New Statesman

Capital City has been featured on The New Statesman website.

http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2012/10/beautiful-comic-illustrates-ugliness-capitalism

This basically makes me the George Orwell of illustration, right?

Capital City

Capital City was my big project that I made for my Illustration MA at Camberwell. I never seem to be able to leave William Blake alone and this was inspired in particular by his 'Prophetic Books'. In the same way as Blake explored the big issues of his day, eg the American Revolution, I decided to try to tackle the big, ugly mess of our current economic cock-up in a phantasmagorical, pseudo-mythological narrative. This involved reading and trying to understand some books on economics, writing poetry (bring me my flouncy blouse) and figuring out a new aesthetic, less indebted to my previous comicsy-style and more rooted in messy paint, pastels and ink.

I'd like to do a much longer version of Capital City in which I could get to grips with the central themes in greater detail, but at the moment, appropriately, I am skint, so I'm hoping that a broadminded publisher might come to my aid.

I've decided to put up the current twenty-page version on issuu here and below are some work-in-progress shots that give you an idea of the techniques behind the artwork.

You can buy a print copy of Capital City over at my shop.

(Weirdly, I actually know the person pictured in the newspaper here).

Ink and tea are my two favourite liquids.

Me and my print at our final exhibition at Camberwell.