So we here at id-iom didn’t really do anything related to the BLM movement when it jumped to the forefront of popular consciousness after the death of George Floyd. We weren’t really sure of our place in the narrative.
Anyway, it just so happened that at the time I was going down the rabbit hole that is the Youtube sidebar and to my surprise a song by Body Count came on. Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in LA and fronted by rapper Ice-T. In my youth, I listened to a lot of Body Count but hadn’t come across them in years. The song that I came upon was ‘Body Count’ and whilst listening realised the parallels between what Ice T was angrily rapping about in 1992 and what is going on in America right now.
This whole saga has been going on for years. Let’s just hope we can get the message through to the next generation…
Today’s sphere has been around for quite a while now. It’s been studying earth culture since it’s appearance shortly after the first nuclear tests in the 1940’s. It was diligently doing it’s job cataloguing and analysing whatever it would come across until one fateful day in the late 60’s when it ‘accidentally’ ingested some acid with English progressive rock band Caravan whilst they were recording their critically well received but commercially unsuccessful third album ‘In the Land of Grey and Pink’. Since then all it has studied are things that are grey and pink. It’s unsure exactly what he’s studying here but he’s clearly enjoying it.
He’s on A2 and has been made using the magic of spraypaint, stencils and imagination. Drop us a line if interested…
Sometimes when you have a blank wall to work with the muse deserts you and you’re stood there scratching your head wondering what to do. And then sometimes inspiration strikes and you’ve just got to turn up the heavy metal and let rip with your inner thrasher and some black paint. Today was clearly one of those days.
The lady in the picture clearly seems to be enjoying herself as she’s pulling the classic ‘rock fingers’ move and, if you look closely, has what appears to be an E on her tongue. Although I’m pretty sure it’s made out of paint. I’m thinking she was getting down to the tunes and then slipped it in her mouth at an opportune moment when my back was turned. At least she seems to be enjoying herself. Live and let live, that’s what I say…
I was wondering what to write for this post last night and I had decided it was probably going to be a somewhat dark post but that was fine. Then on waking this morning with a sunny disposition and broad sunshine outside I thought perhaps Monday could do with something a little more cheery. Anyway, the lady in this picture has been out all night enjoying the wholesome triumvirate of sex, drugs and rock & roll and is left feeling a little spent after the whole sordid scenario. But at least she enjoyed herself. Now it’s back down to earth with a bump as the weekend is well and truly over…
This piece was a commission for a fellow Manx compatriot living in London – so truth be be told this was a fun one to do as we know just the kind of thing us humble islanders like. The idea behind this one is pretty simple as they say the Isle of Man is just 80,000 alcoholics clinging to a rock in the middle of the Irish Sea. Which is completely untrue. Only about 72,000 are alcoholics…
As you can tell we’ve really gone to town on this piece and done plenty of screen printing, a little embroidery and some hand work & distressing – for that ‘found in an attic’ aged look. We’ve seen fit to include Blinky the fish (from the Simpsons) as Sellafield (a nuclear reprocessing plant) is pretty much exactly opposite us on the Cumbrian coast and has always been a cause for concern for those living on the Island. We’ve included some mysterious map co-ordinates that should hopefully have a little meaning to the recipient along with various other elements (like the triskele and ambigram in the bottom right corner) which should hold some intrigue for him. I’m also still slightly obsessed with the distressed looking crests so am particularly proud of how they’ve come out.
Cling to the Rock ( To remember list)
Cling to the Rock (To visit list detail)
In fact, the biggest shame about this piece is the fact that we forgot to take pictures before we sent it to the framer so most of the shots we have (obviously!) feature a lot of reflections and don’t really do it any justice. Oh well, you live and learn. On the plus side though we’ve really enjoyed working on maps so expect more before too long…
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