Pocko Lab was asked to direct and produce a one-minute animation to promote Ian Cobain's latest book entitled "Cruel Britannia". Commissioned by our friends at Granta Publications, we enlisted the extraordinary talents of Viumasters, who we had recently met during our travels in Mexico. Ian Cobain looks beyond the cover-ups to reveal a secret and shocking record of torture in British Forgein Affairs. From WWII to the War on Terror, "Cruel Britannia" shows how the British have repeatedly and systematically resorted to torture, turning a blind eye where necessary, bending the law where they can, and issuing categorical denials all the while. What emerges is a picture of Britain that challenges our complacency on human rights and exposes the lie behind our reputation for fair play.
Pocko had a great week in Mexico. First at Vertigo Gallery, with a presentation and portfolio review in Mexico City. Special thanks to Jorge Alderete and Barbara Moreno for having us! Our final days were spent in Monterrey at the Diseño Punto MX conference where we met an an amazing group of architects, artists, designers and the wonderful students who took care of us. Conference speakers included, Shohei Shigematsu, Partner at OMA, NYC, Elias Cattan of Taller 13 and László Bordos who does 3D video mapping, to name a few. VIVA MEXICO...we vow to return!
Ben Newman had the great honour of being asked to exhibit and give a guest talk at Berlin's Pictoplasma. He had exhibited an updated version of "Masks" show as part of the festival's 'Character Walk' that takes place through the Mitte district in 16 different venues. New collaboration work with creature creator Felt Mistress, and his father Colin Newman, were the main features of the show. Ben's sold-out talk at .HBC was jam-packed of professionals and enthusiasts alike. Ben's entertaining talk explored the wider context and possibilities of his character creation.
Max Cardelli might be known as one of the world's leading fashion and beauty photographers, but he also has an amazing eye for reportage and street photography. So much so that he has been selected out of 2,400 total entries, as a finalist for the 2012 International Street Photography Awards. His work concerns the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and will be shown at the International Street Photography exhibition, which will be on view from June 1st – 30th, 29-31 Oxford Street, London. Max's clients include: Wella, Max Mara, Platinum, Missioni, La Perla, L'Oréal, Clarence, Perelli, Marie Claire, Allure, D Magazine, Elle, Wallpaper and GQ.
We recently had the pleasure of working alongside Picador's Senior Designer, Neil Lang, and the very talented Pocko friend, Rob Hunter. In celebration of it's 40th Anniversary, Picador have re-issued twelve of their greatest novels, featuring stunning illustrations by Mr. Hunter. During their 40 years Picador have published many prize-winning and bestselling authors including Bret Easton Ellis and Cormac McCarthy, Alice Sebold and Helen Fielding, Graham Swift and Alan Hollinghurst. Picador continues to bring readers the very best contemporary fiction, non-fiction and poetry from across the globe. Have a look at the beautiful set here... better yet, go grab yourself a copy.
Andrew Holder was commissioned through our friends at Church of London to produce a vibrant work for their in-house publication, HUCK Magazine. The feature talks about space and how we interact with it; looking at cityscapes and the accessibility and ownership issues of private and council owned spaces. Various references were used such as the occupy movement, and how skateboarding interacts with the spaces of a city. HUCK documents youth culture through the influential lens of surf, skate, snowboarding and beyond. It takes inspiration from the radical heritage of action sports to look under the skin of cultural developments, social movements, emerging scenes and new thoughts and ideas.