British street artist Stik began creating his distinctive stick figures in East London in the early 2000s, inspired partly by Japanese kanji. His minimalist designs appeared in doorways and on building facades while he lived in homeless shelters. Over time, Stik's work expanded to galleries, with his studio pieces achieving six-figure sales. Committed to social justice, his 2014 mural, Little Big Mother, addresses the need for social housing, and proceeds from his 2020 piece, Holding Hands (Maquette), funded an outdoor sculpture initiative in Hackney.