EastEnders star’s art exhibition shuts down early after backlash

An exhibition of artwork by EastEnders actor Jake Wood has closed a month early with the gallery citing “horrid and abusive behaviour” as the reason for the closure. The Icons exhibition at Indelible Fine Art in Brighton opened earlier this month and featured artworks depicting Dame Barbara Windsor, Winston Churchill and David Attenborough, among others.

But Wood was soon met with online backlash, with some accusing the Max Branning actor of using AI in his work.

Last week Wood released a statement on social media clarifying his use of AI.

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“I think it’s important to address some of the discussion surrounding my exhibition currently on display at Indelible Fine Art Gallery,” Wood wrote.

“Whilst I acknowledge that two of the images featured in the exhibition,
Attenborough and Trump, incorporated AI-generated source imagery, these images were not personally generated by me and already existed prior to being used within the works.

“These particular pieces were created in 2024 and were not originally intended for inclusion in this exhibition. Since then I have not used AI within my artworks and do not intend to moving forward.”

However, Indelible Fine Arts has now confirmed the exhibition has ended.

In a statement on Instagram, the gallery wrote: “It is with sadness that we announce the decision to end the Icons exhibition by Jake Wood at Indelible Fine Art.

“What was always intended to be a fun exhibition to raise awareness and funds for Dementia UK has over the last seven days, unfortunately escalated into what can only be described as horrid and abusive behaviour directed at ourselves as a gallery and the wider charitable cause involved.

“Along the way, the main message behind this exhibition has been entirely lost.

“In order to bring an end to the continual abusive messages, we have been left with no choice but to close the show.

“We kindly ask for your continued support as a small independent gallery.”

The statement continued: “We will learn from this experience, continue to grow, and we will continue to support Jake on his artistic journey.

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“We only wish we could have raised more funds for Dementia UK through this exhibition, but we hope to do so again in the future.”

Wood has played Max on Albert Square since 2006, with the character’s most recent return happening last September.

Max is set for some huge moments coming up in 2026, with the character being at the centre of the soap’s New Year’s flashforward episode.

EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.

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