Eternal Ecstasy at the Peacock and the Worm Gallery in Aberdeen is a celebration of the life and work of Jamie Reid. An artist whose influence has reverberated throughout British culture. Known widely for shaping the visual language of the Sex Pistols. Reid was far more than a punk provocateur. He was a political agitator, a spiritual seeker, a community-minded printmaker and a relentless creative force.
What sets this exhibition apart is its location. This isn’t just any gallery showcasing Reid’s work. Peacock and the Worm is the place where Reid produced his first-ever print for the Sex Pistols in 1975. It’s an extraordinary and often overlooked detail that makes Eternal Ecstasy not just a retrospective, but a homecoming.
A Historic Print Returns Home
At the heart of the exhibition sits one of the earliest and rarest Sex Pistols posters. Believed to be one of only two surviving examples. Seeing it displayed in the very workshop where it was originally produced gives the piece a sense of gravity. It is more than a classic punk artefact. It is a piece of Aberdeen’s cultural history and the first image that Reid ever made for the Sex Pistols.
The exhibition includes a newly editioned print of this early design. A piece personally signed by Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. Fully sanctioned by Jamie Reid before his passing in 2023, it carries the same raw, energy as the original. Titled ‘Cutie Jones‘, the name references an early moment in the band’s history. A time when they briefly adopted the moniker Cutie Jones and the Sex Pistols. With Steve Jones himself taking on the role of “Cutie Jones”.
For Peacock, the story of that first Sex Pistols print is such a foundational event. It’s a moment that ties their open-access ethos to one of the most influential movements in British music history. For Aberdeen, it is a connection to an artist who helped change the visual landscape of an era.
The Language of Rebellion
Reid’s practice has long been rooted in protest, shaped by a background steeped in radical politics. Long before punk, he was making work that tore into consumer culture, state power and social conformity. His cut-and-paste, ransom-note aesthetic emerged from this early activism.
In Eternal Ecstasy, these early experiments sit alongside later works to reveal a continuous through-line of dissent. The targets may have shifted over time. From Thatcherism to globalisation and from anti-war movements to Putin and Pussy Riot. But the underlying urgency remains the same. Reid’s graphics were always meant to be tools, not decorations.
Ritual, Mysticism and the Search for Meaning
Alongside the political, the exhibition also explores another, less widely recognised dimension of Reid’s work. This is his fascination with ritual, symbolism and spirituality. These interests weave through his practice like an undercurrent, appearing in mandala-like compositions, seasonal cycles and references to Druidry.
Rather than contradict his activism, this spiritual thread enriches it. Reid saw creative practice as a way to reconnect with older ways of knowing. Seeing it as an antidote to the structures and systems he critiqued. The spiritual and the political flow together, creating a body of work that is both confrontational and contemplative.
A Legacy Still in Motion
What Eternal Ecstasy captures so effectively is the breadth of Reid’s impact. Visitors may arrive expecting punk history, but they leave with a far more expansive understanding. The story of an artist who never stopped evolving. The exhibition positions Reid not just as a designer of an era, but as a thinker. Someone whose ideas about power, community, nature and freedom remain profoundly relevant.
Returning Reid’s work to the print studio where a key part of his story began is quite a coup. The Peacock and the Worm Gallery has brought back a real piece of art and music history. One that forever connects Jamie Reid, the Sex Pistols and Punk to the city itself.
Exhibition Details
Eternal Ecstasy
Eternal Ecstasy
Peacock and the Worm Gallery, Aberdeen
Closes 6 December 2025
Address
Peacock and the Worm11 Castle Street
Aberdeen
AB11 5BQ
For more Inspiring City articles you will like…
- Jamie Reid and John Marchant at Nuart in Aberdeen
- Murals of the Nuart Aberdeen Street Art Festival 2023
- The Graffiti Bible: How ‘Subway Art’ Shaped a Generation
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