GRAPHICS 02
Other kinds of imagemaking
The Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury invited me to create something for Superheroes, Orphans & Origins: 125 years in comics so I made this almost-two-metres-long frieze of orphaned heroes and their traumatic origin stories. Maybe you can guess who they are*. The identical poses emphasise their similar terrible circumstances. It’s called ‘Up In Flames’.
The original art displayed in the gallery is black and white, india ink on paper. But I made a colour version for a print which you can buy from the museum. It’s a signed edition of 50. I also wrote something for the exhibition catalogue about why there are so many orphans in popular fiction. You can read it here.
*in order: Superman, Tarzan, Little Orphan Annie, Magnus Robot Fighter, Barefoot Gen, Batman, Astro Boy and Black Panther.
Sick! Cars
SICK! Cars was a project that looked at the relationship between young men and their cars; the pressure to project confidence and masculinity, driving as a way to feel powerful and hide all their fears behind flashy, expensive vehicles. From deep discussions with a group of young men in Harpurhey, Manchester I devised designs for two cars; one that displayed the words they wrote to represent their internal worlds, and the other to show how they felt about the relentless barrage of branded advertising that undermined their sense of self. I did lots of lettering of slogans and redrew corporate logos. Both designs were then ‘wrapped’ onto the cars like moving billboards. The customised cars were displayed installation-style on The Green in Moston Lane, Manchester as part of SICK! Festival 2022.
The installation resonated powerfully with everyone who saw it. We were offered five-figure sums to buy both cars within hours on the first day, which was of course declined. You can watch a seven-minute film about this public art project here.
Car One: the Dazzlecar. The thoughts of the participants, trying to be positive without the confrontational business. The colour field is inspired by WW2 dazzle ships. You can see them coming but it takes a moment to figure out what they are.
Car Two: the Branding car. Logos of the brands most prominent in their lives, remixed into commentaries on what they represent in the lives of the young male participants. And a few jokes. Arranged like the sponsors on a racecar.
The reconfigured logos, parodies of the originals. How many do you recognise?