Dough Lover 99 Trafalgar Street Brighton BN1 4ER

Dough Lover Floor Plan

Recently I was approached with the most amazing request from a Chef - Ronke Arogundade who was opening a cafe in Brighton 'Dough Lover' which she described as a Cafe from the Future.

After a very short time during our first initial conversation it was apparent that Ronke was a visionary and she had debilitated as to what she wanted her Cafe to say in terms of philosophy and human expression. 

She had carefully directed the textiles and fittings and now it was time for visuals. Her instinct had answered to have images of the Sun Ra Arkestra and she found me on the web. From our conversation I created a layout from her wall dimensions and things evolved quickly from there.

Portrait of Atakatune - Sun Ra Arkestra photographed in 2013 at The Barbican in an Oak Box Frame with an Ivorine Title Plaque

Marshall Allen - Sun Ra Arkestra photographed in 2013 at the Barbican Centre

We had a lot to say to each other and the White Peacock image became an addition due to the significance of the symbolic meaning of White Peacocks - of enlightenment,and incorruptibility . When I suggested to image transfer a motif of the birds feathers onto the frame we both knew it had to be done.

Image transfer of the feather motif

'Knowledge Without Love is Lifeless' 50 inches by 60 inches Giclee in an Image Transfer Box with an Ivorine Title Plaque

James Stewart & Cecil Brooks - Sun Ra Arkestra photographed at Islington Town Hall 2015

'The Tone Scientists'

'I Roam The Cosmos'

'Whose Myth Are You?' - Photocollage

Developing the Installation further Ronke discussed her other musical influences and instead of just petering out with the same material we wanted to create a 'snug' feel to the room as the viewer travelled through. Two names came up. That of Gil Scott Heron and Mark E Smith.

For the smallest panel of the Installation Two Contact Sheets were printed with Lyrics to significant songs by the Artists. These being 'Hexen Definitive'

Gil Scott Heron with Lyrics to 'B' Movie

Ronke also wanted to have reference to her childhood in West London included and so the next panel became an overview of my Notting Hill Carnival work.

7x Black Box Frames w/ Giclee prints and Ivorine Title Plaques

The final panel has direct reference to Brighton itself and one of it's most famous residents Nick Cave. Ronke had met Nick on several occasions and my portraits of Nick and Kylie and an additional Studio session I shot with Nick were comissioned for the wall.

This became the most technically intricate installation work I had ever attempted.

Work Bench for Image Transfers to the frames

Two of the frames have image transfers of a picture I took of the Ceiling of the Taj Mahal

Nick & Kylie Box Construction

Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue 'Where the Wild Roses Grow' Nine Giclee Prints mounted on Black Velvet in an Image Transfer Box Frame with a Distressed Mirror and Ivorine Name Plaque

Nick Cave Panel

The Red Velvet needed to be 'Casino' Red

Nick Cave 'HQ Session' 3x Giclee Prints mounted on Red Velvet in an Image Transfer Box Frame with Distressed Mirror and Ivorine Title Plaque

Two samples of the image transfer frames.

The main Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue frame is an image transfer of Rose Thorns

My heartfelt gratitude to Ronke for such a wonderful commission. This is a permanent installation.

Pieces Of A Man

In 1995 I had the pleasure of seeing Gil Scott Heron perform twice. The first being at a WOMAD festival in Adelaide which was also his first ever performance in Australia and then about a week later I saw him perform in my home town of Sydney. Both times I had direct access and remember our conversations well.

We talked of the demise of creole poetry-or ‘rhyming meaning’ and the disturbing direction Hip Hop was taking. His lyrics had carried me for so many years. Meeting him filled me with hope for the future and what I intended to do with my work. These pictures are a constant reminder of fighting for a brighter day.

His humour knew no bounds..when I showed up backstage at the second gig he just smiled and asked me if I was from the C.I.A.

It was March 1995

‘Pieces of a Man’ Collage on Hardboard with original Polaroid 665 prints

During his performance at WOMAD I was throwing my polaroid prints onstage as a gift to him. He acknowledeged it with a smile.

During his scheduled interview at WOMAD

He showed me his current book- Issac Asminov’s ‘Western Mysteries’

Thank you Gil