Contemporary Other

When asked to contribute something to Contemporary Other's second issue 'FEMINISM IS', my first thought was YES! *punches air* and the second thought was Harnaam Kaur. I'd been wanting to draw her for a while, blown away by her power, grace and femininity in the face of shallow questions from TV hosts about how she would find love as a heterosexual female with a beard. She wasn’t constructing her identity to be attractive to others and that must have scared the shit out of them. To see more from this superstar role model visit @harnaamkaur, and check out the forthcoming volume of CO for feminist dialogue that dismisses the majority and favours the other.

Jamie & Eliza

I can now reveal the surprise wedding commission I completed earlier this month. It was a big challenge for me to do an original drawing at A2 size - after so long riding the crest of A4 & A3 works it suddenly felt a long way to the centre of the page - but this also made it a hugely satisfying project to complete. Congratulations Jamie and Eliza!

Best Of The Biennale

Picture the biggest exhibition you've ever seen and times it by 3. Then imagine there's two of them. Now throw in 89 pavilions representing an entire country each, and 44 collateral events across different locations, and there you have La Biennale di Venezia; a wonderful and colossal serpent of art let loose for the summer in the floating city of Venice. This summer saw my first visit to the International Art Exhibition, now at its 56th imagining, and I was totally bowled over by how much there was to see, as well as the effect that engaging with that much artwork had on my 'digestion' of it - a fascinating insight into what I look for in art and how my experience of it can be altered.

Of course it would have been wholly inconceivable to get around it all during a 5 day stay, but here is a run down of the top ten tasty artefacts and experiences I consumed during my visit:

#10 Dutch Pavilion. to be all ways to be, Herman de Vries.

Snapshots of Venezia

Last month me and Laurie flew to Venice to explore the La Biennale di Venezia - 56th International Art Exhibition. We stayed in a beautiful apartment in Sant' Elena - dubbed 'the greenest district in Venice' - surrounded by local folks, tiny businesses and a shady park. Our adventures led us from this charming neighbourhood right up to the tourist throng of San Marco and back again through tiny walkways, piazzas and waterways; via cafes, gelateries, markets, marbled paper shops and even a Hard Rock Cafe. Here are some snapshots of our visit.

Murray In A Hurry

My projects have a tendency to develop over a long period of time in different, perhaps unnecessarily complex, ways - but every now and then a simple idea comes along fully formed. Loudly and over-excitedly suggesting to mac birmingham's Cinema Producer Amy Smart that we hold a 'Murry In A Hurry' temporary tattoo parlour to compliment their outdoor screening of Ghostbusters was a prime example of the latter, and due to Amy's matched enthusiasm a truly great little project was born right there on the bus.