WELCOME TO THE STUDIO OF MARK JAMES WORKS.

An independent multi-disciplinary artist and art director.

A *Subject To Change® Production.

UNDER NEON LONELINESS

ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

CULTURE CLASH

CARDIFF MUSIC CITY FESTIVAL

GOLDEN GAI

ANNWN

SADNESS SETS ME FREE

GR LOGISTICS

ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS 90TH ANNIVERSARY

É SOUL CULTURA UNA DOS

DIRTYBIRD

PANDO

BAD FRIEND

EVERYTHING ABOVE THE SKY

TRANSMISSION ONE

DK.01

*SUBJECT TO CHANGE ORIGINAL TICKET TEE

99% IS SHIT

ANGERLAND

BATTLE ARMOUR

PANG! THE MOVIE

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS AT THE BBC

A RESPONSE

WAGE WALLETS

SEEKING NEW GODS

REVEAL/CONCEAL

HUNTING LODGE

RINGS AROUND THE WORLD

BRUTALIST SILK

PANG!

TAKING OVER

WALK LIKE THE CLASH SING LIKE THE SUPREMES

AS LONG AS WE KEEP MOVING

DALSTON FRIED CHICKEN

CHINPIRA UK

WHITE TRASH

AMERICAN INTERIOR

POST BREXIT ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

TRASH TANUKI

MISSING PEACE

THE CHILDREN OF SCORPIO

THE DAY NIGEL FARAGE NEARLY DIED

CARDBOY SERIES

BING BONG

THEY ARE NOTHING WITHOUT US

*SUBJECT TO CHANGE GALLERY

PLAY

THIS DULL ACHE

PROFILE:

APPROACH:

SERVICES:

CONTACT:

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SELECTED ARTISTS:

TIMELINE:

James embarked on one of his biggest self initiated projects to date, ‘Under Neon Loneliness’, a monolithic audio/visual immersive experience. Contained inside a vertical 20ft matte black shipping container, a series of 34 individually designed light box and neon signs lined the walls of the confined space. The reflections bounced off the black mirrored interior to create the illusion of the signs rising up infinitely.

The title was taken from the Manic Street Preachers classic ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’, and also the 1988 Patrick Jones poem of the same name. During the residency, James Dean Bradfield performed an acoustic rendition of the 1992 single inside the installation.

The piece was also accompanied by a sound-scape which featured field recordings from Shinjuku, Tokyo, at night. Mixed by long term collaborator Cian Ciarán, (Super Furry Animals, Das Koolies).

The installation was part of, and commissioned by, Cardiff City Music Festival, for which James also designed the branding, it stood in the centre of Cardiff’s Central Square for 3 weeks during October/November and attracted over 16,500 visitors.

2023:

Art director for Chris Levine and Gruff Rhys’ otherworldly audio visual experience ‘ANNWN’. Challenged to recreate laser imagery and animations to represent Chris’ iconic laser art installations, whilst also complementing Gruff Rhys’ original sound-scape. Annwn was held in the historic grounds of Caernarfon Castle for 3 nights during October.

2022:

James held his first solo exhibition in Tokyo, entitled ‘Culture Clash’. It featured work inspired by his visits to Japan over the last 20 years, taking Japanese cultural icons and reworking them in his own unique style. Supported by Wales Arts International, the show presented new and existing work; including a series of prints featuring a carrier bag Hello Kitty and a samurai helmet made from pharmaceutical packaging. The sell out show ran from 20th to 27th October at the RFW Showroom in Tomigaya, Shibuya-Ku.

2021:

Commissioned to create a brand identity to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of Abbey Road Studios. The identity was used on all media to promote events around the year of celebrations. The design also featured on a series of exclusive merchandise items available at the Abbey Road Studios shop.

Additionally, during 2021, his film and album artwork created for Gruff Rhys’ PANG! was selected to be included in the Museum of Design Atlanta’s (MoDA) exhibition ‘The Future Happened’. Curated by LADdesign, and featured over 40 artists from around the world. The exhibition examined innovation in design and technology that deepen our relationship with music and amplifies its capacity to make the world a better place.

2020:

James was commissioned to re-brand the world famous Abbey Road Studios and create a new visual language for the company. Referencing the historic interior design to create a unique contemporary style guide that would carry across brochures, website, social media content, in-house branding and merchandise.

2019:

As well as designing interiors for Abbey Road Studios, Island Records and Universal Music Group over the years; in 2019 he was invited to design a bar within Angelina Restaurant in Dalston, East London. The bar, called ‘Golden Gai’, featured a bespoke wallpaper with two giant foreboding Tanuki* figures; created in his signature style using manipulated black bin bags to create new forms. In October of that year, as part of the Mastercard Secret Cities series, an in-conversation event was held at the restaurant, where he discussed the design process behind the bar interior.

As the long term visual collaborator of Gruff Rhys for over 25 years, in 2019 James was commissioned by Wales Arts International (WAI), as part of the UNESCO Year of Indigenous Languages, to create a film to accompany Rhys’ sixth solo album ‘PANG!’. The film was premiered in Shinjuku, Tokyo in September of that year.

Also in that year, James held two exhibitions entitled ‘Post Brexit Anxiety and Depression’, held at The Social, London and GS Artists in Swansea. The show was in response the 2016 referendum and the effect it had on people’s lives. It was also part of James expelling his thoughts and frustrations on the situation the country had found itself in. The show featured a collection of 40 potent, heartfelt and protest posters printed as a broadsheet newspaper with pages hung around the gallery. In the centre of the GS Artists show were two black bins with the word, ‘Dreams’ on one and ‘Ambition’ on the other. Attendees were encouraged to write their dreams or ambitions they had lost on paper and put them in the bin.

*(Tanuki is a Japanese mythological racoon bear type creature. They are associated with trickery, but also with good luck and prosperity.)

2017:

James hit the headlines again after releasing artwork of a decorative plate ‘Commemorating The Anniversary Of The Day Nigel Farage Nearly Died’. The plate depicted the former UKIP leader narrowly avoiding death, emerging from the wreckage of a plane crash on May 6, 2010. Released as a commentary on how the world may have turned out differently without the emergence of the polarising former party leader.

2016:

James’ work went viral again after he released phone footage of a fireball falling from the sky over Flat Holm Island in the Bristol Channel. The 15 second film quickly spread around the world with all major newspapers and TV channels showing the footage. Entitled ‘A Response’, the concept was created as part of a bigger project, and launched the Cardiff Contemporary Arts Festival. The meteor represented NASA’s Voyager 1977 ‘Golden Record’ being returned to sender, after 39 years of no response.

Also in 2016 a selection of James’ designer vinyl figures were sold at auction, alongside KAWS, Daniel Arsham, Ron English and many other international artists, at the Hong Kong Contemporary Art (HOCA) Foundation benefit auction.

2014:

His controversial branding for a fried chicken stall went viral. The DirtyBird logo gained attention making headline news globally. It was featured in major newspapers and appeared on many news channels, it was also featured in The Drum’s ‘Most Controversial Logos Of All Time’. The logo was designed with the intention that it could be seen as a pictogram of a cockerel or an ejaculating phallus.

2013:

He opened a gallery in his home town of Cardiff, with support from Arts Council Wales. The gallery, *Subject To Change, held a solo show by James, called ‘Sorry It's Not For You', an exhibition for ‘The Nouveau Prole’, it featured a selection of new work created especially for the show, alongside a number of items from his extensive archive.

2012:

James published an experimental film, entitled ‘This Dull Ache’. The 11 minute film featured a series of crumpled black bin bags unravelling organically in real time. The audio was created especially for it by DJ Cherrystones, and it was screened as part of the Adidas celebrations of the 2012 Olympic Games in Village Underground, London. The work was produced by James and Academy Films. It was published in a limited edition of 100, packaged in a 10" record sleeve and contained a 20 page booklet with artwork created for the film.

2008:

The CardBoy Cartridges series was released. It was selected by The Museum Of Modern Art, New York, as part of their Colour Chart exhibition and was sold in their stores in New York and Tokyo. The set of four part vinyl, part card figures were inspired by bubble jet printer cartridges, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.

2007:

His next art vinyl release, ’99% is Shit’ was a 7.5” vinyl figure produced in a limited to an edition of 99. Inspired by the infamous quote by Sid Vicious, along with a mix of other popular cultural references. It was only sold in four stores worldwide, Colette - Paris, Maharishi - London, Hunting Lodge - Oslo and Reed Space - New York. It was featured in numerous publications including LAMJC’s ‘All Gone - The Finest of Street Culture’ 2007, High Snobiety, SlamXHype, The Hundreds, Life Lounge and Format Mag.

The figure sold out almost immediately and soon became a highly sought after collectible piece. Each one hand-packed, signed and numbered.

2006:

Opened the design-led concept store, Hunting Lodge in Oslo, Norway, in partnership with friend, business partner and fellow Welshman, Dafydd Jones. The focus being on contemporary streetwear, premium brands, art and design. James designed the interior, commissioning some unique pieces to be custom made, including the innovative ‘Antler Shelving’. A destination store for nearly 20 years, and has featured in many articles ranging from Hypebeast, Monocle magazine and the Monocle guide to Oslo. Hunting Lodge has a reputation for presenting and introducing new and interesting brands and products to the Norwegian market.

James was also artistic director for the Scottish band, The Fratellis award winning debut album campaign ‘Costello Music’. Creating the identity and style for the band’s releases from record sleeves, media content and TV adverts. They released 5 top 10 singles from the album in the UK, and the album went on to sell 1.5 million copies worldwide.

2004:

His ground-breaking creative art toy concept, CardBoy, received critical acclaim. Sold around the world and selling in stores such as Colette - Paris, Maharishi - London and Kid Robot - New York, to name a select few. It was designed as a solution to waste packaging by utilising the box to make the head of the figure. The set of 8 blind box figures went on to sell over 10,000 pieces worldwide.

2002:

James released his first designer art toy which was parody of English football hooligans to coincide with the World Cup in Japan that year. Chinpira UK (Hooligan in Japanese) was Inspired by how the global media saw hooligans as if they were from another planet. It hit front page news across the UK and was condemned by the FA as “irresponsible”.

2000:

James’ relocated to London in 2000 where he became Art Director for Island Records, and remained there until 2004. He continued to work as a consultant for the next 10 years, whilst focussing on personal and other client based projects.