Amelia’s Magazine | Pick Me Up Contemporary Graphic Art Fair 2012: Illustrator Emma Block Reviews

David Sparshott Pick Me Up

Illustration by David Sparshott.

Each year the relatively new addition to the art and design calendar that is Pick Me Up seems to find it’s feet a little more and get a little more into it’s stride. This year showcased an impressive range of up and coming illustrators, as well as collectives, agencies, galleries and workshops. To a (hopefully) up and coming illustrator such as myself, this is a pretty important event in the year.

Niki Pilkington Pick Me UpIt was nice to see more names I recognized this year. All the artists were inspiring last year, but I’d never heard of most of them. If you can’t be in the show, it’s nice at least to see your friends exhibited.  It makes it a slightly more realistic dream being to one day be featured in this annual celebration of illustration and design. As a collage artist it was also a refreshing change to see the reliance on traditional rather than digital media, which can dominate the illustration landscape at times. I also mush preferred the way the work was displayed this year. Illustrations are largely ephemeral; we throw illustration away every day, in magazine, newspapers and packaging etc, but I felt it was wrong to carry this idea into the display. Where work has once been clipped to sheets of pegboard, it was now framed and well lit.

Niki Pilkington Pick Me Up

Some of my favourites were Niki Pilkington’s feminine 3D illustrations, which combined fluorescent cut paper elements with sensitive pencil work, while Rikka Sormunen’s surreal and beautifully haunting watercolours showcased an expert use of colour and pattern. Both are featured in Amelia’s Pick Me Up Selects review.

Rikka Sormunen Pick Me Up

A familiar name was Tim McDonagh, previously featured on Amelia Magazine, whose incredibly intricate illustrations, which I had admired before online, looked amazing full sized and framed.

Tim McDonagh Pick Me Up

Sarah Maycock’s beautiful paintings were incredibly bold and expressive; the wrinkle of the paper under wet ink, the drips, slashes and smudges were all impossible to recreate in a digital medium.

Sarah Maycock Pick Me Up

David Sparshott’s colour pencil drawings captured some thing very real and human. It’s the little things like the way we take our tea, and the way we love to see things carefully collected and catalogued that made his work so personal.

David Sparshott Pick Me Up

Each artist showcased a different skill or attribute, each one leaving you itching to get the paints, pen and paper out yourself.

Away from the 20 selected illustrators in the main hall there was a whole world of warren like rooms and exhibition spaces to explore.  I entirely missed this section last year, so don’t make that mistake, there is so much more to see.

Tom Frost Soma Gallery

Soma is a little gem of a gallery that had set up shop in one of these rooms. Tom Frost’s vintage animal stamp prints and painted wooden sculptures were favourites of mine.

Tom Frost Soma Gallery

In the next room was Many Hands, an online shop that was new to me, but contained many familiar names. I had the chance to meet the lovely Lizzy Stewart, whose work I have long admired. Her delicate and sparing work was perfectly juxtaposed with Sister Arrow’s vividly coloured risographs. One of the lovely things about Pick Me Up is that there is something for every budget, from framed originals to zines, badges and post cards, and of course Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration and Anthology of Illustration, stocked by Beach London and featuring moi. As an illustrator shows like this not only inspire you, but also give you an insight into the industry. I know I was walking around mentally taking notes of possible stockists and collaborators.

Sister Arrow  Lizzy Stewart Many Hands

Lizzy Stewert Badges

To me this year’s Pick Me Up was bigger and most importantly better than ever before.  For the first time I feel like it truly represented an illustration and graphics industry that I not only know and love but also feel a part of. It is essential viewing for all art and design student, graduates, aspiring and professional creatives.

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,art, ,Beach London, ,David Sparshott, ,design, ,Emma Block, ,illustration, ,lizzy stewart, ,Many Hands, ,Niki Pilkington, ,Pick Me Up, ,Rikka Sormunen, ,Sarah Maycock, ,Sister Arrow, ,Soma Gallery, ,Somerset House, ,Tim McDonagh, ,Tom Frost

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Amelia’s Magazine | Pick Me Up Contemporary Graphic Art Fair 2012: Pick Me Up Selects Review

Pick Me Up 2012 - Zim & Zou
Pick Me Up Selects – Zim & Zou.

There is one major problem with a trip to Pick Me Up contemporary graphic art fair: the vast choice of amazing artwork. Where then does one start when writing a review, or making a purchase for the wall? From what I hear most people come away with far more than they planned to, so make sure you set yourself a realistic budget before you go in. You have been warned…

Pick Me Up 2012 -Zeloot
Pick Me Up Selects – Zeloot.

The ground floor entrance is this year devoted to Pick Me Up Selects, the work of up and coming artists who have been chosen by a group of industry insiders, including Camilla Parsons of Outline Editions, John O’Reilly of Varoom Magazine and Angharad Lewis of Grafik Magazine. I was delighted by this year’s selection, which seemed more diverse and truly representative of little known artists than has been true in previous years. Here’s my highlights: some new discoveries as well as old favourites!

Pick Me Up 2012 - Zim & Zou
First up are some stunning neon and metallic papercut artworks by a duo: Zim & Zou, who are Lucie Thomas of the UK and Thibault Zimmerman, now working together in Nancy, France.

Riikka Sormunen
It was great to see work that has a distinct if not overt fashion illustration flavour: Riikka Sormunen‘s background in fashion design is evident in her intricate narrative pictures of elegantly dressed women.

Niki Pilkington
Similarly Nikki Pilkington combines fine pencil drawn figures with colourful collaged details.

Pick Me Up 2012 -http://mcdonaghillustration.com/
Opposite this are pictures by Tim McDonagh, a graduate of the University of Westminster whom I raved about when I discovered him at his graduate show in 2010. I am not sure how his mind works but as this detail shows it must be a complicated place.

Yoko Furusho
Next up, another familiar face. The New York based illustrator Yoko Furusho features in my first book Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, and her beautiful work is looking as uniquely fantastic as ever.

Sarah maycock bear
Sarah Maycock is another artist who I spotted at the Kingston University graduate show last year: I even own my very own screenprinted version of her fox! #luckyme

Pick Me Up 2012 -matthew the horse
Pick Me Up 2012 -matthew the horse
Pick Me Up 2012 -matthew the horse
Matthew the Horse is the zany pseudonym of a graduate from Bath Spa University. He is inspired by language and feelings and his very yellow collection of images is based around jobs and identities. I especially like the hyacinth bulbs and a curious monkey.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Sac Magique
There is definitely a strain of 80s inspired illustration coming through at the moment – Finnish designer Sac Magique is one example…

Pick Me Up 2012 -Martin Nicolausson
as is Swedish designer Martin Nicolausson, who veers ever more towards the surreal.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Zeloot
Pick Me Up 2012 -zeloot
I was also most taken with psychedelic work by Dutch designer Zeloot that has a distinct 60s flavour in both colour and content. She likes designing within the limitations of silk screenprinting.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Kristjana S Williams
Kristjana S Williams is the creative director of Beyond the Valley so you may well already be familiar with her magical landscapes created out of collage and metallic elements.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Sarah Beeston
Australian illustrator Sarah Beeston studied at Falmouth College of Arts before settling in London, where she became preoccupied with politics and perversities of popular culture. She is creating live portraits at Pick Me Up every day!

Pick Me Up 2012 -Yuko Michishita
S for Shells by Yuko Michishita is a beautiful example of handdrawn typography, a swirl of intricate pen lines.

And then it’s on upstairs, where a host of collectives have been invited to display their wares in the long gallery space… find out who to catch in my next instalment…. in the meantime check out my listings for recommended workshops and talks.

Categories ,2012, ,60s, ,80s, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Angharad Lewis, ,Bath Spa University, ,Beyond the Valley, ,Camilla Parsons, ,Falmouth College of Arts, ,Fashion Illustration, ,Grafik magazine, ,illustration, ,John O’Reilly, ,Kingston University, ,Kristjana S Williams, ,Lucie Thomas, ,Martin Nicolausson, ,Matthew the Horse, ,Niki Pilkington, ,Outline Editions, ,Papercraft, ,Pick Me Up London, ,Pick Me Up Selects, ,review, ,Riikka Sormunen, ,Sac Magique, ,Sarah Beeston, ,Thibault Zimmerman, ,Tim McDonagh, ,Type, ,University of Westminster, ,Varoom Magazine, ,Yoko Furusho, ,Yuko Michishita, ,Zeloot, ,Zim & Zou

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Amelia’s Magazine | Pick Me Up Graphic Arts Festival 2013: A Review of Illustration Collectives

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- day job victoria willmott
Bird by Victoria Willmott.

In the upstairs section of the Embankment Galleries at Pick Me Up are housed a plethora of hand-picked collectives, some of which have had a presence in previous years, some of which are new for 2013. The section begins with a superb display by Day Job, a collaboration between ten recent Camberwell graduates who share a studio in Peckham, South London, some of whom I recognised.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- Charlotte Mei
Charlotte Mei‘s idiosyncratic pottery was a stand out feature at her graduate show: for Pick Me Up she has created a whole fleet of cars, characterful naked ladies in contorted positions, a pizza with strange toppings and a host of other animals. Brilliant stuff!

Pick Me Up London 2013 review-Charlene Man
I loved all of the prints by Charlene Man, and I was also tempted by her pastel painted wooden blocks for Snarfle, but feared he might chew the patterns off.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review - human after all tshirt
Pick Me Up London 2013 review - Human After All
Human After All is the latest brainwave from Danny Miller and friends. As promotion for their newly launched creative agency they are hosting a space where you can construct your own #facestamp, to be applied to a t-shirt, with eye-catching results.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review-zombie collective maggie li
Pick Me Up London 2013 review- frann preston gannon

Zombie Collective is five illustrators: their interactive cog machine is a splendid addition to the gallery, spitting out gifts for lucky punters. Maggie Li‘s beautiful house print really caught my eye, as did this politely sleeping fox by Frann Preston-Gannon. Also for sale, some sweet acrylic treats.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- print club london
Print Club London are hosting the main room with a chance to help create a ‘living wallpaper’ drawn by the likes of Fred Butler and Margot Bowman. It looks like the just the place to hang out with the kids: give Snarfle a few years and we’ll be there!

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- nelly duff dan hillier
Pick Me Up London 2013 review- nelly duff sweet toof
Pick Me Up London 2013 review- various and gould nellyduff
Columbia Road‘s Nelly Duff gallery have created perhaps the most spectacular room, where artworks and specially commissioned wall decals on a ‘flower show’ theme combine to stunning effect. Of particular note: Dan Hillier‘s foil blocked lady, curlicued skulls courtesy of Sweet Toof, and a skull print by Various and Gould (seen above in situ on a doorway just off Brick Lane).

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- soma gallery peskimo
Back for a second year running Soma Gallery are showcasing a wide selection of prints by long running collaborators such as Peskimo and Tom Frost, as well as newbies such as Telegramme Studio and Hazel Nicholls. I particularly loved these 3D wooden gum ball artworks by Peskimo.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review-el famoso
Unlimited Collective is a print company based in Brighton. Taking pride of place in their busy space is a huge yellow tattooed man, complete with hipster moustache. All over tattoos continue to be the badge of the uber cool, but if you’re too chicken to go the whole hog yourself then artwork by El Famoso might be just the ticket instead.

Jessie Ford black bear on bike
I was so taken by a black bear on a tiny tricycle by Jessie Ford that I bought one on a whim – it will go up in Snarfle‘s room: something more to growl at.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- helen musselwhite
Pick Me Up London 2013 review-Emily Robertson
Pick Me Up London 2013 review-matt saunders
Pick Me Up London 2013 review- lesley barnes
Handsome Frank is an illustration agency that has done a great job of snapping up brilliant up and coming illustrators, including many that have featured in these pages (Lesley Barnes, Tim McDonagh, Sarah Maycock). Some of my favourite works on display at their interactive stand include a stunning paper gatehouse by Helen Musselwhite, a curious character by Emily Robertson, sleeping log gremlins by Matt Saunders and a wonderful knight on a horse by Lesley Barnes.

Read my review of Pick Me Up Selects here, and if you are unable to check out Pick Me Up in person make sure you check out all the talent above online. Full listing information here.

Categories ,#facestamp, ,2013, ,Camberwell College of Arts, ,Charlene Man, ,Charlotte Mei, ,Collectives, ,Columbia Road, ,Dan Hillier, ,Danny Miller, ,Day Job, ,El Famoso, ,Embankment Galleries, ,Emily Robertson, ,Frann Preston-Gannon, ,Fred Butler, ,Handsome Frank, ,Hazel Nicholls, ,Helen Musselwhite, ,Human After All, ,illustration, ,Jessie Ford, ,Lesley Barnes, ,Maggie Li, ,Margot Bowman, ,Matt Saunders, ,Nelly Duff, ,Peskimo, ,Pick Me Up, ,Pick Me Up Selects, ,Print Club London, ,Sarah Maycock, ,Snarfle, ,Soma Gallery, ,Somerset House, ,Sweet Toof, ,Telegramme, ,Telegramme Studio, ,Tim McDonagh, ,Tom Frost, ,Unlimited Collective, ,Various and Gould, ,Victoria Willmott, ,Zombie Collective

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Amelia’s Magazine | Graduate Show 2010: Westminster Illustration

peru-ana-ana-peru-public-ad-campaign
Public Ad Campaign by Peru Ana Ana Peru.

The bizarre, information pills colourful creations of Peru Ana Ana Peru can be found all over the streets of New York, information pills brightening up the city’s darkest corners and entertaining passers by. In their own words, pilule they leave ‘keepsakes around the city for others to find.’ They produce fine art, which can be seen as an extension of their street work, and they also make films. Peru Ana Ana Peru are bursting with creativity and their artistic output tends to be eye-catching, witty and brilliant. I caught up with them last month to reminisce about their visit to the UK, and find out what they had been up to since then.

peru-ana-ana-peru_dogs
Dogs.

Peru Ana Ana Peru came to London late last year to take part in a LAVA Collective group show. They have fond memories of the trip: ‘London was great. There was a nice energy about the place, at least that’s what we gathered from the small time that we stayed. Definitely would like to spend more time out there if and when we can. LAVA was amazing, and working with them was a pleasure. They brought together a massive show that was very special and that people seemed to like’.

Earlier this year, Peru Ana Ana Peru were invited to take part in the Eames Re-imagined project, in which artists were invited to upholster and decorate a classic Eames chair design. This was a prestigious invitation and the finished result looks great, but as they reveal, it was not the most harmonious project they have ever worked on; ‘The process for the Eames Chair was an interesting one, and involved a long, final night of arguing and painting, arguing and cutting, arguing and gluing, etc. When we finished it we couldn’t tell if we liked it or not. So we went to bed, mad at the chair. Then we woke up and saw it again, and we started liking it’.

peru-ana-ana-peru-eames-chair
Eames chair design.

Having appeared in books like Street Art New York (Prestel), Peru Ana Ana Peru are perhaps best known as street artists, but in fact they see themselves primarily as film makers. In an interview with Brooklynstreetart.com they describe video as ‘the medium we feel the most comfortable in, and in which we feel we have the most to offer.’ They shoot most of their own material, but occasionally use found footage in their work. One film featured clips of 1950′s porn, shot on Super 8mm. I asked them where they found the source material; ‘We found this footage at a flea market in Chelsea ages ago, but we got it without bothering to look at what the footage was of. Then later when we got home, we decided to check it out, and we found that it was all porn, all of it. Like, 12 rolls of film. Some in color, some in black and white. We were floored. We had always wanted to use it for something, so one day we did. At the moment is no longer online because youtube took it off for violation of terms or whatever—We’ll have to get that video back online soon’.

peru-ana-ana-peru-sculpture

Their last solo show at the Brooklynite Gallery featured small TV screens imbedded into canvases, a format which unified their film making and illustration work. The show also featured some fantastic piñatas, which I couldn’t resist asking about: ‘The idea simply sprang from a long held fascination and nostalgia for piñatas, and the fact that we knew we wanted some 3D objects in our show. So, piñatas seemed natural. They were fun to make, and coincidentally a friend of ours, Meg Keys, happened to make piñatas pretty much for a living. So we hooked up with her and popped them out’. Are the any plans to make any more pinatas? ‘Perhaps one day’. It seems that revisiting old ideas is not high on the agenda for Peru Ana Ana Peru: ‘We tend to get extremely bored with things if we dwell on them too long.’

peru-ana-ana-peru-street-art-book

Last year, Peru Ana Ana Peru joined dozens of artists to take part in Public Ad Camapin’s NYSAT project (New York Street Advertisting Takeover). Public Ad Campaign is the brainchild of Jordan Seiler, who has been waging war against street-side advertising hoardings for many years now. Much of the advertisements that appear in American cities are placed there illegally with the tacit consent of the authorities. Seiler and collaborators whitewash these adverts, then invite artists to come and decorate the blank spaces they have created. I asked Peru Ana Ana Peru how they came to be involved with the project: ‘We got involved after we were contacted by Jordan, and we naturally agreed to be a part of it. We thought the concept of the project was amazing, and it is what has always drawn us to take part in anything he is involved with. Jordan is a very smart guy and his projects are always reflective of that’.

Finally, I asked Peru Ana Ana Peru if any New York artists had caught their eye recently. (I haven’t there for a while and I’m feeling out of the loop.) They mentioned a street artist I hadn’t heard of called Nohjcoley, I’ve been checking out his work and I think it is lovely, you can visit his photo stream here.

nohjcoley-mural-art
Mural Art by Nohjcoley.

I’d like to thank Peru Ana Ana Peru for taking the time to talk to me. You can check out their films on Vimeo, including my personal favorite, ‘On the Roof’: which you can watch here

Lucy Wragg bear
Illustration by Lucy Wragg.

What the illustration students of Westminster lack in terms of proximity to town (did you know they are actually based way out in Harrow, stomach despite the name of the college?) is made up with access to a huge space in the central London wing of the college, opposite Madame Tussauds in Marylebone. The hangar-like P3 is hidden down a long grimy outside passage that wends past broken bits of furniture and it’s a huge space, big enough for a massive rave. I entered at the top gallery, which gives the most brilliant view of the whole exhibition. Unfortunately it also somewhat swallows the work of smaller artists such as illustrators…. to see them I had to venture down into the bowels and investigate further.

Westminster Graduate Show 2010

This graduating year is a small one because it lost nearly two thirds of its students after a fire forced them to miss large parts of their first year. Presumably a lot of them just simply got fed up with the lack of facilities and ventured off to pastures new. The current students are lucky enough to be tutored by two of my former Brighton University contemporaries, Simone Lia and David Foldvari, and last year’s crop have done sterling service on my blog, regularly contributing illustrations for my website and working collaboratively on interesting projects since their graduation.

The layout of this exhibition did not make it easy to look around – I was unable to pick up a business card next to the walls where the students’ best work was displayed – instead visitors were encouraged to go to the tables and peruse their portfolios to pick up any more than the most basic of information. I think this was a mistake. Bear this in mind, students who have yet to display your final work! Professionals have only the smallest amount of time to look at graduate work, and if they can’t find the information they want to hand then they are likely to simply move on, much like those first year Westminster students who flew the coop.

Tim McDonagh rabbit
Illustration by Tim McDonagh.

Some of the best work on show was that of Tim McDonagh, who produced large prints of densely detailed animals in a limited colour palette. Multiple owls peer through an oak tree with devilish yellow eyes and a dead rabbit lies prostrate in the entangled undergrowth. This is the kind of work which can only be made by someone who feels a really close affinity with the natural world, so it came as no surprise to learn that Tim was homeschooled in an intentional community in Virginia, in the east of the US. I hope we’ll see more of his work on this blog soon.

Tim McDonagh hippo
Tim McDonagh seamonsters
Illustrations by Tim McDonagh.

Animals are a perennial favourite of illustrators everywhere, and two other stand out illustrators in the show chose to render their animal imagery in fine line. Tom Baxter showed the conflation of nature and man in a finely rendered drawing where the outline of guns can be seen in an oil spill.

Tom Baxter nature of the beast
Tom Baxter
Tom Baxter
Illustrations by Tom Baxter.

We are at the same level as Sarah Bonner’s animals, which appear to eye the viewer with intent. She uses perspective to great effect in her drawing of a girl crouched, panther like on the floor.

Westminster Graduate Show 2010 Sarah Bonner
Westminster Graduate Show 2010 Sarah Bonner
Illustrations by Sarah Bonner.

Lucy Wragg makes great use of white space to show anthropomorphised animals – a bear reads the newspaper, peacocks look down on scummy Big Issue selling pigeons and a disgusted cat turns his nose up at another cat’s ablutions. She has produced a lovely set of cards from the series which she was selling in the pop-up student shop.

Lucy Wragg Class Division
Lucy Wragg cats
Lucy Wragg rats
Illustrations by Lucy Wragg.

Alexander Wells showed very adept Manga/Anime style illustrations. Although his work is not the kind of style that I generally gravitate towards I could see that he’s technically very good.

Alexander Wells girl
Illustration by Alexander Wells.

Also worthy of mention is Tom Leadbetter. His work is more abstract than the kind of work I gravitate towards – I like my illustration more literal I’m afraid – but he’s very good at something else that is an absolute imperative for illustrators. He reminded me to attend this exhibition, by yes, that most wonderful of networking mediums, twitter. He also thanked me for coming. It’s these little things that count when you’re making your way into the big bad world of work. He should go far.

Thomas Leadbetter
Illustration by Thomas Leadbetter.

At the front of the newspaper handed out with the exhibition is a long and rather rambling discussion on the purpose of illustration today. I found it not at all surprising that all of the illustrators mentioned above (bar one) participated in this conversation, which featured only 9 out of 25 graduating students. Willing to engage in thoughtful commentary, and producing excellent work. These are the students from Westminster to watch.

Categories ,Alexander Wells, ,Anime, ,Big Issue, ,David Foldvari, ,exhibition, ,Graduate Show, ,Lucy Wragg, ,Madame Tussauds, ,Manga, ,Sarah Bonner, ,Simone Lia, ,Thomas Leadbetter, ,Tim McDonagh, ,Tom Baxter, ,Westminster Illustration

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Amelia’s Magazine | Graduate Show 2010: Westminster Illustration

peru-ana-ana-peru-public-ad-campaign
Public Ad Campaign by Peru Ana Ana Peru.

The bizarre, information pills colourful creations of Peru Ana Ana Peru can be found all over the streets of New York, information pills brightening up the city’s darkest corners and entertaining passers by. In their own words, pilule they leave ‘keepsakes around the city for others to find.’ They produce fine art, which can be seen as an extension of their street work, and they also make films. Peru Ana Ana Peru are bursting with creativity and their artistic output tends to be eye-catching, witty and brilliant. I caught up with them last month to reminisce about their visit to the UK, and find out what they had been up to since then.

peru-ana-ana-peru_dogs
Dogs.

Peru Ana Ana Peru came to London late last year to take part in a LAVA Collective group show. They have fond memories of the trip: ‘London was great. There was a nice energy about the place, at least that’s what we gathered from the small time that we stayed. Definitely would like to spend more time out there if and when we can. LAVA was amazing, and working with them was a pleasure. They brought together a massive show that was very special and that people seemed to like’.

Earlier this year, Peru Ana Ana Peru were invited to take part in the Eames Re-imagined project, in which artists were invited to upholster and decorate a classic Eames chair design. This was a prestigious invitation and the finished result looks great, but as they reveal, it was not the most harmonious project they have ever worked on; ‘The process for the Eames Chair was an interesting one, and involved a long, final night of arguing and painting, arguing and cutting, arguing and gluing, etc. When we finished it we couldn’t tell if we liked it or not. So we went to bed, mad at the chair. Then we woke up and saw it again, and we started liking it’.

peru-ana-ana-peru-eames-chair
Eames chair design.

Having appeared in books like Street Art New York (Prestel), Peru Ana Ana Peru are perhaps best known as street artists, but in fact they see themselves primarily as film makers. In an interview with Brooklynstreetart.com they describe video as ‘the medium we feel the most comfortable in, and in which we feel we have the most to offer.’ They shoot most of their own material, but occasionally use found footage in their work. One film featured clips of 1950′s porn, shot on Super 8mm. I asked them where they found the source material; ‘We found this footage at a flea market in Chelsea ages ago, but we got it without bothering to look at what the footage was of. Then later when we got home, we decided to check it out, and we found that it was all porn, all of it. Like, 12 rolls of film. Some in color, some in black and white. We were floored. We had always wanted to use it for something, so one day we did. At the moment is no longer online because youtube took it off for violation of terms or whatever—We’ll have to get that video back online soon’.

peru-ana-ana-peru-sculpture

Their last solo show at the Brooklynite Gallery featured small TV screens imbedded into canvases, a format which unified their film making and illustration work. The show also featured some fantastic piñatas, which I couldn’t resist asking about: ‘The idea simply sprang from a long held fascination and nostalgia for piñatas, and the fact that we knew we wanted some 3D objects in our show. So, piñatas seemed natural. They were fun to make, and coincidentally a friend of ours, Meg Keys, happened to make piñatas pretty much for a living. So we hooked up with her and popped them out’. Are the any plans to make any more pinatas? ‘Perhaps one day’. It seems that revisiting old ideas is not high on the agenda for Peru Ana Ana Peru: ‘We tend to get extremely bored with things if we dwell on them too long.’

peru-ana-ana-peru-street-art-book

Last year, Peru Ana Ana Peru joined dozens of artists to take part in Public Ad Camapin’s NYSAT project (New York Street Advertisting Takeover). Public Ad Campaign is the brainchild of Jordan Seiler, who has been waging war against street-side advertising hoardings for many years now. Much of the advertisements that appear in American cities are placed there illegally with the tacit consent of the authorities. Seiler and collaborators whitewash these adverts, then invite artists to come and decorate the blank spaces they have created. I asked Peru Ana Ana Peru how they came to be involved with the project: ‘We got involved after we were contacted by Jordan, and we naturally agreed to be a part of it. We thought the concept of the project was amazing, and it is what has always drawn us to take part in anything he is involved with. Jordan is a very smart guy and his projects are always reflective of that’.

Finally, I asked Peru Ana Ana Peru if any New York artists had caught their eye recently. (I haven’t there for a while and I’m feeling out of the loop.) They mentioned a street artist I hadn’t heard of called Nohjcoley, I’ve been checking out his work and I think it is lovely, you can visit his photo stream here.

nohjcoley-mural-art
Mural Art by Nohjcoley.

I’d like to thank Peru Ana Ana Peru for taking the time to talk to me. You can check out their films on Vimeo, including my personal favorite, ‘On the Roof’: which you can watch here

Lucy Wragg bear
Illustration by Lucy Wragg.

What the illustration students of Westminster lack in terms of proximity to town (did you know they are actually based way out in Harrow, stomach despite the name of the college?) is made up with access to a huge space in the central London wing of the college, opposite Madame Tussauds in Marylebone. The hangar-like P3 is hidden down a long grimy outside passage that wends past broken bits of furniture and it’s a huge space, big enough for a massive rave. I entered at the top gallery, which gives the most brilliant view of the whole exhibition. Unfortunately it also somewhat swallows the work of smaller artists such as illustrators…. to see them I had to venture down into the bowels and investigate further.

Westminster Graduate Show 2010

This graduating year is a small one because it lost nearly two thirds of its students after a fire forced them to miss large parts of their first year. Presumably a lot of them just simply got fed up with the lack of facilities and ventured off to pastures new. The current students are lucky enough to be tutored by two of my former Brighton University contemporaries, Simone Lia and David Foldvari, and last year’s crop have done sterling service on my blog, regularly contributing illustrations for my website and working collaboratively on interesting projects since their graduation.

The layout of this exhibition did not make it easy to look around – I was unable to pick up a business card next to the walls where the students’ best work was displayed – instead visitors were encouraged to go to the tables and peruse their portfolios to pick up any more than the most basic of information. I think this was a mistake. Bear this in mind, students who have yet to display your final work! Professionals have only the smallest amount of time to look at graduate work, and if they can’t find the information they want to hand then they are likely to simply move on, much like those first year Westminster students who flew the coop.

Tim McDonagh rabbit
Illustration by Tim McDonagh.

Some of the best work on show was that of Tim McDonagh, who produced large prints of densely detailed animals in a limited colour palette. Multiple owls peer through an oak tree with devilish yellow eyes and a dead rabbit lies prostrate in the entangled undergrowth. This is the kind of work which can only be made by someone who feels a really close affinity with the natural world, so it came as no surprise to learn that Tim was homeschooled in an intentional community in Virginia, in the east of the US. I hope we’ll see more of his work on this blog soon.

Tim McDonagh hippo
Tim McDonagh seamonsters
Illustrations by Tim McDonagh.

Animals are a perennial favourite of illustrators everywhere, and two other stand out illustrators in the show chose to render their animal imagery in fine line. Tom Baxter showed the conflation of nature and man in a finely rendered drawing where the outline of guns can be seen in an oil spill.

Tom Baxter nature of the beast
Tom Baxter
Tom Baxter
Illustrations by Tom Baxter.

We are at the same level as Sarah Bonner’s animals, which appear to eye the viewer with intent. She uses perspective to great effect in her drawing of a girl crouched, panther like on the floor.

Westminster Graduate Show 2010 Sarah Bonner
Westminster Graduate Show 2010 Sarah Bonner
Illustrations by Sarah Bonner.

Lucy Wragg makes great use of white space to show anthropomorphised animals – a bear reads the newspaper, peacocks look down on scummy Big Issue selling pigeons and a disgusted cat turns his nose up at another cat’s ablutions. She has produced a lovely set of cards from the series which she was selling in the pop-up student shop.

Lucy Wragg Class Division
Lucy Wragg cats
Lucy Wragg rats
Illustrations by Lucy Wragg.

Alexander Wells showed very adept Manga/Anime style illustrations. Although his work is not the kind of style that I generally gravitate towards I could see that he’s technically very good.

Alexander Wells girl
Illustration by Alexander Wells.

Also worthy of mention is Tom Leadbetter. His work is more abstract than the kind of work I gravitate towards – I like my illustration more literal I’m afraid – but he’s very good at something else that is an absolute imperative for illustrators. He reminded me to attend this exhibition, by yes, that most wonderful of networking mediums, twitter. He also thanked me for coming. It’s these little things that count when you’re making your way into the big bad world of work. He should go far.

Thomas Leadbetter
Illustration by Thomas Leadbetter.

At the front of the newspaper handed out with the exhibition is a long and rather rambling discussion on the purpose of illustration today. I found it not at all surprising that all of the illustrators mentioned above (bar one) participated in this conversation, which featured only 9 out of 25 graduating students. Willing to engage in thoughtful commentary, and producing excellent work. These are the students from Westminster to watch.

Categories ,Alexander Wells, ,Anime, ,Big Issue, ,David Foldvari, ,exhibition, ,Graduate Show, ,Lucy Wragg, ,Madame Tussauds, ,Manga, ,Sarah Bonner, ,Simone Lia, ,Thomas Leadbetter, ,Tim McDonagh, ,Tom Baxter, ,Westminster Illustration

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