id-iom v Milton Keynes

That’ll teach him

Wow what a show!

MK Social street logo

Wow what a show! panorama

MK Social v id-iom

Reach for the stars

Up in the air

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…

Cheers

id-iom

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Full Intention – America (found record redesign)

 

Found record redesign – AFTER

So this is the second of my cover redesigns for some 12″ records I found abandoned. I just had to give them a good home. At least temporarily before I repainted them and placed them back on the streets. With this one it originally looked something like this:

Found record redesign – BEFORE

But now has some extra 3D effect linework in there. My skills are so seamless that my girlfriend thought that my update was the original cover. Until i put the ‘red’, ‘white’ and ‘blue’ lettering on there. The ‘white’ lets me down somewhat although I think the overall effect still works nicely. Anyway best of luck in finding it but we’ll update when they’re all out and about…

Also, if you don’t know the song and want to hear it you can do here:

Cheers

id-iom

Mother – I’m all funked up (found record re-design)

You want serendipity? I’ll give you serendipity. Although you may need a little background before it seems all that serendipitous. I’ve always loved records and have collected them on and off since I was about 16. I’ve also always been a womble and will pick up interesting things in my travels and take them home (usually to paint on). So what was I meant to do when I rounded a corner near my house and came across an armful of abandoned 12″ records lying by a bin. It was like seeing a load of forsaken kittens lying in the street. I had no choice but to scoop them up and head on my way feeling ever so slightly smug about the whole thing. While I was having a quick check through them (which revealed that they were largely mid 90’s dance) I thought I’d perhaps re-design the covers and then put them back out on the street.

So here’s the first of my redesigns. It was initially this:

But is now the marvel you see at the top. I’ve taken it quite literally and used a stencil of my own mum. Ha! That will hopefully fox someone when it gets back out on the street…

If you want to know which record I’m on about you can find out here:

Cheers

id-iom

Grandad, a bohemian grenade especially for you!

Sometimes a commission comes along that is a bit different than most other things that come our way. This one came about as we were originally commissioned to do a picture for someone’s 40th birthday present but it didn’t quite work out that way. The recipient is a big music fan and somehow this commission morphed from some kind of music themed painting to a framed set of no. 1 singles from important times in his life (birth, his 18th, his 21st and his 40th birthday).

The records in question are ‘Grandad‘ by Clive Dunn (1971), ‘Especially for you‘ by Kylie and Jason (1989), ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘ by Queen (1992) and ‘Grenade‘ by Bruno Mars (2011). Perhaps the most challenging bit for this was, surprisingly, coming up with a version of Grenade that we could get framed. Despite the fact that it is still in the charts, it was only released on mp3 so for a while it was looking like some kind of cover mock up would be necessary until one of our friends who works in the music industry managed to save the day and come up with this radio promo CD single version. Even though it was a different size to the other singles at least we managed to get a proper version.

The frame is easily opened from the back should the need arise for these to be played. Maybe at his 50th…

Cheers

id-iom

Title: Grandad, a bohemian grenade especially for you!
Media: Stencils and spraypaint around mounted no. 1 records 
Size: 58 x 58 cm

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

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

I knew i had this one nailed when my friend (cheers DWTVLA!) 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…

Cheers

id-iom

id-iom

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