to express an idea (political, social, artistic etc) through painting respectively music without the (conventional) skills as artists or musicians (based on John Holmstrom's definition of Punk). Their naive style seen in art brut combined with sophisticated design techniques based on thought-through intellectual and emotional concepts enables Sardine's and Tobleroni's work to capture the very essence of what they paint.

Victor and Jay met while studying multi-media at the Hackney Community College in London in 2006. They planned to set up a graphic design joint-venture but soon came to the conclusion that their real interest is in art itself. They are now based in a studio in Hackney.

Their first joint solo show opened in Lisbon, Portugal on 1 st of March 2008 titled Espelho Meu (English My Mirror), which incorporated 39 paintings of influential Portuguese Rock and Punk bands from the 1950s till now. The show was a tremendous success with a great part of the musicians represented in the paintings and important personalities in the art and entertainment industry present. The event is considered a landmark as far as recent Portuguese culture is concerned. The exhibition has been going on tour from July 2008 throughout Portugal. Back in London Sardine & Tobleroni organized their first self-curated show titled Red Meat that involved two other artists, namely Korean born Eunji Kim and Dave Hilliard from Manchester. The opening night featured two punk bands and a freak show culminating in a mass fight. In 2009 they received increased press attention for their participation in four exhibitions organised by WW Gallery curators Debra Wilson (curator) and Chiara Williams ([PG:Parental Guidance ,Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale, Summer Exhibitionists , Both Ends Burning) of which Travelling Light, a collateral event at the Venice Biennale, recognised by the British Council, launched them onto the international art stage.

www.wilsonwilliamsgallery.com