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Bonum Iaculat Me Babber (id-iom @ UPfest 2017)

So it’s that time of year when we pack the id-iomobile with just about everything we’ve got and head down to Bristol for UPfest. After discarding about a dozen designs we settled on ‘Bonum Iaculat Me Babber’ partly because we both thought it was an impactful design and we could include some 3D sculptural elements but also because it was Wednesday and we were running out of time.

On Saturday the weather was looking a little dicey so we were aiming to get finished by 4 when the rain was predicted. Luckily the rain didn’t come til 6 so despite the fact we actually finished about 5.30 all was well. The translated text says ‘Good shot me babber’ with the first bit being in Latin (as I thought it sounded mysterious and a bit classier) and ‘me babber’ being a Bristolian phrase meaning ‘my friend’ or similar. Adding the arrows, cigarette and monocle gave it that final id-iom touch and once we’d got a shot featuring the tree in the background looking like his hair we were free to quaff some ‘mission completed’ beers. Cheers to all the UPfest crew for having us and putting on such a sterling performance. as usual.

Cheers

id-iom

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Cloud room panorama

Cloud room panorama

After uncovering the sordid affair that has been happening in the cloud room I thought it best to reveal all in one big panorama. You’ll just to trust me that it looks better in person considering that the demolition team are now going to be the only people to actually see it in situ.

I wonder if we’ll be able to get a few bricks with painting on as mementos once the old girl has been brought crashing down…

Cheers

id-iom

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Unrequited Love Bear

Unrequited Love Bear

I know that love is meant to be blind but it was never really going to work out was it? We have The Girl with the Pelmet Crown and a Care Bear. She’s a frosty and aristocratic human-looking character and he’s a Care Bear. No wonder he’s resorted to drinking to soothe his ragged nerves.

We can only imagine the pain when he exposed his feelings and she ruthlessly snubbed him and crushed his dreams in the process. And now between them they’ve smoked enough cigarettes that the entire room is filled with clouds. Hopefully he’ll get over it some day…

Cheers

id-iom

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The Girl with the Pelmet Crown

The Girl with the Pelmet Crown

I’m pretty sure the pelmet (if that’s what it is) was the starting point for this piece and for the whole room. It’s always fun to work with whatever objects are already on a wall and to try and incorporate them into the piece to produce something that is site specific.

Anyway when you have a pelmet-like device on the wall what do you do? Well, you add a rather frosty looking lady smoking a cigarette who seems to be wearing the pelmet-thing as some kind ethereal crown or halo that seems to float serenely above her shock of jet black hair. It would also appear that she’s been smoking that much that clouds are now beginning to form in the air around her. She seems to be something of a contradiction in terms. I do wonder what a girl like that would be capable of. You’ll have to stay tuned to ‘The House of Pain(t)’ to find out…

Cheers

id-iom

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I smoke art fags for breakfast @ Freeze 2011

So it was the time of year for us to strap on our snowboards and go find some big air. I’m only joking as that would undoubtedly end up in a tangled mess of broken limbs.

Instead we opted to pack our art fag, oversize cardboard glasses and some paint and then head to Battersea to find ourselves a little spot to paint in. Thankfully the weather was lovely so we cracked on and had pretty much all the painting done by the end of day one.

With day two having just as good weather it was pretty much plain sailing as all we had to do was install our sunglasses, cardboard hand and id-iom brand art fag (complete with glowing red LED tip) to finish up our first attempt at 3D graffiti. We even managed to fulfil the suggestion to have some ash under the cigarette when we found a sandbag to borrow some makeshift ‘ash’ from. A little grey paint later and ‘hey presto!’ you’ve got yourself some wind-proof ash (cheers for that suggestion Dan!) Once we were all done we then turned our attention to the serious business of having a drink and watching the Streets. All in all a pretty good weekend…

Cheers

id-iom

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You’ve Been Framed!

We just got a mammoth load of stuff back from the framers so I thought I’d give it a little airing on the internet for your perusal. I think all pieces are up for sale if anyone is interested. Just let us know. First up we have DUCK! in  a lovely little box frame. We haven’t had glass put on the wooden or slate bits as they are just so tactile and don’t really need to be hidden behind glass.

 

After thinking about Donald’s famously explosive temper i did a little research and found out that (amongst other things) that his birthday is Friday the 13th! Once i had found that little gem out the idea pretty much formed itself. This is most definitely a film i’d love to see made although i’m reckoning it will take a pretty big turn in Disney’s fortunes before they start pumping out the animated horror films…

Oh, if only id-iom worked for Disney!

Title: Disney’s DUCK!

Media: Hand-cut stencils and spraypaint on found wooden board

Size: 50 x 60cm

This time it’s Pinocchio that receives the id-iom treatment. I had thought ‘BLUE – A life in the movies’ to be a biopic of the life of Pinocchio charting his early rise to fame following the Blue Fairy bringing him to life, a tragic lost period in his late teens and his monumental return to (adult) movies following a minor bit of body modification at the hands of a highly skilled Italian woodcarver.
I’ve clearly got an overactive imagination as i had Pinocchio’s life all worked out…

After being a child star for Disney and enjoying all the trappings that would have come with it I imagined that Pinocchio would have had a few years of coke fuelled paranoia living in Hollywood whilst failing to get role after role as he was too typecast and the fact that “there isn’t all that much demand for sentient puppets anymore” – apart from maybe some seriously demeaning kid’s TV work. After a failed comeback on Big Brother or some similar reality TV show he’d slowly slip off the world’s media radar and spiral into a few years of failed relationships, drug abuse, debt and anonymity. Then, after a debauched weekend with an old friend they finally come up with what, even at the time, seems like a ridiculous and outlandish idea – that Pinocchio should take advantage of his old friend’s contacts, get a nose job and then start making some serious money again. He’s just desperate enough to give it a try and so one week after his return from Italy (where he’s been for surgery) he makes his triumphant come back to movies – this time of the pornographic variety. His rapid ascent to the zenith of the adult entertainment industry takes everyone by surprise and before he knows it he’s churning out porno’s at a prodigious rate and his star is once again in ascendancy. Before long he is a bonafide celebrity again and even Ron Jeremy concedes that he’s certainly ‘Got wood!’

 
I could keep going on and I’m sure i could actually come up with a decent script for this film (the visuals and adwork are clearly already done). I’d love it to be some kind of animatronic and/or animated tour de force. Basically i’m pretty sure it won’t be long till i’m working in Hollywood…

 
Keen eyed readers will (i’m sure) have immediately noted the use of part of the Electric Blue logo for the title of film (for those few uneducated readers that don’t know Electric Blue was a soft core porn show that was made in the UK and was shown on the Playboy channel in the 80′s) and therefore also the use of the Playboy bunny logo on Pinocchio’s top. The ‘Got wood?’ tagline was perhaps my favourite touch though as surely all the creatives in Hollywood couldn’t have come up with anything better for this film! As with DUCK! and Oswald the Unlucky Rabbit I would love to see this film get made…

 
Title: Disney’s ‘Blue – My life in the movies’ starring Pinocchio

Media: Hand cut stencils and spraypaint on found wooden board

Size: 57 cm x 21 cm

When i was growing up i think hide and seek used to be my favourite game (other than just generally destroying stuff). After looking it up on wikipedia it would appear that we used to play a variant of the original game and i’m pretty sure we used to call it ‘Buzz Off’ (although i only have my shaky memory to depend on for that!)

 
I’m determined to bring this game back as i’m convinced it will still be fun to play – especially if you have had a drink or two! I reckon that Health & Safety would probably have something to say about it although i definitely wouldn’t be the one to tell them…

 
Title: Ready or not, here i come!

Media: Screenprint, spraypaint and stencils

Size: 46 x 31 cm slate

I’m bored of trying to come up with pithy little comments to write to go along with our pictures.

 
No I’m not! I really quite enjoy it actually… I’m sure we’ve all become a little bored when we find ourselves in the unenviable position this young lady has managed to get herself into. Really, women these days what are they like? Mine barely knows how to tuck my microphone in properly!
Looking at this kind of thing can not only make you go blind but can also have you up before the Personnel department if you’re not careful whilst at work. I know because it happened to me. Happy viewing…

 

Title: I’m bored of vying for your love

Media: Ink, spray paint, newspaper, watercolour, glitter and paint pen

Size: A2 paper

There I was in Nanjing doing some work in my capacity as international archaeologist adventurer when i happened across an important archaeological artifact that sheds some light on Victorian international relations. It’s a small  fragment of the original Treaty of Nanking that was presented to the Chinese by the British after the treaty was ratified by Queen Victoria and Doaguang Emperor in 1842. This was, of course, back when the British Empire was really something to behold and British foreign policy was perhaps a trifle more aggressive.

 
As befits my part-time international adventuring job (sadly it pays better than art) I hastened the fragment out of the country at the first opportunity from under the noses of the curious authorities (therein lies another tale for another time). Nonetheless it is an interesting curio with a certain historical value that should fetch a handsome sum from some museum or other. I believe Queen Victoria had thought it amusing to get the treaty ‘set in stone’ so they would get the message that little bit more clearly. I have had to censor this for public consumption however. How simply delightful all the same!

 
Title: Treaty of Nanking fragment

Media: Stencils and spraypaint on slate

Size: 24 x 50cm approx

First off, I realise a gorilla is not, strictly speaking, a monkey but I think you should get the message. I’ve had too many temp jobs in my time not to feel like this sometimes… In fact, quite a lot of the time!

Title: Office monkey

Media: Acrylic, spraypaint and marker pen

Size: A2 paper

What can i say about Martin? He looks adorable but his heart is black as jet! He just loves to kill alien scum with his high powered laser! What more could a boy want?

 
As a side note – glow in the dark paint this has been liberally used on this picture so the stars shine at night!

 
Title: Martin the Space Cadet

Media: Handcut stencils, spraypaint (including glow in the dark paint) and paint pen

Paper size: 59 x 31 cm

Type 2 Nation (US version)Like Su-Bo, Dibo’s will soon be everywhere. I was reading the other day that it is predicted that diabetes will affect half of all Americans by the end of the decade. Now that is going to be more than 150 million people and will annually cost around 10% (about $500 billion) of their entire healthcare budget. Now surely with all this over-eating and lack of exercise even their superheroes are eventually going to succumb. With this in mind I’ve depicted an overweight Superman (he can still just about fly though due to our sun that powers him) taking an overweight lady to the nearest hospital so she can be surgically removed from the telephone box in which she has accidentally been trapped.This is the new ehanced version of Type 2 Nation featuring some lovely clouds and a dose of glow in the dark paint emanating from the sun. We all know how Superman loves our yellow sun!

 
Name: Type 2 Nation – U.S version

Media: Stencils and spraypaint (including glow in the dark!) on slate

Size: 24 x 50cm approx

 

As with most of our pictures i would have a hard time explaining how or why they come into being.

 
Well, what can i tell you about this little number? It is a diptych, it is an experiment in colour (or lack of) and it is based on a picture of a Chinese girl. Beyond that it’s difficult to say. Perhaps I was listening to ‘Go West’ by the Pet Shop Boys and decided unconsciously to create a picture that was the antithesis of their lyrics. Perhaps I thought the girl in the original picture was mystifying and enigmatic and just needed to paint her. Perhaps I just wanted to get the paints out and get messy. Who could possibly say? Not me. Anyway, i’m just rambling on again – so it’s best I leave now and you can make up your own mind…

 
Title: Facing East (monochrome & polychrome)

Media: Acylic, ink, oil pastel, spraypaint, charcoal and paint pen

Size: A2

It can be quite fun painting pretty ladies and this was no exception. I’m not really sure (as ever) where the inspiration for these pieces comes from but it’s nice to stay busy. Who knows what’s next on the agenda…

 

Title: Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em

Media: Acylic, ink, spraypaint, charcoal and paint pen

Size: A2

War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again! – so sang Edwin Starr in 1970 on the anti-Vietnam song ‘War’ (which, i was interested to learn was originally recorded by The Temptations but not released as they didn’t want to alienate their more conservative fans). Whilst i have a lot of respect for our armed forces and the work they do it is generally political forces which dictate what they do and when – and this can sometimes lead to questionable decisions being made regarding their deployment. That’s all i really want to say on the issue as i think this piece largely speaks for itself…

 
Title: F*@k this for a game of soldiers

Media: Screenprint, acrylic, acrylic and spraypaint

Size: 46 x 30 cm

I knew i had this one nailed when my friend came up with the title. Little did he know it at the time (as he was talking about something else entirely) but he had just helped me put this one to bed. I love it when a plan comes together…

Title: She’s like a new wave heroin electronica tune on 12 inch vinyl limited edition

Media: Watercolour, pastel,  ink and paint pen

Size: A2

I’m trying to work out where our motivation for certain pieces comes from and to be honest i’m not entirely sure. Our muse doesn’t really give explanations as to why we should do what we do so we just try to get on with it.

 
Title: Peek-a-Boo

Media: Acylic, ink, oil pastel, spraypaint and paint pen

Size: A2

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Art fags cause cancer!

Another day, another new offering. Today we have the second version of ‘Art fags cause cancer‘. I felt the need to print two sets up as i was really undecided on the text to use. On reflection i think that perhaps this is my favourite version. Buy one and send it to your grandma as a postcard. She knows the score!

Cheers

id-iom

Title: Art Fags Cause Cancer (v.2)

Media: Screenprint, watercolour and paint pen

Size: 10 x 15cm (postcard size)

Available from our Big Cartel store for £5

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Art Fags Cause Cancer!

We all know cigarettes can be dangerous but it turns out that art fags can cause cancer too. Don’t say you haven’t been warned. Ever since i’d seen one of London’s most prolific taggers, 10 foot, go over just about everything he could with ‘Say No to Art Fags’ I had this image in my head. It has just taken it a while to make it out of there…

Those in the know may be able to tell by my subtle branding, that this  is a Molotow cigarette – which just happens to be my favourite brand. Go put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Cheers

id-iom

Title: Art Fags Cause Cancer (v.1)

Media: Screenprint, watercolour and paint pen

Size: 10 x 15cm (postcard size)

Available from our Big Cartel storee for £5

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Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em

Another new piece which has already proved popular on our flickr page. Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em comes from military slang and means ‘take a break’  or somesuch. This piece is on A2 paper and will hopefully be framed up pretty soon. It can be quite fun painting pretty ladies and this was no exception.

I’m not really sure (as ever) where the inspiration for these pieces comes from but it’s nice to stay busy and keep a steady stream of things that we can put on our flickr and blog coming up. Who knows what we’ll come up with next…

Cheers

id-iom

id-iom
Title: Smoke em if you’ve got em
Media: Acylic, ink, spraypaint, charcoal and paint pen
Size: A2
FOR SALE

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