For six weeks in the summer of 2006, I stayed between Euston and Russell Square in a massive dormitory, soaking in all that the city had to offer this world cup summer. The last two weeks were spent in the bowels of the London College of Communication building learning to letterpress.
These are photos of process work, and the end result poster. The brief, under Hamish Muir and Teal Triggs, was to collect a souvenir in the prior weeks and think about how perspectives of the UK changed over time. A small aside in the BP Portrait Award show in the National Portrait Gallery had let me to an artist's exploration of food+culture+identity. He referenced George Orwell's In Defence of English Cooking, which I immediately purchased as my souvenir.
There's a bit of backstory here. In..other countries, English cooking has always gotten a bit of a bad rap. As I was preparing to leave for my trip, many jokes were made about beans for breakfast, kidney pie, etc. I had discovered though, that not only were beans for breakfast delicious but that the UK had a wealth of great food to be found. Hence, perception changed. This was largely at the hands of a vegan friend with a trusty veggie guidebook to the UK that led us to amazing food without fail.
that's 8pt Baskerville, fyi, not the easiest first thing to set by hand :p
