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More than two decades after Practical Magic, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reunited as the iconic Owens sisters. Just as the family travels to the UK to confront their past, the film arrives on British shores, bringing the story straight to local audiences through posters displayed nationwide.
Through a dedicated issue by Notion Magazine, the launch explored how the witch movement has evolved into a modern cultural phenomenon across fashion, music, and the internet.
UNCLE brought the magic to life across the UK streets with B2s and 4-sheets.
Just three years after forming, Manchester indie rockers Westside Cowboy announced their first LP, It Goes On.
Released via Island Records, the band embraced imperfection in the lean debut – blends the wide-open myths of American country music with grey British realism — a stylistic mix the band calls “Britainicana”.
To mark the release, UNCLE brought poetic realism to the streets of the UK, with 4-sheets across London, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, ensuring this rising indie rock band landed loud and clear.
Two icons came together when US denim giant Levi’s launched its latest collections with british legends Marks & Spencer. Featuring a curated edit of iconic 501s, signature fits and wardrobe essentials, the collaboration brings heritage US denim to the UK & Ireland.
UNCLE brought 4-sheets nationwide, taking over key hotspots across London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.
Global Beatles Day returned to commemorate the band that redefined music culture. Fans united around a timeless message, ‘All you need is love’. The campaign used bold, nostalgic typography and iconic imagery to remind the public that wherever you are and however you celebrated, ‘it’s easy’.
UNCLE marked the anniversary across London and Liverpool with 4-sheets. They brought the celebration straight to the street, plastering blocks of pure pop heritage.
Madonna returned after a seven-year hiatus with her fifteenth studio album. Spearheaded by the lead single “I Feel So Free” – a track designed to reignite the dancefloor energy that fuelled, Confessions on a Dance Floor.
UNCLE deployed 4-sheet poster blocks across the UK’s major cities, turning the launch into an event across the streets.
Nemiroff vodka injected a raw energy into British nightlife. The brand unleashed its signature: rise, toast & roar across city hotspots.
UNCLE orchestrated the campaign, driving the visual takeover straight into London, Manchester and Liverpool with sharp 4-sheets, placing the brand’s message directly into the path of crowds.
Sun’s up, phones down, buns out. Levi’s officially claimed the season. This collection marked the definition of the ultimate British summer vibe.
A powerful move, driven by the pulse of the street. UNCLE blanketed the UK with raw UA Quads, B2 blocks, and 8 sheets. These visuals dominated; announcing that the denim short remained the essential seasonal staple.
Five years of silence – over. Paul turned the lens inward, unlocking formative memories and untold stories that built his legacy. The Boys of Dungeon Lane lands May 29: raw, intimate, and alive with newly sparked love songs.
In a massive street-level tribute, UNCLE seized control of Liverpool and London, flooding the streets with an intensive 4-sheet takeover. Even before Paul’s first mention—IYKYK—the landscape had transformed. From the docks to the West End, every wall stood as a silent testament to his most personal story yet.
“Not many people have ever died of love. But multitudes have perished, and are perishing every hour, for the lack of it.”1
Is it getting more embarrassing to be a human being? What’s another year taught us? Unspeakable cruelty isn’t the sole province of any one race, creed or ideology. Tick!
No doubt, it has always been this way, but today there’s just no escaping reports of conflict, abuses of power, mendacity or simply plain indifference to other peoples’ plight. And yet, there are sparks of resistance — those among us who seek to bring the world together with compassion and ethical concern. Courage, thoughtfulness and care — in other words, LOVE — is the only antidote to the bleak era we’re living through.
Inspired by the passionate few who face up to great adversity, injustice, and fear — and those who simply offer everyday support and encouragement — UNCLE has partnered with BUILDHOLLYWOOD to close out the year with THIS IS A LOVE PROTEST: a UK-wide street gallery running from 15 December to the end of January in support of War Child. The showcase features work from 21 artists, each responding to the righteous, brave, and liberatory power of LOVE, with original pieces spanning illustration, painting, photography, textiles, graphic design, mixed media, and text-based art.
For more than three decades, War Child has been driven by a single goal — ensuring a safe future for every child living through war. Please consider making a charity donation here — every penny goes straight to War Child.
We are deeply grateful to the hugely talented artists who have responded to this call — you can explore all their works using the index below. Each artwork is accompanied by the artist’s quote reflecting on the project theme and the piece they have created. Wishing all our friends, collaborators, and clients heartfelt season’s greetings.
“Neither love nor terror makes one blind: indifference makes one blind.”2
1 James Baldwin fr. Giovanni’s Room (1956) 2 James Baldwin fr. If Beale Street Could Talk (1974)
“I believe that by thinking about our connection to places and people we love, and creating portals to connect across times, obstacles, silences, absences, and distances, we can practice the future we dream of, and start walking towards it.”
“F*ck fascism. We, the people, are a force to be reckoned with, and the strength of our communities is testament that love always, always trumps hate and fear.”
“Two short words joined by an ampersand. Simple, direct, human. A message stripped back to its most honest form — the connection between me and you.
In my work, I use the language of the street: chunky letterforms, bold contrasts, clear layouts, and a voice that feels like it’s talking straight to you. My posters don’t decorate; they communicate. Whether I paint them onto a wall, paste them on a hoarding, or stretch them across a billboard, You & Me becomes both a personal reminder and a public statement — a quiet kind of protest made through warmth and optimism.
This is my love protest: using positive messages to push back against cynicism, division, and noise. When you see You & Me out in the world, I hope it feels like a moment of calm in the chaos — an invitation to slow down, look up, and remember that kindness is something we share. In a time when messages often divide, I want my words to bring us back together. Because change doesn’t always start with anger — sometimes, it begins with love.”
“It feels like the world at large would benefit from teaching its younger inhabitants compassion at an early age as opposed to the fear that ultimately divides us.”
“Love remembers the stories, sacrifices, that form our foundation. To love across generations is to understand that time does not separate it connects. It’s the omnipresent thread binding past, present, and future.”
“I’m in love in this country is a twist on the idea of finding love in a hopeless place. I wanted people to misread it as they passed by, as if it said, ‘I’m in love with this country’. I liked the idea that viewers could interpret it in their own way.”
“Loving the space and time you exist in is finding the right music to soundtrack it with, so collecting, curating, and finding ways to share that joy with others is an intangible form of optimism that is needed in these crazy times.”
“The portrait of the man at the piano is Bill Evans, and the artwork is inspired by his song Peace Piece. It’s a beautiful, timeless piece of music with a meditative, reflective feel.
The other artwork is dedicated to Gil Scott-Heron — musician, author, and spoken-word performer. It’s inspired by his lyrics and the themes he often explored: social and racial injustice, hope, disillusionment, and the human condition.”
“Ugh! I’m just so sick of all the hate out there. You know what they say: ‘If you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.’ So, more love for 2026, please.”
“Raoul Vaneigem writes in The Revolution of Everyday Life that those who speak of revolution and class struggle ‘without understanding what is subversive about love’ do so with ‘a corpse in their mouth’. Love resists constraints, demands sacrifice, and is selfless. It suggests something that counters much contemporary logic, namely that we individuals, we ‘me’s’, are not in fact the centre of the universe.
Advertising media, in its many forms, informs us that ‘you want’ and that ‘you need’, reminding us of our duty to eternal consumption in the service of self-betterment. In this work, It Is You I Love the Most, I simply wanted to shift this logic. By addressing ‘you’ directly I aimed not to emphasise what it is you lack, but instead to offer a gift — that thing that we all may choose to offer: love.”
“I created Sisterhood in 2020, and it was part of Your Space Or Mine in Glasgow during lockdown. It’s been great to revisit and reflect on its themes of togetherness, solidarity, and coalition-building. It still feels as — if not more — poignant and essential to amplify this message today.”
“True Love as protest is about more than personal relationships; it embodies a commitment to collective wellbeing.
True Love embraces empathy, understanding, and compassion. True Love ignites hope, transforms landscapes and inspires us to envision a world that is united by compassion and understanding. In celebrating love, we challenge discrimination and indifference, paving the way for a brighter, more inclusive future.”
“I chose this portrait of activist and photographer Misan Harriman because he is relentless in his work to spread justice and love into the world. His voice is calm, empathic, and informed, and he touches people around the world via his art and activism. The image was shot at a protest for Palestine in London in July 2024, Misan is a light that the world needs in these current times, always advocating for our shared humanity.”
“I’m really happy to be part of this project raising funds for War Child. These posters are an extension of my new poem in the plaza at Centrepoint on Charing Cross Road in London. The words celebrate everyday acts of kindness. Showing kindness to the most vulnerable people in our world is more important now than ever before. Kindness is our highest power.”
“The World is Still Your Toy is dedicated to children, especially those who are victims of conflict, violence and genocide. The heraldic ermine motif represents the abstraction of violence and the anonymisation of those experiencing it but also a call to stand united in our varied experiences against fascism and oppression worldwide. All children should know that the world and all the potential it holds continue to belong to all of us. Free Palestine.”
“In a country obsessed with headlines about fear, these two write their own front page: kids of immigrants choosing kindness as their legacy — a reminder that love isn’t soft; it’s resistance!”
“Love itself is an act of protest. It’s time to rise against governments that fuel war, spread hate, and chase profit over humanity. The power they’ve stolen will return to the people, if we speak out and stand together.”
“This artwork was originally conceived as an allegory for maternal figures. It stands as an emblem of unconditional love, balance, deep care, and benevolence. A force that mirrors what has been freely given. It represents the quiet strength that nurtures and holds communities together, especially in times of division.”
“If we really want control of our own bodies, we have to fight for it.” A quote taken directly from the 1970 seminal feminist manual, Our Bodies, Ourselves. Although half a century on from its original publishing, the book is still being used to challenge medical dogma, energise the reproductive rights movement and, for documentary filmmaker Rita Conry, as reference to how far (or little) we have come. To celebrate the release of her latest documentary; High, Soft & Open, UNCLE partnered with Rita to deliver the film and its message of conversation deep into the streets through flyposting.
Infuriated by the ignorance between medical professionals and patients, Rita’s films have always had a focus on women’s mental health. High, Soft & Open is a hybrid documentary that delves into the often-overlooked mental health side effects of hormonal birth control. The film weaves together a tapestry of eighteen anonymous women whose shared, yet often silent, struggles, are reconstructed for the screen through actors within London environments. The film holds up an ornate mirror to the audience and is a poignant reminder on the importance of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing among women.
In the interview below, we asked the documentary filmmaker, Rita Conry, to take us through her intentions with High, Soft & Open and her other films, and to share her perspective on London and how the city has shaped her career. Through opening up with us, Rita hopes the same of those who see her work.
WHAT IS THE REASONING BEHIND THE FOCUS ON WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH?
Growing up, me and my friends were pretty tuned into our mental health, especially to the negative effects that taking hormonal contraception could have on it. Despite having never been told this by any medical professionals, it was widely accepted that the contraceptive pill could negatively affect your mental health. When I read that a Danish study had found a link between teenagers taking the pill and also taking antidepressants, I wasn’t at all surprised. But it did make me question this gap in knowledge between medical professionals and patients. Why weren’t we being informed of this major side effect when prescribed the pill? It was infuriating.
WHAT GOT YOU INTO DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING? HAVE YOUR FILMS ALWAYS HAD A FOCUS ON WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH?
I think I’ve always been interested in real life and real people’s stories, so documentaries made sense for me to focus on when coming out of film school. In the final weeks before graduation we went to Sheffield Doc Fest. You basically sit all day every day for a week watching documentaries. I loved that you could come out of the screening with a totally new perspective about anything from the drag queen Divine to the Hadron Collider in Cern.
Although the catch with making documentaries is you have to find something interesting to make them about! Which isn’t easy. With documentary filmmaking you end up with filmmakers and non-filmmakers working together out of pure passion for the topic. At Doc Fest I’d sometimes come across a Q&A after the film where the director would say they aren’t actually a filmmaker, but they had just been compelled to tell this particular story, so I knew I would have to wait for the right thing to come to me.
So that’s kind of how I ended up making two films about women’s health. My first doc was The UTI Documentary. I’d been struggling with a chronic UTI for almost 13 years and a friend was writing an article about the lack of understanding around UTIs and suggested making a film.
YOUR FILM SHEDS LIGHT ON THE EXPERIENCES OF 18 DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS WITHIN YOUR FILM, WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH OR HORMONAL BIRTH CONTROL?
As with the UTI documentary, I have my own link with the subject matter. I’ve always found taking hormonal birth control has come with more negative side effects than positive, whether that’s the pill or the mirena coil, but luckily nothing as severe as some of the people I interviewed.
OUTSIDE OF THE FRIENDS, FAMILIES, AND COLLEAGUES YOU INTERVIEWED, HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT FINDING THE OTHER WOMEN WHO ARE FEATURED IN YOUR FILM?
I tried really hard to reach out to different groups and strangers but it can be quite hard to get people to open up about their mental health when they don’t know you. Some of the women I interviewed in the film came about completely organically to my search for participants, which made our interviews more natural I think. I made friends with one of the participants through volunteering and she then introduced me to a group of quilters, which is why there is always a hum of a sewing machine in the background of their scenes!
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THERE IS STILL A TABOO-CULTURE TO DO WITH WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH?
I started making the film in 2016 and I think conversations were really starting to kick-off around mental health in general. Now that I’ve finished the film a lot of attitudes have changed and I think a lot of care has gone into normalising and prioritising your mental health, especially at work. But I think it was always easier for women to discuss their mental health; it’s the men’s mental health which seems to have had a huge change in attitude towards it.
WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE HOME FROM HIGH, SOFT & OPEN?
I think I’d like people to feel like they’re not alone if they’ve been suffering with these negative side effects from hormonal birth control. I’d also like it to be a way for people to understand the issues better. Hopefully people can show this to their partners so they can better understand what they’re going through.
I think the other big message of the film is how important leaning on one another is, and how much we learn from each other when we’re just hanging out at the pool or pub, or when we’re at work. It’s like a never-ending exchange of information and I’d like to celebrate that a bit with this film.
HIGH, SOFT & OPENISN’T THE FIRST DOCUMENTARY YOU’VE CREATED, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE UTI DOCUMENTARY, AND ANY OTHER FILMS YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN?
The UTI documentary came about through a project called Healthy Scepticism, which is a Wellcome Trust funded, interdisciplinary project focusing on sustainability and reform in health care. UTIs are really misunderstood and mistreated, and as someone who has suffered with them for my whole adult life, I thought I’d be a good person to try and shine a light on these gaps in awareness. It was sort of a blueprint for High, Soft & Open, as the themes were so similar: repeatedly going to the doctor with a problem, doctor saying nothing is wrong, leaving feeling deflated and stuck, etc…
HIGH, SOFT & OPEN IS VISUALLY VERY BEAUTIFUL AND GROUNDED IN ITS VISUALS, HOW HAS YOUR TIME IN LONDON SHAPED THE FILMS STORYTELLING AND VISUALS, AND HOW HAS THE CITY SHAPED YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A FILMMAKER?
I was born and raised in London and still love living here. I love massive, over-crowded cities, I find them weirdly comforting and couldn’t live anywhere else. I love how every type of person exists here and are all just getting on with whatever we need to do.
All the interviews in the film happened with Londoners, so it was important to reflect this with the visuals. I also needed to convey the various environments and situations that these conversations around mental health and birth control can take place. Which turns out, is basically anywhere. I wanted the audience to feel like they were weaving in and out of these environments and capturing snippets of conversations all around London.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SEE YOUR WORK IN THE STREETS AS A PHYSICAL FORMAT?
It’s such a personal project that to see it out in the wild among the public is so surreal and exciting! I’m telling all my friends to keep their eyes peeled!
WHERE CAN PEOPLE WATCH HIGH, SOFT & OPEN?
You can watch the film through the Girls in Film website or through my website and vimeo. www.girlsinfilm.net/videos/high-soft-open-film www.ritamariaconry.co.uk
‘The Last Night Out’ is an urgent PSA campaign created to raise awareness of the rapid decline in UK nightclubs, an issue that threatens to erase an iconic and vivacious part of British culture. Nightclubs, vital pillars of economic and cultural vitality, particularly for younger generations and creatives, are closing at an alarming rate. The campaign therefore aims to highlight the date at which, based on recent data, all nightclubs could be forced to close, and does so in the style of a nightclub event. The NTIA spearheaded this initiative alongside McCann (Adam Taylor-Smith and Stephen Yeates), and they came to UNCLE to join forces and amplify its reach across the UK. Together, we’re combining expertise to ensure the campaign resonates in the communities that need it most.
At the current rate of three nightclub closures per week, it is projected that all such venues could disappear by December 31, 2029—a hypothetical “last night out” that the campaign uses as a stark rallying cry. Through the design of striking event posters, “The Last Night Out” campaign brings the issue to life visually, reminiscent of the eye-catching advertisements that typically promote nightlife events. At its core, the campaign champions the idea that nightclubs are more than just places to dance—they’re incubators for youth culture, artistic innovation, and community connection. Nightclubs have long been a space where people, particularly young adults, can feel free to express themselves, discover new art forms, and meet like-minded individuals. Losing these venues would mean not only the end of cherished social spaces but also a significant blow to local economies and creative industries.
The interview we did with the team dives into the motivations behind this campaign and the broader significance of it. We cover the campaign’s mission, the alarming decline in nightclubs, and the implications of this trend for UK communities. By framing the closure date as 31.12.29, they hope to create a sense of urgency that inspires government support and public action, with steps including petitions and emails to local MPs.
WHAT LED TO THE CREATION OF “THE LAST NIGHT OUT” CAMPAIGN?
Earlier this year we came across a stat that revealed over 3 nightclubs are closing every week, and that at that rate they’d all be extinct by 2030. Pretty shocking really.
So we took that stat and reframed it, which—in nightclub terms—would make 31.12.29 the last night out. So we wanted to bring that date, and the struggles nightclubs are facing, to life in a way nightclubs would, ie through a world of beautiful and arresting event poster design.
WHY ARE NIGHTCLUBS SO VITAL TO THE UK’S CULTURAL AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE?
Nightclubs are more than sound systems and wristbands. They’re vital organisations that provide careers, spark friendships, inspire generations of artists and give people a place where they can truly celebrate their eclecticism as one after-dark family. And they’re vital on an economic level, too. Jobs, careers and artistic endeavors are at risk if nightclubs are allowed to disappear.
WHAT IMPACT WOULD THE CLOSURE OF ALL UK CLUBS BY 2030 HAVE ON COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL ECONOMIES?
Michael Kill, CEO of NTIA put this really well when he said, “Our industry is not just about entertainment; it’s about identity, community, and the economy. The loss of our venues means the loss of jobs, culture, and a vital part of the UK’s social fabric. Clubs like Fabric, Ministry of Sound, FAC 251, and SubClub are more than venues—they’re cultural landmarks that foster creativity, community, and the heartbeat of our cities. Without urgent intervention, December 31, 2029 will be the last night out and the end of an era that has defined generations.”
WHAT ROLE DO NIGHTCLUBS PLAY IN FOSTERING MUSIC, ART, AND YOUTH CULTURE IN THE UK?
Nightclubs are the perfect environment for young people to discover things about themselves, and be inspired by others. They are like incubators for creative expression and have always been spaces that give people a sense of freedom. At their best, they are a place where nobody is judged. There aren’t many places or spaces like that where people can come and be truly free to experiment with and learn about how they want to be perceived.
HOW DOES FRAMING 31.12.29 AS ‘THE LAST NIGHT OUT’ BRING URGENCY TO THE MESSAGE?
We hope it makes the sad reality of these closures harder to ignore. By highlighting the doomsday, and making people realise that it’s really not that far away, we’re hoping it might spark action.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES UK NIGHTCLUBS FACE THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR RAPID CLOSURE?
The financial landscape has been pretty dire for UK nightclubs since the start of covid. We need the government to provide sustained financial support to keep this industry alive. But also, there are a number of policies and regulations that need reform. We need a review of licensing laws, business rates, and planning policies to create a supportive environment for the industry to build itself back up.
WHAT STEPS CAN THE PUBLIC, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND INDUSTRY PLAYERS TAKE TO HELP SAVE NIGHTCLUBS?
The public can help by signing the petition that challenges the government to launch a Heritage Protection Scheme, granting significant nightclubs culturally protected status.
They can also email their MP with this prepopulated email that takes only a few minutes.
Annie Frost Nicholson (an artist formerly known as The Fandagoe Kid) has been building anticipation for her captivating exhibition, “All of Your Textures Live Inside of Me”. The show itself is an exploration of grief and how these thematic underpinnings can be used as a force for good. The show’s genesis being Nicholson’s own experience with loss, something she has now turned into a “a brightly coloured sanctuary where you can calmly reflect on what’s been and what is”.
Her work itself has been characterised with a fusion of visuals and prose, bold patterns and geometric shapes, often drawn and inspired by culture of the urban landscape. Her artwork blends together various communication mediums, ensuring that people can interpret them on multiple levels. This flexibility not only distinguishes her work but also enables it to transcend mere interpretation, having an allure that invites deeper analysis, whilst also holding steadfast in its personal motive.
UNCLE partnered with Nicholson to get eyes on streets in Liverpool with a flyposting campaign that we paired with an interview and studio shoot to get the full 360 on the story. We delved into her creative psyche and how she uses layers of personal history to fuel her work.
HOW DID THE NAME ‘ALL OF YOUR TEXTURES LIVE INSIDE OF ME’ COME TO BE?
It’s really an ode to both life itself and the family I’ve lost, whose stories and particularities of our lives lived together I carry around with me wherever I go. This strong interior world has kind of lined my body for the hard knocks of survival, following the loss of all of them when I was younger. Holding them in this way has also impacted how I view the world, my fascination with small details, found objects, polaroids and ephemera, and how we bring through the past into the present in landscapes, architecture, rituals, food and navigating space.
WHAT IS YOUR ASPIRATION FOR THE SHOW?
I would like to take people into their own interior world, a safe one, where they can just exist, as they are—a brightly coloured sanctuary where you can calmly reflect on what’s been and what is, and draw them closer to one another. I’ve loved creating this work, it’s been a chance to fully immerse myself in the safety of my practice, it’s long been my mode of survival and peace, but rare that I’ve had the chance to work in such a dedicated way on a solo show. The experience has been so profound, a real chance to be alone with some family characters that I miss so dearly, to commune with them, but also to bring them with me into my present life, which is a hard earned happy one. I’ve loved the chance to merge worlds, it’s been strangely all the more life affirming.
WHY IS THIS SHOW DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER PUBLIC ART YOU HAVE DISPLAYED BEFORE?
In many ways, this is probably the most personal work I’ve made to date. It’s felt like a real excavation, and a cleansing, to go within, rather than reach outwards, as I have done for so many years with the public art (which has been and continues to be a very important part of my practice). I’ve discovered that I need to work more in this way, that I take so much energy from being able to burrow away in my thoughts and create a personal body of work, which doesn’t ask the same questions of its audiences as the public art. It’s a gentle invitation into an interior world, without solutions, but hopefully with the promise of some calm once you enter the space.
WHY IS GRIEF A PROMINENT THEME THROUGH YOUR WORK?
Grief has been a part of me for the past 12 years since losing many family members in a short space of time. It’s almost become another family member itself, I know it so well and my relationship is ever changing and evolving (and sometimes regressing, as is the nature of it!). It has been something to integrate, to work with, as there’s been no side stepping it. It’s taken me to depths I’m fairly sure I would never have gone to if these tragic events hadn’t happened to me and it has changed me, forever. Grief lives inside of me and because it’s so inextricably linked to those people I love, who I can’t be with, there is also some bittersweet joy within it, as it’s a portal into a world with them.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR WORK IS ABLE TO CONVEY?
I am interested in how memory works, particularly as a kind of fictionalising device. My specific use of place and geography – store fronts, train platforms, doorways; glimpsed, recorded, half-remembered – act as portals to access the past, but altered, reimagined, and subject to my own fantasies of colour, light, texture. In a sense the paintings are my way of accepting that we can’t reinhabit the past truly as it was, but we can create something other in its honour. The show as a whole hovers on a sentence from WG Sebald, ‘the thin piece of silk between life and death’— we never really lose anything dear to us if we know how to hold it carefully within ourselves, and so I would like to think this may be a hopeful, joyful offering on one level that prompts people to think about the many experiences, decisions and fateful events that have led each of us down our own path to make the life we have.
TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU FOUND YOUR STRIKING STYLE AND THEMING CHOICES?
I’ve always been drawn to bold palettes and geometry—I love language and the science of language and I’m a linguist, so my choices in life were either to be a translator or an artist (I’m sure my parents would have worried a lot less with the first option). I feel like it was then inevitable for language to appear so much in my work, and there’s a real fascination with structure and the architecture of language too. Sottsass’ use of colour and form has been a huge influence, along with Jenny Holzer’s political and playful use of text. Sophie Calle is also a hero of mine, she totally changed the way I see the world, the unabashed way she mines her own autobiography, and lays bare some of the worst times of her life, but also the mundane, the bizarre, the comedic and the tragic. Then there’s one of my best friends, Camille Walala, who I’ve known since I was barely an adult, and I probably became a woman within the years of our friendship – her approach to scale, pattern and palette, and her impeccable taste, will always inspire me. My parents were very bold dressers, the whole family has always been quite audacious in their sartorial choices, as was their taste in interior design, and most aspects of their lives! So I think I’ve learnt to pay attention to detail early, and I also learnt the art of living well from them, and much of that to me means living with colour, in colour, trying to make a living from what you love, and paying attention to very small moments, mostly ones that are free and fleeting.
WHY ARE YOU DRAWN TO THE STYLISTIC CHOICES YOU ARE? INSTALLATIONS, COLOUR ETC…
I am a city person, through and through. I don’t know if it’s because I grew up far away from one, and longed to get into the action since day one, but when I left home, I never looked back — I love sharing a cityscape with other city dwellers, I love noticing details and nuances in architecture and all of the energy that passes through a city space, all of the stories you are told, that you overhear, that you’re sometimes lucky enough to be a part of. It’s the total lifeblood of my being and so I really enjoy creating work that speaks to our daily tempo and all that lies beneath it, all the strata that form us and allow us to get up and tackle a new day, no matter what we are carrying. I like to think about space and how we can find outlets for complex and often taboo conversations to unfold within our busy lives, right where we are, so all of the work I make hopes to be an invitation to show up as you are and take some time for you, to go inwards. The use of colour and form come from long standing influences (as I’ve mentioned above) and I think they often defy expectations and juxtapose the subject matter, so this may come as a surprise! But again, I want people to access these complex themes and intersections of grief as they choose, as they are on any given day, without prescription.
DOES CULTURE AND CITY LIFE PLAY A KEY PART IN YOUR CREATIVITY?
Even before my preoccupation with life and death, I’ve always been fascinated by the human condition – and how other artists, artforms, places, architectures, people, and cities respond to its complexities is central to both my understanding of what life even is(!) and my practice. I’ve just come back from a long-awaited trip to Mexico City, which really was a dream and I found so much joy in the architecture, the light, the patterns, the food, the Barragan houses! In London, I love to go for walks through the neighbourhood, in Nunhead, Peckham, where my studio also is. I love Review Bookshop in Peckham. Over the past few years especially, I have found a lot of inspiration in fiction, particularly really visual writers like Deborah Levy. I recently totally immersed myself in Baumgarten by Paul Auster, which felt like such a powerful response to grief. I was sad to leave his world when it ended! Another key ritual for me is going to Roti King on Lower Marsh in London, followed by a trip to the BFI—I recently saw Joanna Hogg’s The Eternal Daughter, which gave me lots of ideas for my next collaborative project, a feature film about my mother. I feel often so lucky to have such amazing cultural resources right on my doorstep, it feeds into my creative process greatly. The best show I’ve seen recently was Sophie Calle, A toi de faire ma mignonne, in Paris—everything about it left me in awe.
WHAT IS YOUR INTENTION WITH THE POSTER DESIGN?
The poster design feels very 70’s as is this body of work, which is all about detail and how we form our interior worlds through memory, place and dreams. The poster itself takes elements from some of the tufting work that features in the show; the brilliant Bon Tuft translated my designs into wall pieces. I think I want people to stop because they may see something joyful or fun in the design and then learn from the text and QR code that they are being invited into a world where they can pull away some of the armour we carry with us on a daily basis to stay afloat.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO THE SHOW IN LIVERPOOL?
I’ve known Ali and Jim at Dorothy for a while and always loved them and what they stand for. It’s really so special to bring this work to Liverpool, a city where I really feel at home. I’ve had so many friendly encounters here and I often get told some great stories here, by strangers, with brilliant humour. My dad was from Blackpool, and left home at 15 to go into the navy—Liverpool was the place he sailed out into the world from, his first time leaving the country for many an adventure, and so he always spoke so fondly of the city. We have a lot of family memories here. Last year, I discovered I have a sister I didn’t know about and we met in Liverpool for the first time, and visited Dorothy! So it feels very fitting as so much of the work is a kind of unravelling of new emotional landscapes from the past year or so.
WHAT ARE THREE THINGS YOU LOVE ABOUT LIVERPOOL?
I love the people, the humour, the storytelling that I’ve been so lucky to be invited into on occasions.
I love the wild mix of architecture – the way the city wears its history right on the surface. When I was last here, an old friend, mentor and Liverpudlian, Eddie Berg, founder of FACT, who has some great insider knowledge on the city, told me to go to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. It blew my mind.
I really enjoy Dallas Buyer’s Club and Malay for food and there’s a brilliant bagel shop called the Bagelry, all of which I will be revisiting during the show. It really is a special city.
UNCLE has teamed up with flyingleaps artists’ street poster project to deliver a bit of wry hope and critical humour to a wall near you. UNCLE selected a brand new and achingly topical artwork by Archer as their 2023 festive message: ‘WORLD PEACE IS COMING (otherwise we’re screwed!)’ will be on display across numerous UK towns and cities.
In some ways it’s a heart-warming image, especially if you appreciate the unconditional love dogs can give us. Okay, it’s the just the hormone linked to positive emotional states present in both dogs and humans but hey, the world could do with a great deal more unconditional love. Dogs don’t go around inventing reasons not to get on, but it’s a trait humans excel in.
Sometimes with just a few deft brushstrokes and her superbly honed gift for wit and economy with words, Archer makes art that addresses the terrifying ironies of existence. Her paintings and prints are kitsch meditations that sometimes make you want to hold your head in your hands and weep at the gross stupidity of humankind. And at other times wonder at the innocence, the solace, the capacity for empathy to overcome the worst of us. Her work can untap hope as well as warmly warn against slipping into cynical despair.
And she manages to do all the above without being po-faced, preachy, or didactic. This is amply borne out by the name and impetus behind her most recent exhibition. In connection with Archer’s current show – ‘I Don’t Know’ at Helm Gallery, Brighton (9.11.23 – 24.12.23) – the artist explained, “The title is a perfectly valid response to just about any question. Embracing uncertainty leaves you open to a much broader experience of life, a bigger picture. For me, not knowing doesn’t lead to anxiety, rather to a sense of calm and a re-setting of my head to all of life’s possibilities.”
As the artist has kindly let us use one of her most recent works as UNCLE’s festive message, we thought it would be a good idea to have a catch up and chat IRL. Q&A here we go…
COULD YOU TALK US THROUGH YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
I like to have ideas lying around, they’re in notebooks but I’ve also got a lot of scraps of paper with one line or an idea, I don’t know how it’s going to evolve but at some point an image will collide with the text. Usually the text comes first but not always.
AND HOW DO YOU HANDLE CRITICISM OF YOUR WORK, WHO’S FEEDBACK DO YOU VALUE?
Criticism!? I don’t hang around to hear it. I’m sure it’s out there. Actually, the only place I’d hear it is social media. You know, I’ve had some stray remarks, or the odd sour commentator. Once in a while if I see the same name, I’ll remove them. If it seems they’re just there for sport rather than wanting to engage with the work. Regarding feedback that I appreciate, there’s a couple of my friends, and my children.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU, KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED TO MAKE YOUR PAINTINGS? AND YOUR PRINTS? HOW DO YOU VIEW THEM IN COMPARISON TO YOUR PAINTINGS?
Inspiration wise, I think it’s the news, modern culture, all of what’s going on around me. To put it baldly, it’s difficult not to think of the prints as a way of making money to pay for the painting. Painting is just such a slow, slow burn. In a year I might sell four or five. Another year I might sell one. You can’t live on that sort of money. Unless you’re super successful. But I was thinking earlier today, in a way not achieving huge financial success as an artist has been good for me. The way I think of my career is, I don’t want to use the word ‘failure’, but I’m certainly not up there with some of my male contemporaries. But, as I say, on reflection that’s probably been good for the way I think and the way I make stuff, because it doesn’t get in the way. I haven’t got a lot of money to think about. But then I don’t want to be on the phone to my accountant every day, being bothered with that, so there’s upsides.
HOW DO YOU HANDLE PROJECT DEADLINES AND TIME MANAGEMENT?
I’m very good at that, you know, everything else might be chaos, my studio is chaos a lot of the time. Deadlines? I think because I spent ten years as an illustrator, unhappily as an illustrator, I can do a deadline.
What’s been your experience of the business side of being an artist, dealing with people in that regard?
Well, in a word, it’s been tricky. Bloody tricky. I’ve had problems where people don’t want to pay me. And I’ve had problems where I know at the time I’m being ripped off, and then I discover a couple of years down the line you realise, no, you were really, royally ripped off. It’s quite a rare thing when someone comes to you and says, I really like your work and I want to be honest financially. Actually, it’s quite nice when people say, I haven’t got any money to give you but I want to use your work on this. It’s when people are underhand, I won’t name names but it’s a wind-up. So, it’s happened, and it keeps happening.
To offer some context, back-end of 2022 Magda had to finally sue several companies who were reproducing her work without permission. She won all the cases, but she explained this had been an emotionally and financially draining process. Obviously winning meant being awarded costs but there was very little by way of compensation.
You’ve recently teamed up with Jo Brooks PR – who works with Banksy, Lucy Sparrow (aka @sewyoursoul), David Shrigley, etc. – how do hope that will develop?
Well, if you read the small print as it were, Jo does the PR for Banksy and Shrigley but with Lucy and myself she’s our manager. And, as far as I know, she only manages female artists. How do I think it’s going to go? I think very well. Because she’s honest and a good person. And she’s funny.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR ART CONCERNS, ARTISTIC INTEGRITY IF YOU LIKE, AGAINST COMMERCIAL PRESSURES WHEN IT COMES TO COLLABORATING WITH OTHER PARTIES: FASHION DESIGNERS, BOOKS, MERCH., ETC.?
I’d say with the Marc Jacobs collaboration it went very well, they were very sensitive about how I felt, constantly saying, ‘What did I think about this, what did I think about that?’ If I didn’t like something, they’d take it out. Without any fuss. And the Idles book, Joe Talbot just said, ‘Do what you want.’ I didn’t believe him. Because people never really mean that, they say, ‘Do what you want, do what you want…’ But then they come back and say, ‘Ooh yeah, but don’t do that!’ No, I had to keep checking with Joe and he kept saying, ‘I like it all.’ Which you don’t hear very much, so you don’t believe it. Now the book’s out, and it looks great. I’ve described it as having like a ‘ready brek glow’, the imagery and lyrics resonate.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT A PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING PROJECT AND WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM IT?
Well, again that would be the many years of illustration work, that’s why I’m not an illustrator, because I hated it. It’s just people pushing you around, grabbing the work and not even saying ‘goodbye’ or ‘thank you.’
HOW DO YOU HANDLE CREATIVE BLOCKS OR MOMENTS OF SELF-DOUBT?
I don’t have creative blocks. I might have a time, a period, when I feel flat emotionally. It might be exhaustion, it might be things that are kicking off around me with friends or family. And because I don’t particularly want to work with all these thoughts, I stop. I might still be in my studio every day, but I will stop making.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT A PROJECT OR PIECE OF WORK THAT YOU’RE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF?
I’m proud that I’m still doing it. You know, what with all the other responsibilities of being a mother, running a home, you know, laundry, kids’ problems, blah, blah, blah. But despite it all I’m proud of myself for persisting.
You’ve collaborated w. flyingleaps artists’ street poster project several times since 2016 and this year your ‘WORLD PEACE IS COMING (otherwise we’re screwed)’ work’s been chosen as UNCLE’s festive message to the nation… What would you say about flyposting as a medium to show your art?
It’s become a favourite medium. Because, well, I’m not going to say it’s a leveller, and it’s a cliché to say it’s the street as art gallery but it is. People are not intimidated as they might be going into a fancy gallery. It’s there, and it’s public, and it’s sort of a bit ‘shouty’. I can’t fault the medium. I love it. I think it’s a collision between my background in graphic design and my wish to be considered a serious artist.
FINALLY, HOPES, DREAMS, AMBITIONS FOR 2024 AND BEYOND…?
Ooh, mmm. I want to make some music. And I want to, there’s a few things I want to do. I’ve got a new keyboard and I want to master that. Also, I want to do something else, and I want to say performance art, but it is, and it isn’t. More things that aren’t painting or print making but will have my physical presence as part of the piece. I want to do things that I’m a bit frightened of. I’d like to try and tackle the subject of ‘wonder’ creatively, like Yoko Ono.
So, whether it’s paintings, prints, collaborations with cool musicians and fashion designers, making more of her own music or the mysterious proposed move into work that will feature the artist in some way, Magda Archer it seems will go on challenging herself while at the same time continuing to delight, intrigue and provoke an ever-growing audience for her art. And, of course, with all that we wish her well.
In anticipation of the upcoming Record Store Day on the 22nd of April, UNCLE have partnered with The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association to canvas the UK with artwork marking the events 16th year. The day celebrates independent record stores and the “unsung heroes behind the counter who work hard to keep their doors open every day of the year”. UNCLE thrive when supporting the local communities within our cities, so it was only fitting to make a statement in Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Liverpool, London and Manchester.
In the last decade the resurgence of vinyl popularity has been a key moment for music history and Record Store Day has been recognised as one of the key driving forces behind this. The day supports, elevate and champions the unwavering resilience and dedication that these stores and their staff have continued to show in times of recent societal adversity. Through both the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis ingenuity conquered all with staff’s exceptional effort to keep the culture alive. The day itself will see 250 record shops come together in the UK – with thousands more worldwide -to celebrate their unique culture by hosting parties, in-store performances and live events for customers and fans alike. The stores taking part can be located here.
Record Store Day goes beyond vinyl; it is at its heart about music culture and how that impacts the heart of its communities. Music is perhaps the universal language; it can bring people together and make a statement as powerful as any other creative medium. Supporting the hubs of its existent ensure longevity for these significant culture markers.
To show solidarity with the beliefs behind the day, hundreds of artists have swarmed to show their support. The 1975 taking the mantle of 2023’s ambassadors and frontman Matty Healy has been vocal about their involvement – “The guys and I are really proud to be ambassadors for Record Store Day this year. Independent record stores are the lifeblood of the music industry and have played a crucial role in our story so far. It couldn’t be more important to support their vital community and culture.”. Hundreds of exclusive, special releases from artists including Elton Jonh, The 1975, Taylor Swift, Pixies, Madonna Yard Act, Greentea Peng, NAS and Blur will be available at partaking stores to celebrate the event.
