In the run up to these EU elections right-wing candidates got a hard time trying to campaign by people using milkshakes to register their disapproval. Well done them! I made these GIFs. Still working on some artwork inspired by these events. Dx
I have been printing some tee shirts, inspired by the events in Lewisham in 1977.
On the 13th August 1977 the National Front, a far right organisation of the day , with ties to other neo-nazi groups had arranged a rally in the culturally diverse London Borough of Lewisham. It is estimated that around 4000 people from the community as well as anti fascist groups turned out to resist them.
I think that it’s really important to remember the struggles and solidarity of our past , especially these days; with fascism creeping upon us and contention driving apart groups with common interests…
The leader of the NF at the time, Martin Webster has been quoted as saying –
“The sheer presence of the ANL (Anti Nazi League) had made it impossible to get NF members on the streets, had dashed recruitment and cut away at their vote.”
If there was any doubt of the efficacy of anti-fascist resistance!
So, I designed this image to celebrate what is called by some “The Battle of Lewisham”.
I would like to share this tee shirt, but it’s a personal DIY project not a commercial thing, so if you’d like one, I’d be really happy to print one for you, just send me two plain tee shirts and I will return one with the image printed on it for just the cost of postage.
Or , if you live in the borough then maybe we could meet and I can collect the tee shirts from you we can hang out! If you want to come over and join in printing, that’s cool too!
I have been buying tee shirts from charity shops, it means I’m not paying into some slave driving regime. Please don’t buy for this project directly from outlets if you’re not sure the workers are treated fairly . I’m aware that maybe some of the shirts I have been buying may have originally been made in bad conditions, but I am sure that when I buy them I am not funding such processes… It’s terrible that it seems the norm now that people are treated poorly, often working in dangerous conditions for a pittance and you have to go out of your way to find stuff made fairly…
If you really really can’t organise yourself and want to just buy one, then ok… Originally the tee shirts cost £2. I’m going to add £3 to that for labour (printing a single tee doesn’t take that long, and I’m into it, and would be printing for myself anyway) plus say £2.50 for postage… It might be less than that, but I haven’t checked. I think it should cover it…
Alternatively we could swap something… You make comix, zines or tees yourself? We better talk!
Option 1. Meet up, gimme two tees and I give you one back with the print.
Option 2. Send two tees in the post and I’ll print one and send it back . Please include a pre-paid envelope.
Option 3. Buy one… If you must… £7.50, I’ll email you and you can paypal the money over
Option 4. Other swap!
So fill in the form and I’ll be in touch …I know it seems complicated but hopefully it’ll end up being a bit nicer than just buying a tee shirt from some faceless company! Also, there’s loads of stuff online about Lewisham ’77, this blog is pretty good.
Love all round.
Dx
From my recent exhibition Infinite Narratives – optimism / End-Times at 139artspace. Interview by Orli Ivanov.
The concrete jungle repeatedly depicted in your drawings in a very eerie, dark and apocalyptic manner, what is your relationship with the urban landscapes and living in the jungle?
I was born in camberwell, south east london and have always lived in surrounding areas of greater london. Urbanised areas. As a boy and young man I lived nearer to woodland and closer to Kent and always felt drawn towards the woods. i don’t want to get too into talking about the city, or the “concrete jungle” too much. But I have had many dreams where I’m in a industrial area and am running away from something… The building type structures in my drawings I have taken to symbolise civilization more generally, which I think is going to go through some radical changes in the next fifty years or so. I do the drawing kind of automatically, then afterwards I relate it to my state of mind, things that are influencing me, what I am consuming, reading etc… I am trying to work from a non-anthropocentric perspective. I think a lot of art, a lot of writing is centred around the human experience, I’m trying to get away from that. the point of my recent work; optimism / end-times, is, I think that when the buildings fall, when civilisation falls and the numbers of humans – either over a long or short period – decrease, because of fuel crisis, war, poverty, climate crisis etc etc then that will be a big bonus for the rest of the nature. Ultimately urban landscapes are of not much interest to me , as what they relate is a human influence on the earth, viz: destruction.
What significance does the creative practice and creative engagement hold in your existence?
My work patterns are sporadic, but when I am working , whether writing poems, drawing, painting, producing a book, I feel most complete. I feel that the work informs me. When I work I feel its a learning process. It’s not always comfortable but I often feel I gain something internally from practicing my art. Sometimes though I think, “what’s the point?” and I can’t bring myself to do it. I’m thinking right now about how I can practice my art in a way that is practical and meaningful maybe in a political way. I haven’t figured it out yet…
What was your most surreal and vivid dream you had?
I feel this question is irrelevant generally, and dreams are highly personal reflections of our subconscious as well as images of our conscious minds. I have mentioned something on this subject relative to a previous question.
I’d like to recommend some reading which has informed my recent work; Endgame by Derrick Jensen, The Dark Mountain Manifesto, any of the films on submedia.tv ,Petrosubjectivity – de-Industrialising our sense of self by Brett Bloom.
Also, go to any local protests, join the mailing list of your local disabled activist group, do some research on the current political situation, don’t have kids, think about what comes next…
D/A/P
Saturday 9th April, 139artspace, Greenwich. Installation private view 6 – 9pm. Work will be exhibited through April.
Friday 15th April, BookArtBookshop, Pitfield St. Launch of self published collection of drawing.
Be good to see you there!
Dx
Download my most recent book
“This is not a composition, it is how I feel”
Free!
D/A/P/XX
If you would like you can purchase real copies here.
I had no say in the place I was born
and the flag raised above the land I call home is just that
a flag
cotton
or nylon
or worse
with those same colours that flew
from the pirate ships
that stole sugar and tea and spices
and the very heads of indigenous peoples
their land called home for thousands of years
re-imagined as a profit-resource
by a group who
believed so whole-heartedly
in their supremacy
that they exported their beliefs
culture and ways
and implemented them savagely
under a red, white and blue banner
rich white men, bloated by corporate greed and wealth
and an obsession with cock-power
everything that is wrong with the world
over centuries built a world for themselves
on the bones
and the bodies
of dead peoples that they viewed as irrelevant
as less than human
and now
no
i’m not proud
of a people who talk of the poor
in derogatory terms
of the vulnerable, the sick and in-need
with derision
and point out that those worse off than themselves should
“get off their arses”
and
“pull their finger out”
and that look on those fleeing
in agony
war torn countries ruined by neo-colonialism
with suspicion
that maybe they come
to steal from this land
from this people
it’s a distortion of reality that is tied to our times
it’s a lie
that was sold to you with your morning coffee
by the same rich white men
that yeah
were doing this 500 years ago
and are still doing it
and you bought it
you bought the lie
and so no
i’m not proud
you let the blood run dry
you could’ve stopped it
but
you never caused it
you never caused
the wound
you never asked me
to pour it
so i guess
it was never your responsibility
but you stood there
you watched
you held my hand
and whispered
so sweetly
and I cut me
so deeply
to show you my love
i opened myself up
i wanted you to see
how bright it was
how fast it ran
for you
my blood
i shoulda realised
i left myself empty
and blood’s better
in
than
out
i shoulda shown you
through my adult actions
how your love drove the blood
that made me
run
that made me
bright
now I’ve bled me dry
i
could’ve stopped it
i
caused the wound
i poured it
and my blood’s no good
by you
in the street
by your feet
running down
into the drain
past the chicken bones
past the dead mice twitching on the glue trap
sure the light reflects
in the crimson
and that’s nice
on a cold night in upton park
but that’s not a life.
my blue sky
was aggressive and violent
my experience
the pounding heart
the breath of life
pumping through my body
pouring out into the world
is the transition
is the anger
that looks forward
is the calm after
the riots
after the fires
the outrage
the blue sky that comes
after the smoke clears
is the beauty that comes
through the blood
ours
?
after the dust settles
and we can enjoy
the blue sky
unencumbered by
aggression
and
violence
For Friends
about you
a poem
a story
a song
this?
you were a
fantastic folk duo
an archer
a titan
a hunter
you were a player
cruelly playing
with the hearts of others
you were
a ball of indestructible energy
an innovator
a lost cause
you were down and out again
and we
were all crying
how we love you
but you’re not a character
that simple words
can adequately sketch
not mine anyway
maybe someone else’s…
but i do wanna say something
otherwise
I wouldn’t have started this
right?
individually
and collectively
you
are
everything
more real than the universe
you’re tangible love, my friends
TANGIBLE LOVE
and you’re there
out there in the world
and it’s that
that makes the world
bearable
i love you
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The problems with valentine’s day
firstly, it’s my birthday, so fuck off
second, growing up
people would often remark on this
saying things like
“he’ll be a heartbreaker”
(negative attributions)
and
“aww, little valentino”
annoying,
especially when you’re twelve
go to an all boys school
and don’t understand girls at all
(I didn’t have a girlfriend until I was twenty)
but my main problem with it is this
it’s a cheesy love song
a rom-com
a mills and boon novel
it’s the reinforcement of old ideas
of what love is in a contemporary setting
it’s love contextualised through commericalism
consumerism
(the least romantic of any activity, surely)
it’s so out of touch
with real life
it’s a day a year where they devalue love
by demeaning it with
ideogram hearts
and cute teddy bears
it’s the enforcement
of a pact by flowers
passive-aggressive
possession
and the prescriptive
dinners by candle – light
I cannot stomach
sure, I’ve had them
but I can’t stand the idea
that a greeting card company
a chain store
or the smug git on the news
(not that I watch it)
should guide
how and when
I express my love
for another
in fact
I can’t understand
why anyone would or should
ever presume to suggest
how love is to be expressed
to anyone
at any time
ever
there may be a case
for the gentle advice
from a parent when asked
by a small child
but even then
maybe it’s best to decline
and let them see
let them find out for themselves
if they see love around them
they’ll learn how to give
and receive it
kindly
or with passion
and energy
or solemnity
as the situation should require
they’ll learn
we’ll learn
lets learn together
for fucks sake!
Lets chuck the teddies in the bin!
Dear friends,
I’m still about! Check out the zineography page for details on my new books… soon on my shop at illustratedself.bigcartel.com more details soon! X for now… a poem for you: