Imbue was showing some new pieces at Brighton’s Green Door Store last week, we caught up with him about his new work.
UKSA: The Green Door Store show last week seems to have gone down pretty well – what were some of the new pieces you were showing?
IMBUE: Yeah, it was really well received and I got a bigger turnout than I could have hoped for! It was a new and very mixed body of work but with all the trademarks people expect from me. I experimented with a lot of with screen printing, painting, 3D work and even video. My personal favorites are the ‘BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF RIOT’. One frame housed a baseball bat and the others had WKD brand petrol bombs.
UKSA: Iconography seems to be a pretty consistent part of your style – what is it about these popular culture icons that draws you in?
IMBUE: I guess it makes things easier and lets you connect with people straight away. I love showing people something they recognize but it has a whole new twist or different meaning to it. People are so conditioned to the logos and imagery they see everyday so it’s nice to play with that.
UKSA: It seems you pay a lot of attention to how you present the Imbue identity, Is Imbue just you – or are you looking at creating more of a brand?
IMBUE: It’s just me but who knows where it will go. I think it’s important to maintain your presence and let people know what you’re doing or you will get lost amongst thousands of other people doing great stuff. A lot of people make art, take photos or make music etc but getting it out there and seen is the hard part.
UKSA: We first saw your work on the ‘Drug Vend’ piece on Brighton pier – how did that come about?
IMBUE: It was just an idea in my head but I initially planed to make an image of the ‘Drug Vend’. I then decided to buy a set of vending machines and just make it for real. That’s how I work with most ideas and projects now I just use what ever method is going to work best. Rather than saying I only paint or print. It’s more fun that way.
UKSA: Any up and coming projects you want to mention?
IMBUE: I always seem to have lot’s going! I am currently working on the ‘imbue | ARTVEND’ it’s a hot pink vending machine that used to sell “Adult DVD’s”. It now vends DVD sized screen prints on ply wood at £4 each. It should be fun and I am hoping to get it in pubs and bars around Brighton very soon!
http://www.imbuesource.com/
