A recent piece at the NUART FESTIVAL in Stavanger struck a cord with many. It’s a cute image with a strong message, and i thought i’d release it as a print with all the proceeds going to charity.
To be released next Thursday 14th of November at Graffik galley, both on-line and in gallery, so if you want to save postage and packing costs, you can drop in to pick it up from 5pm that day. Details of the event Facebook
I have been involved with Steve Bedlam’s RCK (refugee community kitchen) for some time and i am constantly aware of their struggles with helping refugees feed themselves. So 100% of profits from the print goes to them.
The print is an edition of 85 50cm x 40 cm 3 colour silk screen print 375 Lambeth cotton rag paper, signed numbered and embossed. £80 + P&P
Over the last few months myself and 2 friends (Tom Mattey and George Tomlinson) have been chatting in various pubs about a photo booth that looks like an elevator, sounds like an elevator and acts like an elevator and produces a photographic souvenir of that experience . At the same time i had been asked to produce an installation for the moniker art fair by Urban Nation. The theme was Brexit and synergy between the themes and object seemed too close to ignore.
The LIFT is a totally new photo booth experience! Appearing like an elevator in the corner of your room…The lift door opens to reveal a life like lift interior, muzak playing. On entering the door slides shut and a lift themed touch screen interface guides you through 4 poses. The last photograph is timed to be taken at the exact moment the floor drops catching all inside in that moment of surprise.
A bonkers new way of capturing the moment. Half ride, half souvenir. An immer-
sive journey, a snap of surprise. From entry to exit, it looks like a lift, acts like a lift
and plays on your expectations of a lift. Close the door choose your floor, doesn’t
matter what you choose we are all getting down!
Had a banging weekend up on the Wirral a few weekends ago. A great project to rejuvenate part of New Brighton by the passionate team at Rockpoint leisure. I was invited by an old studio assistant (Rob) to take part in a series of murals aiming to breathe new life into a forgotten part of the Wirral, which was once a famous go-to entertainment destination for Merseyside, a Disney cross the Mersey.
It’s hard not to mention Dan Davies when talking about the changes that are happening within this community. He’s a driving force behind the look and feel of the area and has an easy-to-like social agenda that you can identify with whether you are a visitor to the area or a local. Over time i’m sure this faded Vegas will rise in ways that weren’t planned or foreseen. That’s what great about it! There’s a general buzz in the area, an enthusiasm that means that more than the sum of its parts are possible. Go Dan! Really can’t wait to be asked back.
It was nice to be asked back to Nuart after a few years away from Stavanger. As i used to work on production for the festival, the visit was radically different to my previous years experiences. Coupled with the fact i was painting my new Gaffa-tape “Stick em” up series, it gave me a fresh pair of eyes to see the town and festival. No cherry pickers, no assistants and no confirmed walls meant i was free to wander the town and paint these little pieces on doors and electrical cabinets at my own pace.
Picture by Runa Andersen
In my opinion, the placement of art on the street is often key to the work’s success, both visually and, often, in terms of its longevity. It’s a dynamic that is hard to re-create during a festival, as artists from all over the world descend on a town or city with pre-ordered paint, ideas and walls. With artists wanting to go large, festivals wanting a mark worthy of the booking and a city wanting eye-candy to brighten its darkest corners, that placement is often overlooked. As a producer, i am only too well aware of the conflict between all the interests, the art form and its roots. So it was great when Martyn Reed offered a retro way of working for my trip to Nuart 2019.
Photo by Runa Andersen
A map showing the spots painted over the 4 days in town.
Nuart is a festival close to my heart, it’s always great fun and the shows in the beer halls at Tou have been some of my proudest production moments. It’s always a great crew thats easy to work with and a real party feeling for the week or two that you’re there. Loved a lot of the work around me and it was a pleasure to be asked back to take part
Above Oscar and Gabriel, local rude kids who have grown up with Nuart and who i’ve know through the festival since birth. This year they made it into the show.
Happy to announce that i am doing a show with old friend Stella Dore Gallery in Leonard’s on Sea, Hastings on in the 26th of July. I’ve made loads of new stuff and have a print release to coincide with the show.
It’s a small edition of 24, four colours 70cm x 50 cm on 375gsm Lambeth cotton rag, printed by Mesh silkscreen Bristol. Prints will be released at the private view on the Friday and then the remaining prints will be available on line on Saturday the 27th of July for £85 plus P&P here.
There are also 4 editions of 12 the roller stripe in hand finished acrylic paint. Roller stripes will be in a lilac, green, orange and a magenta for the price of £125 plus P&P. These will also be available to those that attend the show on the 26th, the remainder will be online the next day here.
Stella Dore kindly organised an amazing spot for me to paint, Ruby’s Rooms on the St. Leonards sea front opposite the pier.
I am sure you all know that feeling… After a big night out, you wake in the morning with that horrible feeling of dread and guilt at what has gone on the night before…Then you realise you probably got away with it? Then you remember you had a camera crew with you… Good job they are very good friends!
MZM PROJECTS” is an independent group formed in Ukraine by Kristina Borhes and Nazar Tymoshchuk, focused on research and documentation of the street art, graffiti, post-graffiti and other artistic practices in urban culture.
We’ve been talking about painting this new container park development for a while now, Sheik Abdulla and i. Working out what to paint, where the finished works would go, it’s a new thing for this mountainous corner of the UAE… new ground, corrugated surfaces and a different type of vibe. It’s the first part on a series of works for Grove village that will grow year on year…Watch this space…Grove Village
So this is first solo show in Paris, it was in the mid 80’s i first saw stencil work on the streets, Nemo, Blek le rat and others. These heroes inspired me to take up the scalpel and paint on the street. Paris has always had a rich stencil history, from 1968 till today and it is a great honour to show in this city.
A bit about the show written by the gallery
“Mind in the Gutter” is the name Dotmasters gave this exhibition. It evokes for him dubious intentions, ambiguous actions, all these unsavory and yet jubilant things. Faithful to the vandal and provocative essence of urban art, this title captures the artists’ state of mind, who, jovial and lucid, enjoys taboos, contradictions, new gods and the absurdity of our contemporary lifestyles.
The exhibition offers several levels of reading: one can appreciate it as a pop, offbeat and impertinent visual experience or read in it an ironic critique of today’s society. Dotmasters develops the concept of “high-end waste” with brass sculptures of chanel paper bags. Through this realization, he takes note, reinforces and plays on the ambiguity between marketing and works of art, between single piece and disposable goods, between aesthetic value and commercial production.
Second theme dear to the artist, rebellious and cheeky cherubim populate the works of Dotmasters. Made from photographs of her nieces, nephews and friends, these stencils bring a mischievous and indocent hue to the exhibition. The turbulent and transgressive little angels who speak out or show their fingers to the spectator remind us of the joy that arises from disorder, the creativity generated by chaos and especially the importance of not being earnest.
Where there’s muck there’s brass, Painted cast brass sculpture
GCA Gallery PARIS – 2 place Farhat Hached – 75013 – Paris du mardi au samedi de 11h30 à 18h30 Tél : +33 6 09 07 75 99
Mind In the gutter is a show based on my obsession with the naughty, the unpalatable and taboo. The show finds beauty in the dross of life and the joy in disobedience. iI’s been 12 years now of living in the gutter and looking at the stars, and In this group of works I play with the idea of innocence and corruption. My work often has a conflict between right and wrong, photo real stencils of rubbish, high class brands trashed by sweet children swearing. There’s a joy in playing with taboos and off- key ideas with my tongue firmly in my cheek.
The show is at GCA Gallery PARIS – 2 place Farhat Hached – 75013 – Paris
So to celebrate my first solo show in Paris i am releasing this Chanel print (part of the trash bag series). Edition of 53 its a 14 colour silkscreen print 40cm x 40cm on 375GSM cotton rag paper, signed, numbered and embossed and as usual printed by the wonderful Mesh silkscreens. As usual available now from my website for £195 + postage and packing. Buy here
So come by if your in town, theres a whole new body of work inspired by Paris. There are new rude kids, new wallpaper inspired by the art deco paris metro, cast brass sculptures, I’ve even made a light! Drop by it would be nice to see you.
