In 1996 Ric Blackshaw began working in a team that was researching and editing a book about a new direction in art and design. A refreshing new style of work that was a million miles from the slick graphics of the 1980’s and early 90’s This change in direction at first started appearing on things like club and rave flyers and the sleeves of small record labels.

The book was finally published as Scrawl (dirty graphics and strange chracters) in 1999 and featured pioneers in this movement like Swifty, Futura2000 and Fred Deakin (now one half of chill out group Lemon Jelly). What this book and it’s follow up Scrawl Too (more dirt) revealed was a whole generation of designers, artists and illustrators all over the world who had grown up with things like Hip Hop, Comic Books, Star Wars and Graffiti and were now drawing on these influences in many diverse ways. In the process they were creating a new way of visually engaging the public at large.

The one thing they all had in common was that they all made or drew things by hand as the starting point of their work.

Armed with this insight Ric Blackshaw decided to set up a business that used this perceived new direction in design, formulating it into a coherent idea and marketing it as the main selling point of Scrawl Collective.

Scrawl collective was started, with with a few of the artists Ric had met while researching the Scrawl books, as an Illustration, Art and Design agency devoted to Street aesthetics and a love of the hand made. Its motto is HAND B 4 MOUSE.

The Collectives work is extremely diverse. From hardcore spraycan art to edgy illustration. From huge sprawling murals to gritty dirty graphic design. What unites all this work is simply that it is human, with all the flaws and imperfections that implies. People from all walks of life appre-ciate the inherent honesty in working this way and the results it produces therefore connecting with them in a very human, warm way. An over reliance on Macs would compromise these quali-ties and the ability to draw people in to their world. This is the major strength of Scrawl Collec-tive and also the major benefit offered to brands who use them. Scrawl Collective artists have something that so much modern design and illustration lacks. Soul.

Scrawl Collective.

Scrawl books 1 & 2.

We’ve called the show Special Relationship which is a reference to the often touted political special relationship that is said to exist between the USA and the UK. We’ve decided to have a bit of fun with that idea because from our point of view the special political relationship is a tad one sided. IE our government likes to think it has some influence over yours but they are the only ones who believe it. There is though another special relationship that has thrived since the post war years and that’s the cultural one. Music, TV, Film, Literature… We in the UK grew up on a diet of Sesame St, The Muppets, Rock n Roll… and there seems to have been a constant toing and froing of ideas across the Atlantic. Since the 60’s there’s been a pattern of thing that come out of America being initially ignored at home but finding a foothold and acclaim in the UK before finally getting recognition at home. Jimi Hendrix had to come to the UK to make his mark, it took a nightclub and a few fanatics in Manchester to recognize the groundbreaking work of the house and techno pioneers that came out of Detroit and Chicago in the mid 80”s. Before that there were countless small soul labels in the USA that were kept going because kids in the North of England were buying there 45’s in droves and giving birth to Northern Soul. It’s some-thing that should be a cause of celebration. So the show is loosely based on that idea, I say loosely because so many artists are going to have different ideas about the theme and I don’t like to be to prescriptive about the theme’s of our shows. I want the artists to be able to work on what they feel good about at the time.

Ric Blackshaw

Special Relationship.

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Scrawl group show - Elephant Technique, London 2006.

felix kiessling

Nick Purser

Ryca

Will Ainley

Hutch

Ian Stevenson

David Dixon (Dist One)

David Walker

Mr. Jago

Steff Plaetz

Will Barras

PhlAsh, Hinkley, acrylic on canvas, 92 x 122cm, 2008

Phlash

PhlAsh, Olkiluoto (study), acrylic on board, 75 x 52cm, 2007