Very sad to hear of the passing of Mark Pawson today. A unique figure on the counter cultural art and publishing scene who I would regularly see at zine fairs and the like. His was always the most interesting stall with the most bizarre underground books and comics from all over the world. I’d end up buying some beautifully screen printed French comics from him, the likes of which you’d never see anywhere else and would never see again if you didn’t buy them there and then.
I first got to know Mark in the early 90s when he was around on the scene when I worked at Ambient Soho, he was the badge man who would make all sorts of badges for the shop, and our Telepathic Fish parties. I still have a load of badges he made using my Openmind logo and was going to get him to make more this summer for the release of a record. He’d sell artbooks and badges he made of his own work using photocopiers and also made badges featuring Negativland and Bob Dobbs.
His classic ‘Mark’s Little Book of Kinder Eggs’ and book of plug wirings were always in print and I think the ‘Assume This Phone Is Tapped’ sticker was also one of his. There are phrases I’ll always associate with his work like ‘Aggressive School of Cultural Workers’, ‘Demolish Serious Culture’ and ‘N©’. He belonged to the anti-establishment DIY scene who used whatever they could to make art, was involved in The Exploding Cinema early on as well as the international mail art scene. It’s shocking to know he’s gone, a truly one of a kind figure. I’m sad I won’t bump into him at the fairs any more. RIP Mark
