Disguise wraps on prototype cars and the work of Britain’s wartime camouflage artists have inspired a new solo exhibition by Jonny Ambrose, which brings Coventry and Warwickshire’s carmakers, designers and racers out of hiding. Innovation, Camouflage & Discovery runs during November and December 2026 at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry, in the traditional heartland of British motor manufacturing.
Each of Ambrose’s artworks shows a different vehicle subject, incorporating local firms such as CALLUM, Twisted, Tolman and Maeving electric motorcycles, plus Warwick Moto, the University of Warwick’s student race team. Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre is also featured, along with pioneering vehicles from the Coventry Transport Museum and British Motor Museum collections.
At first glance the works look abstract, with the car or motorcycle almost hidden; it becomes clearer the longer you look. “The exhibition is full of camouflaged artworks that invite visual discovery,” Ambrose explains.
His interest goes back to World War Two, when Britain’s Camouflage Directorate moved more than 200 artists and designers to Leamington Spa to disguise buildings, airfields and ships from enemy aircraft with bold patterns, colours and shapes.
“Coventry is the heart of the British car industry, yet much of the innovation goes under the radar: ‘camouflaged’; ‘hidden’ perhaps,” Ambrose says.
The exhibition also aims to encourage young people to think about careers in automotive design and engineering. David Fairbairn, managing director of CALLUM, says the Jonny Ambrose show “celebrates the automotive talent of Coventry and Warwickshire while inspiring the next generation of designers and engineers”.
Innovation, Camouflage & Discovery is at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Jordan Well, Coventry, from November 10 to December 5, 2026, during the museum’s usual opening hours.
Visit theherbert.org for more information.
