While most musicians who create art do it simply for the masturbatory display of their own ego, some manage to add ‘artist’ to their resume quite fluidly. Despite what people may think of their music, musicians like Marilyn Manson and 3D of Massive Attack have taken the art world by storm with their outsider art canvasses being snapped up by major contemporary collectors. He may not be known in the UK yet, but budding DJ Stefano Mezzaroma hopes to follow in these ranks with his debut solo show No Jokes Please; We’re Italian at The Italian Cultural Institute in London.

Sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Culture in Rome, Mezzaroma’s work is a mix between urban and contemporary art, using popular culture to make scathing remarks on relevant social topics. His work Mao portrays a portrait of the Chinese dictator emblazoned with the Google logo and fitted with a sickle and hammer earring. Another image is the Jurassic Park film icon, but the title is changed to read Microsoft.

Known for his house and elctro DJ sets in Milan, Mezzaroma caught the eye of Georgio Armani who asked him to play the Armani flagship store in Rome for Vogue’s Fashion Night Out last year and the designer even has one of the artist’s paintings hanging behind his office desk at headquarters. Not bad for a budding musician right?

No Jokes Please; We’re Italian opens February 29 at The Italian Cultural Institute in Belgravia. For more information visit www.stefanomezzaroma.com