Ed Worley has turned his life around.

He was only nine when he began to drink alcohol. By high school, he had moved on to illegal drugs and began to self-harm.

The-then teenager became obsessed with becoming a graffiti artist, stealing art materials, breaking into tube yards and dangling off bridges to spray-paint.

He went on to spend years on the streets with a crack addiction, and spent his twenties living with psychosis.

When he felt like he’d hit rock bottom, ‘everything came together at the right time’ and his life changed. He met future partner Roo – the pair would later launch clothing brand Pnut – and Ed was offered an animation job in New York by a friend.

He learned how to love art again and, going by the name Opake, experienced a meteoric rise in the industry as he became more confident in his craft.

While his recovery has been nothing short of inspirational, the 34-year-old has made sure not to forget his past.

Opake was recently offered a six figure contract by a top art gallery which had noticed his up and coming significance.

But he turned the offer down.

Instead of canapes and champagne, he’s decided to host a homeless breakfast at a gallery opening at Quantus Gallery in London.

Opake, who is working on the event with charity Centre Point, said his first priority at the opening tomorrow morning will be to listen.

He told Metro.co.uk: ‘When I was struggling, I didn’t want to tell anyone because of the shame, but the most important thing to do is take the power out of the thing controlling you. You can do that by talking to people, by verbalising it.

‘Most importantly with the breakfast, what I want to do is listen.

‘I’ll talk about my art and my journey and I hope it helps. But I want to listen to what they’ve been through and learn about their journey. What these people are going through, being on the street, is brutal. They’re walked past and not listened to.’

Opake’s work has in the past been described as a form of ‘storybook realism’. The artist joins the lineage of other pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Claes Oldenburg.

The 34-year-old, from St Albans, hopes that the raw honesty and confidence behind his work will inspire others who may be in flux to change the course of their own lives.

Ensuring art is accessible to people from all walks of life is what ‘drives’ the artist as he continues his recovery.

Opake said: ‘Considering where I’ve come from, it’s a dream come true. If you’d told me five years ago I’d be opening a solo gallery exhibition, I’d have laughed.

‘The whole thing from sleeping on a bench to where I am now – I know what it’s like to be on the fringes of society. Not even the fringes, another world away from society.

‘I want my art to be accessible for everyone, people of all ages. Even if children can look at it, see Mickey Mouse or a charcter they recognise – if they can take something from it then that’s wicked.

‘Then there’s the deeper background, the patterns, the repeated actions that represent the insanity I felt, that’s a different outcome others can see.’

His exhibition, which opens tomorrow at the Quantus Gallery in London’s East End, features 30 works created especially for this solo show, and follows the influences and contours of Opake’s personal journey through addiction.

His work in this new exhibition — with themes of repetition — takes inspiration from the definition of insanity as ‘doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’.

He added: ‘I realised my art could be my addiction.

‘Being obsessive-compulsive, becoming addicted to things — if you can channel that into something creative instead of something harmful, you can be so powerful.

‘I can live in the moment and hyperfocus, so my brain doesn’t wander to those dark places it used to. Anyone with these tendencies can easily abuse them, but if you harness that ability, it’s an incredible gift.’

The gallery exhibition runs from October 20 to November 5 at the Quantus Gallery on Fashion Street in London.

James Ryan, founder of the space, explained how the gallery is keen to showcase more artists like Opake.

He said: ‘There’s an increased appetite for work by artists with new, diverse voices, who have had their talents overlooked by other galleries due to not attending certain art schools or having a particular background.’

To see more of Opake’s work, click here.

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