An artist who makes photorealistic portraits out of kilometre-long pieces of thread is putting on his first solo show in Dalston this summer.

London-based artist Perspicere also creates large scale three-dimensional installations entirely from thread.

One of his most notable large-scale works is the Screaming Man on Shoreditch High Street, which reflected the frustration he felt after a six-month creative block.

Unfortunately, the installation was set on fire within two hours of completion, but Perspicere does not place too much weight on the permanence of his creations.

The artist regularly destroys the portraits he creates as soon as they are finished, a process he records on video.

Hackney Gazette: Perspicere's art can be found all over Shoreditch.Perspicere's art can be found all over Shoreditch. (Image: Perspicere)

He recently felt the wrath of millions of TikTok users after creating and subsequently destroying his pictures of Will Smith and YouTube star MrBeast.

The videos went viral and have garnered over 8 million views.

Perspicere – Latin for "perspective" – creates the portraits by wrapping a single piece of sewing thread around nails.

Beginning as a single line, the work then evolves into a complex, crisscrossed piece of art.

Self-taught, Perspicere originally made geometric drawings. His entry into thread art happened by accident, when a London gallery asked him to create some wall art for them and he mapped it out first using string.

Hackney Gazette: Perspicere also makes large scale structures from string.Perspicere also makes large scale structures from string. (Image: Perspicere)

His upcoming solo show at Dalston’s BSMT gallery is called Lost and Found. The exhibition is themed around the emotions experienced during lockdowns.

Perspicere said the pandemic was like listening to a favourite song: "You close your eyes and the whole universe waits for that bass drop and then silence. You look down as your headphone wire swings loose from your phone. Everything crashes back to the ground. That's how I felt."

Hackney Gazette: One of the key pieces is a metre and a half picture of a skull, which Perspicere originally made on the street before cutting it down and putting it in the exhibitionOne of the key pieces is a metre and a half picture of a skull, which Perspicere originally made on the street before cutting it down and putting it in the exhibition (Image: Perspicere)

Lost and Found will feature four large installations and 10 framed works. Each piece will be accompanied by a QR code that takes you to a video of the artworks being made.

Perspicere's solo show, Lost and Found, will take place at Kingsland Road's BSMT gallery from August 19-29.

Learn more at www.bsmt.co.uk/aaa