Friday 24 April 2015

A Flat in Kings Cross



Another video installment.  

In this entry I am talking about a painting I am developing which is inspired by an advert for a flat in Kings Cross.  Last Autumn this tiny box room was advertised online by several letting agents, 20 people registered their interest within hours and it was rented in half a day.  The flat was promoted as: "A modern studio apartment which comes complete and fully self-contained with its own en-suite bathroom and kitchenette."

This unbelievable scenario went viral on social media as people expressed their shock.  You can read more about it in this article in The Independent.


Making this video blog has been a big learning process, talking to my phone is not my favourite thing to do in the world!  But I'm learning a lot, I'm hoping that it will be a good visual way to share the thought processes that go into making the work.  It's an organic and experimental process which will progress simultaneously to accompany the paintings.

The series of videos are now online on a Vimeo Channel, where you can also view previous entries.

With thanks to Mark Latimer, the painter and documentary maker who is helping me to create and edit these blogs.
@latimermark





Tuesday 14 April 2015

Secret 7" Exhibition at Somerset House


Secret 7" is an annual charity event, this year it is being held at Somerset House to raise money for Nordoff Robbins, a music therapy charity dedicated to transforming the lives of children and vulnerable adults.

Harry Pye invited me to collaborate with him to create a design for Secret 7 this year, it was an honour to be asked and I liked collaborating with him.  We designed a sleeve for the track 'Dead Flowers' by The Rolling Stones.  I can't share it here just yet, the sale is anonymous and the artists who made the designs will only be revealed after the records have been sold.



Some text taken from the Secret 7" website: 'The concept is simple: each year Secret 7 takes an iconic track from seven legendary musicians and press each one to vinyl 100 times.  Each record receives a one-of-a-kind sleeve, as designed by 700 creatives.  On 4th May all the sleeves will go on sale for the uniform price of £50 to the general public.  The only catch is that the buyer won't know who the record is buy, or who has designed the sleeve until they have parted with their cash'


The songs this year were:

The Rolling Stones - 'Dead Flowers'
Diana Ross & The Supremes - 'Reflections'
Underworld - 'Born Slippy' (Nuxx)
The Chemical Brothers - 'Let Forever be'
St Vincent - 'Digital Witness'
Peter Gabriel - 'Sledgehammer'
The Macabees - 'Go'


Secret 7" launched at Somerset House on Thursday 9th April, records will be available to buy on May 4th.

I was really pleased with the design that Harry and I created, I will be sharing it here in a few weeks!