We Ride At Dawn…

It’s dawn on id-iom’s private Caribbean island. There’s a soft knock at the door and I’m gently reminded that I’ve got a call in 30 minutes. After a couple of lengths in the pool and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice I take the video call from the BBC documentary team chronicling the eventual but meteoric rise of id-iom to being the pre-eminent design/art team in the world. Today we’re being asked about the big idea that took us there – 3 in 1 designs… 

It’s not that far fetched. Is it? Anyway, despite how great I think they are it’s up to you, the viewer, to decide that for yourself. It’s 3 in 1 performance art on a canvas. And if that isn’t a good trick then I don’t know what is. This rather opinionated gentleman is on a 60 x 40cm canvas and would desperately love to go to a new home. Drop us a line if that can be you…

Cheers

id-iom

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The Belgian Takedown

If you’ve never heard of the Belgian takedown I’m hardly surprised. It’s a particularly nasty method for a soldier to take out an enemy sentry whereby you sneak up behind him and grab his ankles from under him to take him to the floor then kick him in the family jewels whilst he’s down to induce shock then silently dispatch him by whatever means you like. Anyway, this guy is a Belgian takedown master. It’s his forte. He’s that good at it that they’ve given him medals for it. He has got a pretty intense stare though…

Cheers

id-iom

The Keyboard Warrior

With the referendum now complete and the UK voting to leave the EU it would seem that all and sundry are out to vent their political frustrations on facebook. I can only assume everyone else’s facebook feeds are just some variation on the same theme as mine. Even those who seemingly had no political stance just a few days ago seem to suddenly have a full battery of opinions. And he’s not scared to use them.

Here we have a piece examining the repercussions of the first Brexit flame war. In a candid letter home to his mum from the frontlines in the battle for internet supremacy one plucky keyboard warrior is sure his righteous indignation will protect him and that it’ll all be over shortly. He thinks he’ll be back with his kids before too long. If only he knew. This is only the first salvo…

Cheers

id-iom

Evil Nazi Zombies from Outer Space – the sequel

The last time they tried it on we had to summon our Blitz spirit, roll up our sleeves and really get to work. The only thing that saved us then was a reanimated Winston Churchill who nobly sacrificed himself in a ball of atomic flame in a bid to stop the Nazi scourge once and for all. Somehow they live on. And now they’re back – and they won’t take ‘nein’ for an answer!

I’m going to get onto the Syfy channel right now and see if they want the rights. If they did Sharknado I think I’m in with a decent chance…

Cheers

id-iom

Major Cain

Major Robert Henry Cain VC

After reading about the exploits of Major Robert Henry Cain I just knew that we had to create a piece featuring him. They don’t come much more swashbuckling than the good Major. He is the only Manx recipient (to date) of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, which was awarded for his brave actions during the Battle of Arnhem. I’m sure the history books can describe it much better than me but suffice it to say he loved to take out German armour with whatever weaponry was at hand and at the Battle of Arnhem alone personally destroyed six tanks and an unspecified number of self propelled field guns. As the wording for his VC states:

“On 20th September (1944) a Tiger tank approached the area held by his company and Major Cain went out alone to deal with it armed with a PIAT (anti-tank weapon). Taking up a position he held his fire until the tank was only 20 yards away when he opened up. The tank immediately halted and turned its guns on him, shooting away a corner of the house near where this officer was lying. Although wounded by machine gun bullets and falling masonry, Major Cain continued firing until he had scored several direct hits, immobilised the tank and supervised the bringing up of a 75 mm. howitzer which completely destroyed it. Only then would he consent to have his wounds dressed.

In the next morning this officer drove off three more tanks by the fearless use of his PIAT, on each occasion leaving cover and taking up position in open ground with complete disregard for his personal safety.

During the following days, Major Cain was everywhere where danger threatened, moving amongst his men and encouraging them by his fearless example to hold out. He refused rest and medical attention in spite of the fact that his hearing had been seriously impaired because of a perforated eardrum and he was suffering from multiple wounds.

On 25 September the enemy made a concerted attack on Major Cain’s position, using self-propelled guns, flame throwers and infantry. By this time the last PIAT had been put out of action and Major Cain was armed with only a light 2″ mortar. However, by a skilful use of this weapon and his daring leadership of the few men still under his command, he completely demoralized the enemy who, after an engagement lasting more than three hours, withdrew in disorder.”

Before the remains of his division withdrew and crossed the Rhine he took the time to shave then waited til all his men were across before he himself crossed on an old boat. Now, if that’s not a classic British stiff upper lip then I don’t know what is. To top it all off he was the only man to receive the VC at Arnhem who lived to tell the tale. To list more of his adventures would take far too long and I would suggest you check out his wikipedia page for more information and unlikely tales of derring-do. Now I just need to find something suitable to do with our little tribute…

Cheers

id-iom

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past

This picture came about via a commission but eventually they didn’t choose this design and went for something entirely different. As I always liked this one however I thought I’d go ahead and paint it up anyway. I wouldn’t usually do this as designs that have been done for a particular commission are usually discarded or partially recycled because they had there time to shine and didn’t quite make the grade. This one though managed to pass muster though although i’m not really sure why.

This old soldier has the right idea though:

‘Fear not for the future,

weep not for the past,

From ‘The Revolt of Islam’ by Shelley

Cheers

id-iom

Title: Fear not for the future, weep not for the past
Materials: Paint pen, acrylicr, spray paint, glitter and charcoal
Size: A2
Please email if interested

Futility – Back to the Future mixtape project

Futility – Back to the Future mixtape project

Futility (front)

Futility (back)

This is the second instalment of our ‘Back to the Future’ mixtape project which sees us combine our two of our loves – music and street art. Basically our initial plan was to get some new mixes together, burn them on CD and then put them out on the street with some exclusive slate cover art. This is the second id-iom mix called ‘Futility’ and will soon be followed by mixes from a (hopefully) eclectic range of other Djs.

There’s some contact details on the back and we’re hoping that we’ll get a reply/critique/abuse via email from whoever found it and then hopefully they’ll upload it to the web and share it around for further praise/ridicule. So, if you see one of these suckers on the street feel free to take it home and then lambast us via email on our shoddy skills and poor tune selection.

It’s the size of a standard roofing slate and has the CD securely taped to the back so she should last a reasonable amount of time out in the open. It has been completed using the magic of paint pens, spraypaint and stencils. They are signed on reverse with our trademark id-iom stencil and logo.

We are also now open to submissions – so if you dj at all and fancy taking part just get in touch and if we like your mix then you’re in! You can find more information on our facebook page here:

Happy hunting!

Cheers

id-iom

F*@k this for a game of soldiers

F*@k this for a game of soldiers

Another piece in the id-iom demolition sale and it’s starting at just 99p. Here’s the Ebay link

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…

A single level screen print with hand finishing. It’s A3 in size and signed on the reverse

Cheers

id-iom

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

F*@k this for a game of soldiers

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…

Cheers

id-iom

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

Media: Screenprint, acrylic, acrylic and spraypaint

Size: 46 x 30 cm

Available from our Big Cartel store for £150