John Mark James

Mark James is an artist, designer and filmmaker, based in Cardiff, Wales, Europe.    A multidisciplinary artist working across many creative platforms from art direction, video direction, typography, photography, illustration and graphic design. Adapting his work to a variety of styles, his conceptual work is inspired by a mix of popular culture and social commentary and has gained a reputation for being challenging and controversial.   James’ career started after leaving school when he began making record covers, flyers, posters and t-shirts for various bands and clubs. Moving to London in 2000 to work as art director with Island Records.  He left in 2004 and became a consultant for Island, so he could focus on other projects. Designing over 100 record sleeves and making videos for record labels and artists such as U2, Queen, Maximo Park, Gilles Peterson, DJ Shadow, The Charlatans, Karl Hyde, Underworld, Amy Winehouse, Whyte Horses, Howling Bells, Mala, DJ Cherrystones, The Fratellis, Avicii, Joe Goddard, You Me At Six and many more. He has worked with Super Furry Animals and Gruff Rhys for over 20 years. Creating artwork, visuals and promo videos for the band and their various solo projects.     He has also worked with many clients ranging from Universal, Sony, Virgin/EMI, Abbey Road Studios, Stolen Picture, Sky, BBC, Brownswood Recordings, Penguin Books, Adidas, Wichita Records, Prolifica Management, Rough Trade, Welsh Government and many others.   In 2014 his controversial branding for a fried chicken stall went viral. The DirtyBird logo gained attention globally making headline news. The logo was designed with the intention that it could be seen as a pictogram of a chicken or a phallic ejaculating penis. The plan worked. It was featured in The Drum’s ‘Most Controversial Logos Of All Time’ in 2016.    In 2016, James’ work went viral again after releasing phone footage of a meteor falling from the sky over Flat Holm island in South Wales. The 15 second film quickly spread around the world with all major newspapers and TV channels asking to use the footage. 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.  He also hit the headlines in 2002 with the release of his football hooligan parody vinyl figure. Which was condemned by the FA as “irresponsible”.    His ground-breaking creative toy concept CardBoy was a huge success around the globe. Selling in Colette/Paris, Maharishi/London, Kid Robot/New York and Hunting Lodge/Oslo, to name a few. It was designed utilising the packaging to make the head of the figure. In 2008 the CardBoy Cartridges series was selected by MoMA as part of their Colour Chart exhibition and sold in their stores in New York and Tokyo. In 2016 a selection of James’ vinyl figures were sold at auction, alongside Kaws and others, at the HOCA Foundation in Hong Kong.   James has also been involved in creating interior designs for Abbey Road Studios, Island Records and Universal Music. In 2019 he was invited to design a bar within Angelina Restaurant in Dalston, London. The bar, called Golden Gai, features a bespoke wallpaper with two giant foreboding Tanuki figures; created in his signature style using manipulated black bin bags. James is entirely self-taught and has never had any formal training. Contact:  studio@markjamesworks.com +44 (0) 7747 777994 Wedsite: https://www.markjamesworks.com/ Twitter: @markjamesworks Instagram: @markjamesworks Vimeo: markjamesworks