Tommy Perman & 59 Productions
Our friend Tommy Perman has recently collaborated with 59 Productions on their commission for Sydney Opera House's VIVID festival. Tommy explains:
"A couple of months ago I received an email with the subject: 'Illustrator Task (From Hell?)' from my old friend Leo (co-founder of 59 Productions). The task was to produce a technical drawing detailing all of the tiles of the sails on the Sydney Opera House. 59 would use this drawing as part of their pre-production process for an impressive commission they'd won to light up the famous landmark with colourful visuals for the annual VIVID festival.
I replied to Leo saying "this doesn't look too arduous". I'm used to drawing intensely detailed images but I perhaps underestimated just how many tiles there are on the roof of the Sydney Opera House! But like the brave soul that I am, I plotted on, hunched over a hot graphics tablet for many hours longer than is medically advisable. To retain some sanity while drawing I decided to colour in each tile as I went – I told 59 to just disregard these colours though as all they needed was the position of the tiles. After days at the screen I finished the drawing and sent it off, happy that I'd played a small part in such a cool project.
I have a fairly busy life at the moment and I'd pretty much forgotten all about this job until the other Friday evening, my friend Mark (also of 59 Productions) posted a link to a Daily Mail slideshow of the opening night of the VIVID festival. I was flicking through the images thinking "these are stunning, it's ace that I was involved..." I'd almost reached the end of the slideshow and was wondering how great it'd be to see some of my own work on such a large canvas. And then I came across a photo of the Opera House illuminated with my brightly coloured drawing. I don't think I've felt that kind of jaw-dropping awe since my girlfriend told me she was pregnant!
Apparently 59 loved the colours in my drawing and decided it would become part of the final piece. I'm truly honoured to have my work shown in such a high profile way."
Tommy Perman is an artist, designer and musician based in Edinburgh. A founding member of the artist collective/experimental pop band FOUND, Tommy now concentrates on his own work as artist, illustrator and graphic designer.
Tommy and Rob St. John feature in the second issue of our Random Spectacular journal, with a contribution exploring their recent Water Of Life project.
Makkum Tichelaar Crockery
Our friends at Dick's Edinburgh opened their doors shortly after we'd relocated to Scotland and we've been regulars ever since.
Uli Schade and Andrew Dick stock a carefully edited selection of menswear, accessories and homewares, supporting small, independent manufacturers, old and new.
We've been slowly but surely adding to our collection of these beautiful, functional ceramic vessels, designed by Atelier NL and manufactured by Royal Tichelaar Makkum.
Atelier NL's Lonny van Ryswyck and Nadine Sterk started by digging up, shaping and baking clay from different locations through the Netherlands, creating a series of plates and bowls in different colors and structures, stamped to identify the area where the clay was sourced.
Dick's Edinburgh have a great selection of these pieces - cups, bowls and platters available from their shop at 3 North West Circus Place, Edinburgh EH3 6ST or via their online store.
Chelsea Flower Parade
Our friend and collaborator Christopher Brown has been busy over at Wild At Heart's Pimlico store, hand painting a number of iconic Chelsea characters in their windows.
These images are also available as a series of hand coloured prints and a little folded leaflet.
I'm not sure how long the display will be on show - perhaps give Wild At Heart a quick call before travelling.
Contact details for their Pimlico store can be found online.
And you can find a selection of Chris' limited edition linocut prints over at St Jude's.
St Jude’s In The City
Many thanks to everyone who has visited our latest St Jude's In The City event in London so far.
The exhibition closes at 5pm on Saturday 24th May 2014.
We're exhibiting a range of Angie Lewin's limited edition prints - linocuts, wood engravings, screen prints and lithographs - whilst Alex Malcolmson presents a series of new box constructions, mixed media collages and three dimensional works.
The exhibition takes place in an intimate gallery space hidden behind The Town House on Fournier Street in the heart of Spitalfields. The building dates from 1720 where silk weavers originally worked and plied their trade.
St Jude's In The City at The Town House, 5 Fournier Street, London E1 6QE.
Until 5pm on Saturday 24th May 2014 View daily opening times
Tommy Perman
From 9th May until 9th June 2014 artist Tommy Perman will be exhibiting a new collection of drawings at The Skylark in Portobello. The drawings are inspired by visits the glasshouses at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
"I grew up in the centre of Edinburgh and even though this is a relatively green city I still feel disconnected from nature. I've spent much of my career drawing the chaotic geometry of the city, often going to great lengths to remove any signs of life, so I've surprised myself by developing an interest in plants.
I like to set rules and limitations for my drawings. For this set I have limited myself to black on white and each image is contained within a circle. So that I didn't stray too far from familiar territory I have focused on plants with bold striking markings and structure that's almost architectural."
Born in 1980, Edinburgh, Scotland, Tommy Perman is an artist, designer and musician who works in a variety of media including visual art, performance, sound and music. He has a particular interest in combining new digital technologies with traditional techniques and materials. Between 2002 – 2013 Tommy was a member of the artist collective / band FOUND. As part of FOUND, Tommy has released numerous records and co-created a collection of weird and wonderful interactive sound installations including Cybraphon and #UNRAVEL.
Tommy has recently been working with Rob St. John on the art-science Water of Life project. They have contributed to the forthcoming issue two of our journal Random Spectacular and have created this audio accompaniment.
The exhibition runs from 9th May until 9th June 2014 at The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street, Portobello, EH15 2AW.
Find out more about Tommy's work via www.surfacepressure.net
Greenside Mural
Saturday 10th May 2014 sees the opening unveiling of the restored mural at Greenside School in West London.
The school earns the star on its Grade II* listing for Gorden Cullen’s mural, painted in 1952.
Erno Goldfinger designed the school and commission Cullen to paint the mural which features a range of subjects including Dover Castle, the de Havilland Comet and the Britannia 7000 locomotive.
Having been covered up for years, the Friends of Greenside Mural raised funds to restore the mural and hope to continue with restoration of the original terrazzo floor in the foyer.
The unveiling event will include a fair featuring a number of publishers, illustrators, print specialists and related exhibitors.
The event takes place on Saturday 10th May from 11am until 5pm at Greenside School, Westville Road, London W12 9PT. For further details about the project, visit the Greenside Mural Facebook page.
Clive Hicks-Jenkins
Saturday 10th May sees the opening of 'Telling Tales', an exhibition of new work by Clive Hicks-Jenkins.
Clive was born in 1951 in Newport, South Wales. From his early twenties until his mid thirties, he was an actor, choreographer, director and stage designer, creating productions with leading companies. He moved back to Wales permanently in the late 1980’s to concentrate on his work as an artist. His work has been selected for several prestigious institutions, including the Royal Academy.
For his new exhibition at Oriel Tegfryn, the artist has made new works of Hervé and Kevin, and has been revisiting his Mari Lwyd theme. In 2012 Mid Wales Chamber Orchestra commissioned composer Mark Bowden and Aberystwyth-born poet Damian Walford Davies, to make a chamber-work with a spoken libretto, taking inspiration from the artist's 2001 series of large black and white Mari Lwyd drawings known collectively as The Mare's Tale. Last year Clive Hicks-Jenkins designed and directed the first Mid Wales Chamber Orchestra performance of The Mare's Tale, and Oriel Tegfryn will be showing paintings he's subsequently produced, inspired by its music and libretto.
Clive has also recently been inspired by the theme of Stravinsky’s The Soldier's Tale, in which Joseph the soldier unwittingly makes a pact he'll come to regret. Last year Clive Hicks-Jenkins was commissioned to make an animated-film to accompany a performance of The Soldier's Tale at the Hay Festival, and his new paintings further exploring the story are at the heart of this, his first solo exhibition at Oriel Tegfryn.
The exhibition runs from 10th-29th May 2014 at Oriel Tegfryn, Cadnant Road, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, LL59 5EW. Telephone 01248 715128. Find out more
We're delight that Clive is contributing to the second issue of Random Spectacular, to be published June 2014. Find out more about the publication by subscribing to our newsletter.
