It just so happens to be we are in Camden
It just so happens that we catch Leigh Wildman mid-stroke painting a new print in the basement of the said record store, we start asking him questions which quickly leads into a very interesting conversation.
If you walk around Camden chances are your going to come across a cliché image of a band/model/film printed on a t-shirt, poster, coaster, mug, pen, baby-gro, napkin, keychain- well let’s just say: Just about anything imaginable. The place is saturated with English eccentricism or what tourists think is English.
What I like about Leigh’s work is that although I know the bands he has printed, they are images I’ve never seen before and in such a way I’m not even sure if it is the band I had in mind. I like the fact I’m caught off guard, I think that I am familiar with a bands image, then Leigh has a poster of them at their earliest stage of their career and then I’m reluctant to even try to name the band. This led me to my first question:
How do you find your images?
The pictures I use are from magazines, books, record sleeves and tonnes of rock/pop memorabilia that I have collected from a young age. They are from a private collection of items I enjoyed reading as a young boy. I don’t use images from the internet as there are issues with pixilation and enlargement, they just don’t mix well and it would be too obvious to pick an image from a computer.
Do you find that restriction enhances your work?
Restrictions is good for my art as there is too much choice of images and printing processes out there. Also there is a time element because I am a one man show I want to rely on my own private collection of images.
Are these images the kind of things that interests you?
I only ever do things that interest me, I’m not very good at being commercial. If you don’t do the stuff you really like and fake it, it’s not real and honest from the heart, it shows. People do say to me why is everything from the sixties, seventies, early eighties even though I’m not that old, I just love that era visually and grew up listening to glam rock I listened to T-rex and Bowie, Punk became big just as I was leaving school in 78 I was 16, so that’s what narrowed out as what I wanted to print.
I did do a Libertines poster that sold really well, because people kept telling me I didn’t do any contemporary canveses for people your age that come to Camden, so I did that and it was true people wanted them but I just didn’t like the look of it stylistically.
What influences your style?
I am very much influenced by Andy Warhol’s approach, very repetitive the same thing over and over again so you can really notice the style and process. My work all looks the same, I love the frozen in time look, natural poses, moody, mono style with a splash of colour. I work a lot with rustic colours red, browns, yellows I think that has something to do with working in the basement and because there is no natural light.
Do you do requests/ commissions?
I’m open to suggestions, I mean you can come up to me with a picture from a magazine and say this might look really good and if I think that could be an exciting project then I will do it.
But on the other hand I have refused people because I don’t really do requests. Usually its for example a man in my age group, an Oldie but Goldie, they have a picture of a musician that they like that isn’t a particularly visual person or band, they are not a rock or punk band and I’m very reluctant.
I’ve spent years carefully choosing these images because they are about contrast, if they don’t have the very stark high contrast they don’t blow up very well. Composition means a lot to me, the way things are placed and balanced in a shot appeals to me. Sometimes pictures bought to me just don't have that.
What's the most radical print you have done?
Someone asked me to do a Sid Vicious piece and so I choose to do this, I know what it is and I'm sure you do but some people don’t, it’s quite iconic. It's a picture of him shooting up, I wasn't entirely happy with it so to come to a sort of compromise I stamped 'Just Say No', I like the Just say No it's how I feel towards drugs I’m very anti drugs.
I’m very cautious and not that very adventurous nothing too shocking in my work because I’ve got to sell stuff and make a living.
Do you find your work challenging?
It’s very easy to do, a bit too easy almost. I’m becoming a little more adventurous painting art deco, adding gold and different colours, delving into the romance side of punk rock with this Edie Sedgewick poster, as I’m getting comfortable with my style and meeting people like yourself who are interested in what I do I get inspired.This quote here was passed on to me by a customer I wrote it down and I use it as inspiration. It says 'All you need to achieve greatness is a plan and not enough time.' I stand by that.
If I was working away at home in a studio or tucked away somewhere, I would never see anybody and I would probably just dither about for ages . Here, I am under pressure if I don’t produce the goods I can’t pay for the shop rent, so I’m constantly producing pieces.
Do you exhibit your work?
I have been asked to exhibit by Grub Street Revolt at the Rag Factory on the 9th of March, unfortunately I’m going to be away in Japan.
Having appreciated Leigh’s work immensely we have offered our services to represent Steampower Poster Co. at the Grub Street Revolt exhibition, 9th of March the Rag Factory just of Brick Lane.
Come along say Hello, marvel at the sights or simply revolt away in a corner.
Either way feel free to appreciate Leigh’s work.
You can also buy his prints online:
Or you can keep him company in the basement of Out on the Floor Records, just opposite Camden Town Tube Station.
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