Walking into SCALE is like slipping backstage at the gig of your dreams. The lights are low, the air smells of wood, varnish and voltage, and the walls rise with towering six-string relics that hum with stories. Housed in Shoreditch’s raw, industrial-cool Unlocked gallery, this is not some sterile white-cube setup. It is a sacred loading dock. A roadie’s reverie. A place where flight cases crack open, secrets spill out, and the mythology of rock lives loud.
Because there is something magical about a guitar. The way it wears its scars like battle honours. How its lacquer fades under stage lights. The silence that still somehow sings.
This summer, SCALE turns that magic up to 11 — in an immersive, breathtaking, life-sized celebration of the guitars that shaped generations of sound and soul.
Twelve years in the making, this landmark exhibition from Australian photographer Kane Hibberd is more than just a gallery show. It’s a love letter. A resurrection. A quiet riot rendered in wood, wire, sweat and soul.
Step inside Unlocked, Shoreditch’s cool industrial space, and you are face to face with instruments. Over 100 guitars, printed 1:1 scale, front and back — every ding, dent and sticker intact. No glass cases. No digital distractions.
These are not pristine museum pieces. These are survivors. Instruments that have screamed through stadiums, wept in bedrooms, rattled the walls of clubs, and been held like lifelines by artists around the globe.
From Kirk Hammett’s riff-burnt ESP to Joan Jett’s bruised-up Melody Maker, from Paul McCartney’s eternal Höfner to Jerry Cantrell’s haunted G&L — the lineup is a rogues’ gallery of six-string legends.
There is Dave Grohl’s worn Trini Lopez, Noel Gallagher’s battered Epiphone, and Kevin Parker’s dreamy Rickenbacker. SCALE is about the soul of it all.
“I thought getting the guitars would be the hard part,” Kane Hibberd told MetalTalk, “but it wasn’t. It was the interviews — especially with some of the women artists. They would say, ‘I’m not a tech person.’ But I wasn’t looking for specs. I just wanted to know: what does it feel like to pick up that guitar?”
That emotional heartbeat pulses through the entire exhibition. Alongside each photograph are personal reflections from the artists — raw, funny, unfiltered. This isn’t about tonewood or fret sizes. It’s about memory. Instinct. Intimacy. A shared language between creator and creation.
What began as a one-man mission — funded by favours, belief, and eventually a loyal Patreon community — has grown into a living archive of nearly 300 guitars.
For over a decade, Kane kept the project offline. No teasers. No hype. Just pure devotion to the work. The London edition is the first stop of this evolving exhibition, with each city receiving its own tailored lineup. Like the music it honours, SCALE is ever-shifting, never static.
“You’re literally the first people to walk through,” Kane says. “I’ve lived with this work for so long I don’t know how I feel about it anymore. But now? I’m excited. It’s time to let it go. Let other people feel something.”
And you will feel something. SCALE commands your attention. It is slow art in a fast world. A tactile answer to a digital age. A visual mixtape of heart, grit, and glory.
The Lineup: A Church of Icons and Outliers
Beyond the heavy hitters lies a beautifully curated congregation of cult heroes, underground innovators and rule-breaking legends. The late Steve Albini looms large, his presence honoured with quiet reverence.
Punk lifers Tim and Billie Joe Armstrong channel the spirit of a thousand dive bars, while Gilby Clarke, Les Claypool, Joe Bonamassa, Nuno Bettencourt, and George Benson bring fire, finesse and flair.
But SCALE thrives on its refusal to stick to the obvious. It lifts up the outsiders. Courtney Barnett, Kevin Parker (Tame Impala), and Mark Bowen (IDLES) deliver unorthodox emotion through experimental textures.
Matt Bellamy (Muse) beams in chrome-futurism, while melody-driven minds like Peter Buck, Rivers Cuomo, and James Bay provide warmth and wit. Voices of raw power like Lzzy Hale and Laura Jane Grace explode with vulnerability and strength.
And then there are the storytellers — Justin Hawkins, Richard Hawley, Glen Hansard, Mick Harvey — stage-scorched souls with tales to tell and six strings in hand.
Whether you are a guitar nerd, a die-hard gig-goer, a photography junkie, or just someone who once struck a chord and felt something shift — SCALE is your sanctuary. It is part exhibition, part confession booth, part rock ‘n’ roll séance. A thunderous whisper. A love letter to obsession, creativity, and the sacred act of making noise.
Every artist has a bond with their guitar — raw, instinctive, and deeply personal. Over time, that connection sculpts the instrument into a living, breathing artefact. SCALE captures that alchemy with life-sized portraits that lay it all bare — every scratch, dent, rust spot and road scar telling a story of chaos, craft and pure soul.
This is not about specs. It is about spirit. And if you’ve ever loved a riff, chased a moment, or found comfort in distortion — this show will speak to you.
Go see it. Feel it. SCALE isn’t just unmissable — it’s unforgettable.
SCALE will be at Unlocked Gallery, Shoreditch from 12 June to 31 August 2025. Tickets and more details are available from Scale-Exhibition.com.
