Art

Cabaret Mechanical Theatre at Space Station 65

The Cabaret Mechanical Theatre are the guest exhibitors this summer at Space Station 65‘s gallery in North Cross Road, East Dulwuch, London. More than 20 mechanical artworks, or Automata if you prefer, are on display for free and fantastic for adults and kids alike. The CMT website has more info about what they do as well as lots to read and learn if you want to get into making automata. They also have various papercraft models on sale at the exhibition so you can make your own.

The gallery is open every day except Mondays 11-6pm and it’s free, also if you’re in the area, the East Dulwich Picture Gallery is a short bus ride up the hill and they have an Andy Warhol screenprint exhibition on.

Posted in Art, Toys. | No Comments |

Moebius: ‘Quatre-vingt huit’ book

I stumbled upon this today whilst surfing the net for something else. It’s a book of ‘personal work’ by Moebius, forms and shapes that have no purpose other than for him to express himself in a non-work context. Similar to the method Henry Flint used in his ‘Broadcast’ book – of letting his mind go and just drawing to see what came out – these were collected into a book named ‘Quatre-vingt huit’ (’88) in 1990.

Not all the images are this finished but these are some of my favourites, that he could produce work like this in his spare time is incredible. Apparently it’s now quite a rare book but a quick search will net you a digital copy, hopefully someone will reprint it now that he’s gone.

Posted in Art, Books, Comics. | 1 Comment |

Around Montreal last week

It’s been a bit quiet on the blog this past week as I’ve been away in Montreal doing the ‘Search Engine’ shows at the SAT (Société des Arts Technologiques), I fly back to the UK this evening so I’d like to share what I’ve seen and done all week. It’s three posts until the 1000th entry so I’ll set the scene before the big 1k reveal. First off, I’m sure anyone who’s visited Montreal will know that it’s a city full of great street art and unique architecture, once hosting Expo 67 (the Buckminster Fuller dome is still there if not in its former glory).

The view above was taken from the 15th floor of the CBC building (Canadian Broadcasting Company) where I was doing a mix for a late night show, Bande a Part, the Fuller dome is just out of shot on the righ. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to make it over to the old site but I’ll be back and then it’s top of the list. It’s impossible to walk around though without being confronted by huge murals, graffiti pieces or interesting signage, the best of which I’ve put in the small gallery here.

Portable Hairy Who (1966)Hairy Who Sideshow (1967)Hairy Who Cat-o-Log (1969)Hairy Who (1968)BMC Apr 2025

Pat Hamou, an old friend who worked for Ninja Tune North America and was responsible for suggesting this whole project to the SAT, had curated an exhibition of screen printed gig posters called Music On Paper which was held in the crypt gallery of a church. It’s just finished but there were some great posters on display including the one he designed for my gig.
The next two posts are quite content-heavy so I might not get time to post them before I leave, more when I return to the UK…

Posted in Art, Event, Poster / flyer. | 1 Comment |

Jim Mahfood

Always enjoy Jim Mahfood‘s work, very much looking forward to his take on Tank Girl this summer. He also has a new book out collecting his online adventures as a working artist, Los Angeles Ink Stains. He has a print out to go with it too as well as toys, T-shirts and more. Go here

Posted in Art, Books, Comics. | No Comments |

Vintage kids magazines from Italy

Steve Cook and I went on a scavenge for old magazines on my birthday earlier this year and, whilst in a well known West London basement, Steve found dozens of kids magazines from the 60’s and 70’s.

I’ve only had time to scan a few pieces but they are riddled with beautiful illustrations and typography from back in the day, check the Mini 22 logo on the toy gun ad for instance (there’s a telling amount of adverts for toy guns in each issue). Absolutely LOVE the robot cover and spread, which Steve graciously gave up for me from the pile, see also the ad for a vintage Lego train set.

These scans are primarly from an Italian mag called Corriere dei Piccoli (Italian for “Courier of the Little Ones”) and Steve has some from French ‘Lissette’ over on his Secret Oranges blog today. There’s plenty more from both mags to come from both of us so stay tuned and click images for larger versions.

Posted in Art, Design, Magazines. | No Comments |

Nuclear Dawn mural restoration project

Here’s the Nuclear Dawn mural in Brixton as it was when it was first painted. Anyone who has ever traveled into Brixton on Coldharbour Lane from the East will have seen this, it’s been there since the early 80’s apparently and was painted by Brian Barnes and Dale McCrea.

30 years of wear and tear have not been kind to the image, especially the lower half which is partly covered with bushes and graffiti not to mention the condition of the paint in general. But there is a movement underway to try and restore the mural to its former glory on Facebook – please have a look, ‘like’ the page and see if you can help.

Posted in Art. | No Comments |

Moebius mural, Shoreditch, London

An amazing, but very hard to photograph, mural dedicated to Moebius that wraps round three sides of a building in Shoreditch, London. Featuring many scenes and images he created in his lifetime and also a little MCA dedication too, I tried my best to join the images together fluidly but had to take some of these standing in the middle of the road. UPDATE: The mural was painted by JimVision / Probs over 9 days, check some much better photos over at the End of the Line blog.

 

Posted in Art, Comics. | 1 Comment |

Damien Hirst’s Butterfly mandalas

I finally got to the Tate Modern to see the Damien Hirst exhibition yesterday and his butterfly ‘paintings’ are stunning. Kaleidoscopic, geometric mandalas, some of which glow like stained glass windows, they are quite breathtaking to behold. I’m no particular Hirst fan, I can take or (usually) leave him but occasionally he comes up with a winner and this is definitely one of them.

Posted in Art. | 11 Comments |

Op art 3D graffiti by Made514


I came across these on Facebook the other day, does anyone recognise the artist? I think it’s all the same person judging by the tags I can see but I’m not certain. My first thought was that it was Replete but I’m not sure.

UPDATE: This is the guy who did these – Made514 – plus a whole lot more, check out his site here.

My brain hurts.

Posted in Art. | 2 Comments |