Art That Makes You Think

The only certainty in life is death. We are but food for the worms. Everyone loves to recycle nowadays, but few like the idea that we too are recyclable. I will be wearing one; I know my place in the circle of life. I am however, 'Not Currently Recyclable'.

My inspiration is the great Belgian surrealist, Rene Magritte. "Ceci n'est pas un pipe." This may look like a sheep, but it is not. The person wearing this design does not flock, they go their own way, they do not follow. So it cannot be a sheep.

Imagine you know someone so well, you know all of their faults - their choice cuts if you like - and yet you love them still. Indeed, you love them all the more for it. He's a chauvinist pig, she's a complete cow; come dine togther every friday night at the Butcher's Arms.

I created this design before Elon Musk took Twitter over and made it X, or rather XXXX ed it up. My idea was born of recognising hate where you find it and choosing kindness instead. What helps California tech companies through click bait doesn't necessarily help us. Art that makes you think.

I am fascinated and horrified by the use of cultural expropriation by commercial brands; for instance, Vans trying to be 'off the wall' and counterculture, while being corporate and ubiquitous. Perhaps originally born out of urban skater culture, but then selling out to the suburbs. Is this authentic? There is something similar going on with brands and tech companies marketing their wares to marginalised groups such as LGBTQ and trans people, in order to profit. Is this honest? This design does not make fun of trans people, it makes fun of corporations who expropriate marginalised cultures for financial gain.

Let's go meta! Irony is my medium; therefore I felt my ironic T-shirt range must include a dictionary definition-style design. I couldn't help adding a dramatic slant to the irony definition, where the wearer doesn't know they are being ironic...

Let's go meta! Irony is my medium; therefore I felt my ironic T-shirt range must include a dictionary definition-style design. I couldn't help adding a dramatic slant to the irony, where the wearer doesn't know they are being ironic...

Wouldn't it be incredible to have clothing with pleasure woven into the clothing that you wear? Every time you pull on that T-shirt, you feel AMAZING! This is part of my ironic exploration of marketing and how happiness is sold to us through products.

For when you're on the beach and want to dominate. You need swimwear to get wet in, not stay dry. That's why you need S & M swimwear from SuperMoist. Fully socially distanced. Keep it safe. Keep it moist!

Unfortunately, vacuousity is not a word, but the phrase still captures the inanity and banality of a mirror world online, full of cat videos, and cats being distracted by their owners watching cat videos on their phones.

Is appearing on Instagram with selfie after filtered selfie, a form of self-improvement? Should we be worried about the divergence of our real and online self? Give this to someone who is no Instaglam-ready, but rather is beautiful just the way they are.

Be radically different, don't advertise corporations on your body. That's what they want you to do. Look yourself in the mirror, and say, "I am not a billboard. This is my own private space. I refuse to be a sheep."

In the 1960s, Andy Warhol painted what he saw - he loved money, admired A-list stars, ate Campbells soup and drank Coca Cola. He was not parodying US capitalism. ;-) That is my job!

In the polarised frenzy of the referendum campaign and its divisive aftermath, I could hear the ranting voice of Rent, Ewan McGregor's character in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. I heard much sense in this rant, so I tried to make sense of the referendum vote in a similar way.

'Surveillance capitalism' describes the monetisation of our imagination through the sale of our online activity data. This piece, inspired by Warhol's soup cans and The Matrix, warns that we are the soup. The question is, who is eating us?

A unique book shelf composition of 45+ of my vintage Pangolin Books spoof titles themed on the self-isolation of humankind during the pandemic. Enabling us to laugh rather than cry over this challenging period. Spoof covers include 'A Zoom with a View'. by I.M. Furloughed; The Handwashing Tale, by Margaret AtWoodHouse; and many more!

When Andy Warhol first started painting Campbell soup cans in his studio, he was surrounded by them. He painted what he saw - his lunch. He loved money and was drawn to A-list movie stars; so he painted soup cans, dollar bills and Monroe. What he didn't do, was to satirise the terrible impact of all-pervasive capitalism. That’s my job :-)

For corporations and governments there is nothing more incendiary than someone pausing to collect their thoughts. The revolution will not be distracted. Put up a warning sign to say that you aren’t to be trifled with. "Know thyself", as Socrates said, in this digital surveillance world is more vital now than ever.

Be radically different. Choose not to advertise corporations and their often questionable ethics and values. Choose not ubiquity. Choose not to graze on the fields of conspicuous consumption. You are not a salesperson. You are not a sheep. You are your own.

The concept of an unbranded brand, is nothing if not ironic. I have created this 3-D graphic with retro-styling. Branding and on private space seems to be more prevalent than ever. Tyler Durden, our rebellious character in Fight Club had it right, "the things you own, start owning you."

There are words and phrases that we see and hear all of the time; strangely meaningless. Like forms with mysteriously blank pages; like the brand of corporations that cover our clothes and accessories. Hocking branded products seems to be what we are born to do. Is that right?

The ubiquity of SuperDry t-shirts is well known. People willing to give their chests as free marketing. My medium is irony. I take something iconic and subvert it. So - SuperMoist - what better than swimwear, designed to get moist, even wet.

During the pandemic, we learnt to stay at home. Some of us worked. Some of us didn't get out of our pyjamas. With all those filters and backgrounds, we were forever Zoom ready. You've got active wear; this is inactive, commute-resistant wear.

This is the coming together of an unashamedly middle class British brand FatFace, which began on the alpine ski slopes, created by a couple of posh blokes, then became white-collar uniform for the overworked professional classes. Ergo: RatRace.

Ever since reading Naomi Klein's No Logo book exposing the dark arts of marketing, I have been fascinated about the 'Emperor's no clothes' myth of marketing, and it's importance in modern capitalist society. Only those who pay think they see it, ironically, the coolest don't need it.

Do you ever feel like you have been numbed by modern life? - The constant grind, the routine, the predatory marketing and the constant search for distraction. Have you arrived to the point where you no longer care? You are never going to be cool, but you can be you.

Masks on the beach? Want matching covid-safe, three-piece swimsuits? You've come to the right place - SuperMoist Swimwear. Fully socially-distanced and Covid safe. 'Stay Safe - Stay Moist'

This is the idler; walking the other way. It's that advert years ago…where a bloke in a suit is walking across the Millennium Bridge to St. Pauls/City of London. He stops to look right and left; everyone looks like him. He thinks, "No - I'm different!" and turns to walk the other way. Only, in the end, the advert is selling you mobile phones, phones which we all buy. Now look at that bridge in 2022...

So titled because the Brexit referendum left Britain ajar, and at war with itself. The debate, such as it was, extracted our bitterness; the black salty stuff was 'rich in [intergenerational] conflict; in the end, was only '52% guaranteed'. Love it or hate it; inspired by Warhol; created by Tories...

If you feel inadequate, take some relief from knowing that there are millions of highly intelligent/highly paid people whose job in marketing is to make you feel that way...Then to sell you stuff while you are vulnerable. You're better than that.

In 2016, when the referendum had us all in its cross-hairs and we were on the edge of falling into Nigel Farage's wet dream, Britain was a polarised place. Back then, we didn't know for sure if we'd be fu*ked. Now we have no illusions, but we're still united. At least some of us.

Part of my supermarket coaster series spoofing Penguin classic books and plays. Oscar Wilde was sending up the staid etiquette of nineteenth century Britain; I am satirising that a stripped down Aldi store is far from elegant refinement - no butler here - and that's how I like it!

What were Goethe's final words? - "More Light!" What would be mine? - "More Joy!" But why need they be my final words? I need more joy in my life now! So like Gandhi said, "Wear the T-shirt you want to be in the world" Right? Am I righhhht?

When the US elected a reality TV mogul as their president, it is only fitting that he should end after 4 long seasons with, "You're Fired!". It would be funny if it weren't desperately serious. [insert joke here]

I produced this design for the 2016 election, reprised in 2020. Agent Orange in the Wizard of Oz. For me, MAGA to MAFA was a no-brainer. Trump called every critical news item - 'Fake News', yet promoted conspiracies with glee.

From my Shakespearean coaster collection. This is a joke about how the poor young princes were predated over by two scurrilous woman from the middle class and... the United States. What does go on behind those heavy oak bedroom doors?