Mon 1st March: James Dawe for Christopher Shannon

As I mentioned in a previously, I wanted to run an entry on the artwork of Christopher Shannon's show invitation.  I really like the fact that he procrastinates each detail, taking consideration and care to contemplate each component of his branding.  Luckily I met the illustrator James Dawe at the door of the tent and got to find out a snippet about the photography used in his collage.  Its an assembly of original images from the 80's as James explains:

" Chris and his stylist John 'Leeds' Colver had referenced collage work by Robert Pollard and wanted to commission something in a similar vain for his Autumn Winter 10 invite.

They wanted the invite to be something that people would hold onto and stick on a notice board.

The other main inspiration and source material for the collage was the photography of Dave Sinclair, who documented working class Liverpool in the 1980s.

Chris had come across the pictures on Sinclair's flickr, which obviously resonated as he is a scouser who grew up in that era. 

The images mostly feature mischievous children playing amongst a backdrop of grey and decaying council estates.

Chris selected his favorite shots, which were then supplied by Dave Sinclair who scanned the originals.  My job was to bring these photos alive even more by making a physical collage which portrayed the raw energy of youth. "

James has sent over some scans of his work-in-progress to show the process of how he arrived at the final version (as seen in the first image).  To see more of Jame's artwork you have one more week to visit the current exhibition in the Selfridge's Ultralounge "Museum of Small Things".........or head over to the blog to see snaps of his wall collage that lines the staircase.

James is a fellow Brighton artschool affiliate now based in Dalston BUT he's not one of the seaside exodus relocation locusts.  James is an original resident brought up in the "familiar but rapidly changing surrounds".........now that's another interview Id like to do.  It's unbelievable how much the area has been overhauled since I first started visited for work in 2001........I can't imagine how much its changed since the 80's.........maybe that's a new collage idea James? 

To see different commissions for Warp Records, GQ Style, The Guardian and the lovely video for The Maccabes "Toothpaste Kisses" skip to Dawe's homepage or his agency Pocko.