Paula and Robbie had been dating for just over 6 months now and were attending their first dinner party as a couple. Everything had been going well, the main course had just been taken away and they were awaiting dessert. That’s when it all started to go wrong. Paula managed to catch Robbie’s eye over the table and that was enough for her to know something bad was going to happen. She’d seen it happen once before – although she still wasn’t entirely sure what ‘it’ was.
It starts first with a look of wild incomprehension, followed quickly by some barking noises and then Robbie would start speaking in tongues. This could go on for some time before he’d suddenly shake his head and start speaking normally. Paula decided she’d seen enough so hurriedly excused herself from the table and went to help in the kitchen…
Sometimes it’s difficult to know where inspiration comes from. Was I listening to Joy Division’s ‘Love will tear us apart’ when I came up with this design? Or did I come up with it independently as it seemed fitting for the design? I really couldn’t tell you.
I can tell you however that the Joy Division version was released in June 1980. Apparently the lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis’ marriage problems and frame of mind before his suicide in May 1980. Which is really quite sad all things considered. I’m not quite sure where I’m going with this so maybe best just to leave the rest to you.
It is made using the magic of imagination, stencils and spray paint on 60 x 60 cm canvas
We were commissioned to produce a 1m x 1m canvas for a very discerning and influential couple for their new house (seriously, they’re the power couple behind one of the UK’s biggest soaps). The canvas was to be based on the song ‘Strawberry Letter 23’ by Shuggie Otis. It’s a great song and you really should give it a listen. With such fine pedigree to work with we knocked out some designs lickety-split and that was when it all really began…
This large commission now has the dubious distinction of being the picture that has taken the longest time from conception to completion than anything else we’ve ever produced. We’re talking well over a year. When it was finally deemed complete my relief was palpable.
She’s on a 1m x 1m canvas and has been painted using all the paint we could find seemingly. She’s now safely ensconced in her new home in sunny Manchester. Let’s all wish her luck…
Amo, Amas, Amat (id-iom @ Whitecross Street Party 2015)
On Saturday it was that time of year again to once more make our way to the East end to paint at the Whitecross Street Party. We’ve done it a few times before so jumped at the chance to get the paints out again in central London. For ‘Amo, Amas, Amat’ we have a rather androgynous couple sharing a kiss but to make things a little more tricky for ourselves we thought we’d try something a little different and use pound shop polyfilla to try and add some texture to the faces. So with just a single tiny pallette knife with which to apply the filler and beer to keep it moist we set to work. Thankfully it was nice and sunny so the filler dried pretty quickly whilst we were busy chatting then it was time to re-apply the stencil, apply some shading then add some LED’s to give the eyes a little night time sparkle. As usual it was a great day out and the boards will be now mounted on walls around the area in the coming days so keep your eyes peeled…
When the id-iomphone rings we answer. This time the call took us to Milton Keynes. We’ve worked for the folk behind the imminently opening MK Social a couple of times before so thought we knew what to expect. After an early start, at an hour not normally known to urban artists unless they’re hitting the streets for some late night redecoration, we set off for the bright lights of MK. We had two big walls and a little bit of street work to complete over the course of a couple of days. We even had a scissor lift but unfortunately for us it wouldn’t reach to the wall behind the bar so it was back to basics and a huge ladder was soon procured. We couldn’t be having it too easy now could we?
Anyway, as a reminder to myself, the wallpaper style background is all well and good when you’re designing it but it’s a different matter when you’re trying to align stencils 30ft up in the air. Particularly when you’re hanging off a ladder to do so. Suffice it to say that we at least managed to get it all completed without a trip to A&E. After the walls were done there was then the matter of a little street promotion work consisting of us wandering around high traffic areas with a stencil and a few cans of chalk spray paint to get word out to potential punters. Some mucky hands and messy clothing later and it was time to bid adieu to MK until next time. Let’s hope the locals appreciate it all…
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