This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Some of the world’s most prolific street artists have offered works to be auctioned in aid of Movember, the men’s mental health charity.

Sotheby’s has announced a charity sale called Against the Wall, which has involved Dean Stockton, who goes by the name D*Face, persuading other street artists and artists to come up with new work for a cause close to his heart.

Stockton’s contribution is a striking enamel and emulsion painted canvas of two men called Console the Lonely.

“For me, it is about a man comforting another man and not feeling embarrassed or ashamed to do that,” he said. “Just being able to speak to a friend and ask: ‘Are you going through a hard time? Let’s go for a beer … I’m here for you.’”

Movember was launched more than a decade ago, growing year by year, and tackles issues around prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. It is best known for encouraging men to grow a moustache in November.

Stockton said a chance meeting with Movember’s Ben Bowers spawned the idea of the charity auction.

“Artists, historically, do struggle with mental illness and feeling isolated and lonely … I know I have in the past. I’ve felt very isolated. Our work is very public but in some respects we are very private and insecure.”

He said he wanted to encourage men to “talk about their problems rather than keeping them bottled up”.

“I strongly believe street art has the ability to breach the social stigma of men’s mental health, to collapse this invisible boundary that’s causing men to keep their struggles to themselves.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Conor Harrington is among the artists donating. Photograph: Owen Richards

The nine other artists giving works are Shepard Fairey, most famous for his Barack Obama “Hope” poster; the French urban artist Invader; the Puerto Rican painter and muralist Alexis Diaz; the Spanish street artist Okuda; the Portuguese artist Vhils, perhaps best known for chiselling portraits into walls; the Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone; London-based Irish aritst Conor Harrington; and the portrait artist Jonathan Yeo.

Bowers, global innovation lead and ambassador for the charity, said: “It gives a great platform to start these conversations around men’s mental health and suicide prevention.

“Everyone has mental health and some struggle with it and for a sector like the art world, for these artists to come out from behind the canvas and speak to their own experiences and show that people aren’t alone … it is a powerful way to put this on the agenda.”

The works will be on display at Sotheby’s London headquarters from 16 to 19 November before the sale on 20 November.