Collective-Era - BrainFeed

The House of Strange Black Doves

2011-10-15T20:03:00.003+01:00

Limited HQ A2 Prints of the Collective-Era painting 'The Black Dove'
£25
Available at The Black Dove, Brighton
Ask behind the bar
or contact me at tom.collective.era@gmail.com to have one posted to you.

Collective-Era's never-ending folding card EP design for House of Strange has a cameo at the end of this video about the wonderful House of Strange itself.

New Creations from Thomas

2011-09-26T12:55:00.002+01:00

Latest tracks by MVF

in exchange for paint

2011-09-10T16:56:00.002+01:00

my currency at the burning man festival...

Last One There's a Penis Pump!

2011-08-09T13:35:00.000+01:00

Dr Slaggleberry

2011-03-18T11:55:00.001Z

FunDubMental Design concepts

2011-02-28T01:20:00.002Z

CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE ON MY BLOG

Lion of Judah

2011-02-18T20:32:00.001Z

Concept drawing for FunDubMental promotional material

yesterday is here

2011-02-15T11:06:00.000Z

Anonymous Art Invaders!

2011-01-26T15:42:00.001Z

Photo by Katherine Griffin (Phoenix Gallery, Brighton, UK, 2010)

GLYN & GEORGE

2011-01-03T16:52:00.002Z

thanks

2010-12-06T10:51:00.001Z

2010-11-30T01:33:00.001Z

Collective-Era : Collaboration Sessions, DIASTR at The Phoenix Gallery, Brighton, November 27th 2010

2010-11-29T11:43:00.005Z

Collective-Era Collaboration Sessions November 21st 2010

2010-11-22T01:14:00.004Z

'well done joe'

2010-11-13T18:24:00.000Z

era of

2010-11-03T21:06:00.003Z

feed me weird things!

2010-10-24T12:53:00.006+01:00

escaping a predator

2010-10-23T09:40:00.001+01:00

2010-10-14T01:21:00.001+01:00

The Spat by MVF

The Black Dove

2010-10-10T12:53:00.002+01:00

We have completed our new commissioned collaboration for 'The Black Dove'
We would like to thank the owner Wil Howell for funding the project and providing this opportunity to display our work so publicly.
The Black Dove can be found at the end of James St (by Lower Rock Gardens) Brighton.

%$^%^*&(

2010-10-09T18:22:00.004+01:00

Working on our commission for the Black Dove in Brighton

everything happens just once

2010-10-07T11:40:00.002+01:00

lets go for a ride somewhere

2010-10-04T14:13:00.000+01:00

The south coast of reality

2010-10-03T16:19:00.003+01:00

the palace at dawn

2010-09-28T11:17:00.001+01:00

New Thomas Sketches on his Blog!!!

2010-09-24T12:51:00.001+01:00

CLICK THE PIC!!

Could happen... if only someone would risk investing in it

2010-09-15T13:01:00.001+01:00

JOIN US

2010-09-14T20:31:00.000+01:00

Right. Potential for a CE plus friends exhibition.
Putting the call out to all that want to get involved in collaborating with Collective-Era on a number of pieces set to go in a London location some point soon.
Join the collaboration sessions facebook group to get in on the action for CE's first London opening.
JOIN US!!
Collective Massive!

if we're having so much fun, then how come

2010-09-11T11:15:00.001+01:00

by now

2010-08-23T17:17:00.001+01:00

2010-08-20T14:29:00.002+01:00

This isnt a film, or a book
This is real life
Stories never end
Its not over until its all over.
Life changes, life shifts

We will do a dance around each other throughout our time on this ball of dirt

harmonical sound

2010-07-20T12:21:00.002+01:00

House Of Strange

2010-06-28T11:30:00.000+01:00

House of Strange EP Cover Art design

Here is a virtual animated version of the cover design we did for the first official House of Strange release. Available soon!

Open Collaborative Art Sessions

2010-06-18T12:41:00.007+01:00

I've started an autonomous group based in Brighton, we meet & create collaborative pieces. Everyone from the 1st time artists/outsider artists, to illustrators, photographers and fine artists. All can arrange sessions + create event invites to invite the other members
Everyone in the Brighton area (or willing to travel to Brighton) is welcome to join.
join the facebook group here

We've started with collaborative drawings.. you can see some on the group page.
We are hopefully soon going to find the space to work on larger collabs too!
CONTACT & COLLABORATE WITH US!!!

SKETCHES FROM TOM!!!

2010-06-16T13:17:00.002+01:00

Brighton TAA

2010-05-30T10:03:00.004+01:00

Photos by Guiilaume Gautier
http://hazart.carbonmade.com/

Art by the Autonomous TAA collective
http://www.subterraneanartbrighton.org/

To think about life
what do we think of life?
Its everything
The king as a waster
and the tramp as a king
that it was never meant to exist
and these people were never meant to be
The upholders of consensual reality gather around to sew up this tear in it
While everyone ran around and thought of money. They thought everything else
A small group
Manifesting free thought
How can the man above not realize
they spruced it up
increased the value
If we cant appreciate the value of art
Then we might as well be dead.
Grab the leg of the man above
and pull him out of his bed
Although the sleeping police
Can never be woken up.

Limited Edition Prints Available!

2010-05-29T15:10:00.006+01:00

Finally Collective-Era prints are available to buy!

We have collaborated with Pimp Artworks to bring you three limited print editions!

Click here to check em out!

rational display

2010-05-19T11:29:00.003+01:00

when i had time to think........ it was really great.

put it back

2010-04-29T08:09:00.001+01:00

whats worse

2010-04-11T18:46:00.003+01:00

take a one way, forget the mess. dont grab what can be bought. runs on anxious oxide with a simmering tank of ginger ice. she thought, she didnt think and then she just stopped ... see, sitting for a long old time must take place, if anything is to get done at all.

Sonix

2010-03-21T23:31:00.001Z

Dub Beater by Chrx

something...

2010-03-21T23:05:00.000Z

A new/huge/homemade/blank/canvas hanging on my wall.... hmmmmm ;)

tripe

2010-03-03T11:38:00.002Z

modern jest.. scowling pig and peanut smoothie. improved the impoverished well done us. stolen tea and marmite shots, waiting for the anxiety to come. post deceased production. we improve. lazy and stuck behind imaginery efforts. a capsule of pressure behold. a borrowed hoover, a tray of biscuits. a carb. some corn. sprawl away, tangled in career, tangled in imaginery efforts. new brainwaves and dances, ultimate 5 minutes. where do we go?

ive done some stuff

2010-02-24T18:35:00.003Z

The final chapter (DB)

2010-02-23T04:07:00.002Z

Only characters, can be character assasinated
This is no book, this is life.
RIP Dilbert Buggernugget

schulabah

2010-02-15T22:07:00.001Z

Tom New Pieces For SALE!!! KREDIT KRUNCHNESS!!

2010-02-02T08:43:00.012Z

Right you lovely lot.
To celebrate 'The Recession' Tom has has introduced his Value Art™ Range
To purchase please e-mail Thomas at T1GG3R1@yahoo.com with the name of the piece you are interested in.
Remember Tom's Premium™ range is always available and can be viewed (as always) on the main C:E site -------------linxthattaway------------------->
Also he is well up for commissions.. in fact if you want Tom to balance a ball on his nose while tightroping naked over an otter's bank he'll do it.. he'll do absolutely anything for Social Reward Tokens™ Send them his way now!!!

T1GG3R1@yahoo.comT1GG3R1@yahoo.comT1GG3R1@yahoo.comT1GG3R1@yahoo.comT1GG3R1@yahoo.com

Now the Paintings>>

£45

'Kendal Lint Cake'

£35

'The Nativity'

£SOLD

'Bug Octet'

£25

'Pieces of Fate'

£45

'Even the Way You Conduct Your Own Affairs is Judged'

£45

'Bake Well Fart'

£45

'Victoria Spongiform Encephalopathy'

£45

'Chocolate Fleas Cake'

£10

'Leedle Bot'

£10

'Leedle Obama - Saviour of the Leedle World'

£10

'Leedle Mask'

£10

'Leedle Surprised Jeremy'

£10

'Leedle Ping!'

£10

'Leedle Abstract'

The future is past

2010-01-28T11:02:00.001Z

Who should we celebrate
the talented?
Surely not.
We dont want people to be inspired to do amazing things
we want them to buy amazing PRODUCT!!!
Celebrate GREAT CONSUMERS
Kings and queens wasters of money on selves lavish splashing in seas of golden tokens.
Filling your general literature with created faces in created places with other created faces
Feeding the stories that satiate.
Feeding golden swill down through the mass trough
That the creatures still eat even after they've had enough
The meat gets meatier
and business runs smoother
when the creatures toil harder
for future golden swill.

Spinning cotton into gold
is that our only goal?
So the females dress a little shinier
The male feels he is desired?

art junky

2010-01-08T21:01:00.003Z

a wannabe corner post it. a phoney, a fraud. spy over there, check out that window for natural light. coming your way love. single glazed tooth pain. stack of sugar, herb plantpot. gather your thoughts now.... im feeling sunny.
a prodding. shuffle slick, slippy. have a go why dont youu?

get out of it

2009-12-23T09:34:00.001Z

new year's resolution... to make a painting.

new wave

2009-11-20T16:08:00.003Z

probable waves post production. an eye into the killing.

just for a treat, a small sherry and a good talking to. dare to ask i wonder. endorphins currently present, the back cracks. tea stains on the teeth of the soldier.

you looks at those photos and realise they're all dead now, their voices preserved in magnetic form.

anyway, a varied response.

afghanistan

2009-11-05T16:27:00.000Z

We Stopped Listening to Ourselves

2009-11-03T03:58:00.002Z

INFORMATION POLLUTION
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030811.html

APPLYING LEARNING FROM OUR DREAMS
http://www.asdreams.org/magazine/articles/bulkeley_transformation.htm

it Was the first thing he ever owned except for me

2009-10-20T22:01:00.002+01:00

glory

2009-10-02T23:20:00.002+01:00

funeral for hero, and broken wheels abandoned. dyslexia. people removed at liberty, for liberty. reflection for the past on the future.

layla-itis

2009-09-10T18:57:00.001+01:00

we pass one another without a look of recognition

2009-09-04T10:03:00.002+01:00

dawgs. you and your hip hop chase, leadership issues and packs. passing the time checking others out. maybe there'll be a daily crunch time, something might happen.

Too cool not to post

2009-08-10T11:47:00.002+01:00

Had to post this music video from french electronic wizards Birdy Nam Nam (http://www.myspace.com/birdynamnam)... Full screen it n sit back! :)

Bits from Chrx's hardrive...

2009-08-07T13:40:00.004+01:00

Being as I have been pretty inactive recently... at least with my visual art I thought I'd post some pictures from the 'Fuselage' folder on my hardrive. A fusion of drawings and photoshop experiments most of which haven't really been online aside from on my old now defunct website... Some bits are probably recognisable from paintings and collages I've done (or was ya not paying attention!!) oh dear!

Afford a life>Sell your wife.

2009-08-03T09:32:00.002+01:00

When making art

your soul speaks

So why sell your soul?

When art is made

just to sell

there is no soul

you can tell.

Achievement in the construct

Was never the goal

To gorge, to be fat

To always have a full bowl.

"That's just the way it is"

Well 'the way' is wrong

and the wrong direction

all along.

allow it

2009-07-30T11:37:00.000+01:00

VERY excited for prescription arts.
amazing buiding, lots of good energy and GOOD art!!!! wowow... positively uplifting, and its been a while.
so we'll see if we can join in... watch out.

for no one

2009-07-22T10:57:00.000+01:00

lets talk.
we got blobs, tags and business. we got business heads, put em to bed. the light keeps changing, and its happened before but in another context. hair on the floor. reap the joy, you know its there cos you've seen it already. new ones are different, they simply must be. its the apple core of dignity. 40 calories. the train journey out of here. no to the pension scheme...scheme it is. i steal pens for the time being, a mere fringe benefit. dine with me.
I CAN BE A DRAGON AT TIMES. SORRY.
its not really the point.
just a note to say that time is coming and running in parallels.
para para.
keep thinking (did i need to mention that?)

.....to be cont'd

@Jazzenbouer

2009-06-30T15:51:00.002+01:00

Los of Ironey
Los of Cynasism
Los of Ambition
Los of Repression
Los of Rules
Los of Image.

The reflection's getting clearer.

The plant has buds. XXXXX

and...

Wada we know?

We all gotta do...

[IMAGE: Industrial Chicken Pro(gr)(c)ess]

stuff

e means edible

2009-06-22T15:31:00.001+01:00

godamn people WE NEED E NUMBERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Curried Eggs and Toasts

2009-06-18T01:48:00.006+01:00

An incredible amount of things to do
Each one its own set of challenges.

puzzles to solve

There is more than paint

we did that well

and it saw other people

for a short while

now it hides under sheets and in corners.

Taking up room.

We're just beggining Level 2

Era 2.5+++ EP approaches

There will be advancements

A returning member & new projects for all of us

creations waiting for finalization

Era 3

happens when it happens

flowers when the sun shines

TOM X

stir it up

2009-06-16T15:53:00.002+01:00

Dear Collective

I am writing to say come on collective era.
we need era 3. There is quite a lack of noise from this corner. I have no children. I need to purchase one of your items. There is no evidence of lift engineers. I would be grateful if you could get back to me, or in any case splatter some on my door. The remainder should be found in your next month's paycheck.

Good day to you madams.
Sincerely,
Jazzenbouer Oldenhoff

Max's new work...

2009-05-25T13:45:00.004+01:00

Max hs been down in Brighton for the bank holiday and using the studio to work on some of his paintings... Check out the work in progress pix below..

Some More TAA Photies

2009-05-20T20:10:00.001+01:00

futures

2009-05-20T12:26:00.001+01:00

I'm a pessimist. The current system is royally fucked and will run itself into the ground. Time to head away from the coast, buy a gun, and learn to grow your own whatever the hell will grow in the chaotic weather of the future.
I'm not unhappy - my current job is a reasonably well paid waste of time. Me and most of my friends chase empty, meaningless shit from bland overseas holidays, to getting laid, to cars which within 5 years will be too expensive to run.
Bring it on - it's exciting in a fight club kind of way.

Collective-Era at TAA Brighton 2009

2009-05-18T16:58:00.006+01:00

(T)emporary (A)utonamous (A)rt, Brighton 2009. An abandoned warehouse was taken over and re-appropriated as an art and music space for a period of four days. We were in the upstairs area re-decorating the walls. Below are photos of our mural as it developed over the week...

Also a special mention to Lotz (www.flickr.com/photos/lotzup), who came and painted with us on the second day. Here's her wall below...

... and to Bex who did this beauty below...

Also managed to get a few videos at various stages...

And here are some photos from the rest of the event...

Setting up...

Party time...

Hanging Era-Two...

BIIIG TRUUCK!!

On the last day we arrived and found three photos stuck next to our painting of some bloke in a mad hoody posing in front of the painting... pretty cool effect! Its this random artistic give and take which make the TAA so special! Just do whatever you feel like and get involved!!

More info on TAA http://www.taaexhibitions.org

Erisian Flyer Artwork

2009-05-12T19:47:00.003+01:00

I've done the flyer artwork for the Erisian night this Friday. Its gonna be heeavy
A scan for yer eyesicles!

New works in progress and Subterranean Art event

2009-05-02T12:20:00.004+01:00

Two new pieces on the go, go to my personal blog to see the progression of the piece on the right.

http://thomasmcnulty.blogspot.com/2009/05/works-in-progress.html

Collective-Era are to be involved with the upcoming Temporary Autonomous Art event in Brighton. No news as to the location yet.. so check back for updates. We'll be installing work and getting involved.. check the site if you want to get involved yourself or require further info. They're amazing people with an amazing plan... come see!!

http://www.subterraneanartbrighton.org/

Kate Tempest and Era-One

2009-04-27T19:32:00.011+01:00

25/04/09

Collective Era were invited to put up some pics at the wonderful Cowley Club. And a great coincidence was that Kate Tempest performed some amazing tunes/poetry with our friends hanging in the background. Have included some pics and a vid. The work is staying up for a while if anyone's interested. Twas a good night.

The Cowley Club is at 12 London Road, Brighton, BN1 4JA

www.cowleyclub.org.uk

Stencil-ismo!

2009-04-18T12:17:00.002+01:00

I've (Chris) been messin round with some stencils the last week... heres the results so far...

'Boku Mo Wakaran' - Two layer stencil on salvaged wood.

...and the top detail stencil it was made from.

'Skinny' - Two layer stencil on canvas.

And below is a work in progress snap of a new collaboration I'm working on with Layla... early days so may look very different in the end!

Layla's Scroll

2009-04-10T19:18:00.007+01:00

Have just updated the website with two super high-res (the old ones were small and low quality) detail shots of Layla's scroll piece titled 'This is the part that has to happen before everything else works out'. The scroll is 56 inches long hand made paper and framed.

Here are the shots from the Layla's page on the website

Detail One

Detail Two

And here's a photo of the full scroll in its frame. Excuse the reflections on the glass... You can imagine those bits!!

Slowly Infecting the Galaxy...

2009-04-02T00:15:00.005+01:00

Found this little snippit on this art blog showing artists in their studios and such like. Very good taste! :)

And apparently supurb taste over at Artasty (urban art and culture type website) aswell!

Spread the love! <3

New Website Uploaded!

2009-03-31T17:05:00.002+01:00

We've completely overhauled our website! Made it much simpler, to the point and generally straight forward! Plus theres loads of new artwork on there too!

Check it out www.collective-era.com

Out with the old...

And in with the new!!

Hello, is there anyone out there?

2009-03-12T02:06:00.003Z

Tanz mit Layla

and...........................

A few new acts of chaos that I may draw your attention to if you will so allow http://thomasmcnulty.blogspot.com/

sights to seeeeeeeee

2009-03-09T22:43:00.003Z

some images from our opening night (09/02/09)

blood ers

Tri Repetae++

2009-02-28T17:29:00.004Z

There is no formula to the evolution process. The progression is natural, almost biological in formation. The strongest parts survive, whereas the weaker parts could eventually spawn another dynamic part of the work. The images that finally occur seem like the mind activity of a group consciousness, a representation of our multi-mind.

since rely

2009-02-22T16:06:00.005Z

memoirs. the band had a gig

ARt aRT Art!

2009-02-16T15:46:00.003Z

One week flashback: The final push to complete Era-Two before the Jam Factory show...

Its been posted here, there and everywhere but heres the flyer design for the show..

aftermath

2009-02-16T11:46:00.002Z

i know its not technically over.. but there's a horrid aftertaste. i knew it was coming, but couldnt prepare. bare walls with some splatterings that remain. poor sods. cardboard has been cleared away in order to CLEAN and there's slightly less tobacco debris. a fair few miles north our babies reside for a month. we've loaned them out. and with the air clear i suppose the next stage comes into view.

Welcome to our grand palace...

2009-02-13T15:39:00.002Z

Welcome... to a grand tour of circa a week ago... location is the collective-era artists communal brewery/ studio / hiding hole! 4 walls that protect us from the ever demanding "out there!". Our paintings have all gone now, taken away to be stared upon! these walls are bare.. but here they are before they were.

incubating period

2009-02-12T22:38:00.000Z

From The Thomas Archives Vol 2

2009-02-11T19:42:00.004Z

Some old skool sketches from 2004/5

Censorship?!?!
Now that the show is over, and we have jointly exercised our constitutional rights, we would like to leave you with one very important thought. Sometime in the future, you may have the opportunity to serve as a juror in a so-called obscenity case. It would be wise to remember that the same people who would stop you from viewing an adult film may be back next year to complain about a book, or even a TV program. If you can be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you can be told what to say or think. Defend your constitutionally protected rights. No one else will do it for you. Thank you

Anyway.. on with the show...............

(thanks to http://bayimg.com)

Studio photographs...

2009-02-06T10:22:00.004Z

We're building up to our Jam Factory show now... guna be good :)

nu!!

2009-02-01T15:13:00.003Z

My music/noiz side-project Malfunctioning Vessel Factory has a newly completed tune up on the SpyMace.. clicky clicky!!!! http://www.myspace.com/themalfunctioningvesselfactory

Archived sentences...

2009-01-28T19:56:00.008Z

More words? Well we dug out (From the recesses of my gmail inbox) this unpublished article about our 2007 exhibition 'Bite the Hand' at Lolapoloza in Oxford. Thanks to Ollie Brock for writing this!

'Bite the Hand'

Climbing the stairs to the stifling, hot attic gallery above Lolapoloza on Blue Boar Street, you are confronted with what feels like a wall of sound. Or is it paint. Perhaps graffiti? Your eyes adjust; you take off a few layers of clothing. There are in fact eight carefully selected collaborative paintings by Collective-Era – a group of three, sometimes four, sometimes five, young artists – set on a mounting of flattened cardboard boxes which covers the walls and floor. Peppered with messages and drawings, the mounting was done in one last creative frenzy in the run up the opening. Instantly, it erodes the barriers between the paintings and the viewer. Punters push the soft walls curiously. Layla Mohamed, one of the artists, encourages them to finger the paintings as well.

And soon – perhaps after a break looking at the ceiling, the only available white space – some structure does emerge. "It's a bit like listening to jazz", says Tom McNulty, another Collective-Era member. "Everyone's got their own signature style, and everyone's playing for himself. Sometimes those elements are really disparate, and sometimes they come together, and it's like nothing you ever heard".

With origins ranging from Manchester to Egypt, the group met studying art at Brookes Uni. Struggling for recognition in Oxford's art scene, the Collective-Era members were previously only able to do shows by joining a 'cause' – a show for refugees, for instance, or in support of mental health. Finally able to mount a show of their own, they are relieved to display their own work, for its own sake. "It has to be without an excuse", says Mohamed.

The 'Era' isn't an attempt to define our time – it’s about their time as artists, as a collective. Each of the artists is so individual, though – is there a collective ethos? "Its more like a conversation, where everything said gives rise to and influences everything else", says McNulty. "A visual language is what we all really believe in", adds Mohamed.

Language, jazz, collective consciousness; there are certainly a lot of ideas behind the work. But what about the paintings themselves? At the centre of McNulty's work are ghoulish monsters, who threaten and destroy. Ferocious consumers of light and life, they are daemons that turn everything into one dull, homogeneous mass. Layla's lithe, female figures are the lightness to this weight. They suggest exoticism and flighty escape in the face of the ugly, the lugubrious. Chris Menes's contributions are usually thick-lined, viscous shapes, reminiscent of oil, or paint itself, and add a playful, abstract lilt to the ensemble.

The elements are certainly different, but a coherence sometimes makes itself felt. There is a clear preoccupation, for instance, with the way we treat our world, ourselves and each other. In one painting, tiny characters inside raised pods watch minute TV screens, sealed off from life around them. Clearly painted by a different hand, a huge rabbit – of a translucent blue next to the stodgy colours of the figures – leaps past them into the darkness. Chris Menes, creator of the "Rabbit of Life", says, "The people in front of the TVs are watching rather than creating. Everything else in the picture is what's passing them by." And what is on the TV screens? Tiny reproductions of the paintings, taken from a cut-out of the exhibition flyer. Beware mass culture, it seems to say – beware obsession. Stay light, un-attached, cynical.

The paintings are not devoid of brightness or optimism however. Beneath an oppressive, urban skyline, Max Wade's colourful, sprouting forms defy the greyness around them. If frightened by the pale, expressionless figure along the bottom of the exhibition's central piece, a kindly, elvin woman, her head covered, watches over you. Following the labyrinthine lines from one figure to another is part of the fun of Collective Era's work, though, and there is always a surprise lurking around the corner: the woman is coming out of the mouth of another monster. She is nothing but a vision; a shape fleetingly caught in smoke or water.

These aren't one-sided visions of the future, but spontaneous releases of the "inner world". "It's to encourage imagination", says McNulty. "That's what we really lack these days." Ambiguity abounds, and your own interpretations are encouraged. Mahomed's thin figures can be the dark ones; and the monsters, here and there, are the squat, friendly-looking companions of a child's dream. The whole spectacle can be seen as the heaven and hell of a child's mind, in fact: his fear of unknown, shapeless figures, and the enchantresses who tempt him away. And without warning, one can change straight into the other.

Collective Era itself is in its infancy, growing and developing. In the New Year, an exhibition at the Customs House public gallery in South Shields will showcase all the group's work to date, shortly after the members have celebrated its first birthday. And while it matures, who knows what form it might take? Keep your ears to the ground, though – you may hear the name again soon.

By ollie Brock 2007

An INtyVoow...

2009-01-27T10:48:00.003Z

Actual interview is here http://bluntedpresents.co.uk/2009/01/22/collective-era-interview/

1) Please introduce yourselves, and your creative style

Layla: We are Layla, Chris and Tom, visual artists who have the dubious pleasure of being part of Collective-Era. We’ve been working together as a group for two years but have known each other for a lot longer.

Chris: I don’t think we’d want to define our creative style beyond the fact that we are basically painters. Our images are what they are and hopefully stand up by themselves without the need to be categorised…

2) Does music influence the art that you produce, if so then how?

Chris: Music definitely influences us massively. We’re all into loads of different music and have all made or produced music at various points. I think music has probably been more important to us than art. When we started the collective we were talking about it almost like it would be a record label for art. When we collaborate on paintings it works a lot like how musicians improvise together, we each add and respond to what the others have done and the paintings build and morph in unpredictable ways. We always have music on when we paint…

3) Your style is unique, was it something that developed organically or were there specific influences to shape it?

Layla: We all have individual angles to our work that has been developing since we began to create art. For example, I can see early traces of my fascination with line drawing from my school artwork age 13. The more you practice, the more it is unleashed. Once we came together, after admiring each other's style, the influence between us started to affect our production, first in individual work and later in collaboration. It has gradually become more complex, filling every possible space on the canvas in every possible colour. There has been an organic development between us over time, with appreciation for individuality. It’s almost like our collaborations are the love child of the combination, a natural and inevitable result of working together. Each of us has many different sources of inspiration, as well as many shared ones.

4) You've delved video and animation too, how does the creative thought process differ from putting a piece down on canvas and do you have a favourite?

Tom: The video work is an interesting crossover. It uses almost exactly the same automatic thought process as creating an image, except you’re creating many images in sequence and applying this extra element, time. Producing visuals at club nights and gigs, you notice the way the image translates to sound at the time they both happen, and how they relate. There are a lot of similarities between sound, image and moving image, they are all inspirational in their own way. Mixing them together can be explosive.
I’m planning to create some animated shorts in the near future, mixing the music and visuals I have been producing.

5) Your pieces look like direct streams of consciousness, with their intricacies and colours. Is what comes out, straight from the brain to canvas or planned and developed first?

Layla: Nothing is planned once we are working together, although occasionally we may take inspiration from a past sketch, use a cut-out collage thing or add a stencil. It is important to look at the spaces within the work and see shapes, lines or characters within; the mind imagines and the hand creates. The works usually have a foundation laid down consisting of lines and forms. These are then worked into gradually. When the work is made and not considered too closely, it seems you eventually discover what your mind is actually thinking, or trying to say through image. Ultimately, it is a stream of consciousness direct from the brain, under a certain amount of analysis.

6) Do you think that art should be used as a platform to comment on political issues?

Tom: The act of creating is political in itself: you can create new culture and build a new world, instead of mindlessly consuming the manufactured one we are spoon-fed .The real goal of Collective-Era is to use art to inspire creativity and imagination, the two fundamental sources of new thought. What we need is a strong culture of creative people with open and inspired minds of their own, inspired to think of solutions to problems like mass-media/political control.

7) What is the most artistically challenging project you've done and why?

Chris: I’m not sure what’s been the most challenging… We are always trying to push ourselves to improve or try new things. We definitely don’t just want to remain as one static thing which people will get bored of so we’re always challenging ourselves to approach things differently. Every show we’ve put on has been fairly different from the others. When you go into an art gallery and you have a limited time to turn it into something interesting before people arrive then that’s a challenge, but it’s also a huge buzz!

8) What does 2009 hold for Collective- Era??

Chris: At the moment we’re preparing for our next show. We’re back in Oxford and taking over the Jam Factory for a month! (The show ‘Chaos in the Continuum’ starts on the 9th February and is on until 3rd March). Also just before that (On 24th January) we’re doing a VJ set for ‘Attack of the…’ at Milano’s on Cowley Road. As for the rest of 2009 we’ve recently relocated to Brighton so we’re hopefully going to get stuck into something here pretty soon…

www.collective-era.com

fly my pretties

2009-01-20T21:10:00.003Z

A little bit of layls. what is?

chrx engulfed in ? lots of colouredness. havin a great time.

how queer

2009-01-20T20:47:00.004Z

by hook or by... whatever. we aint got no transport so i use me legs and took this baby on the train (love child... ha). its the run up to the shhhow. im tired-erish. one train-goer was interested, shout out to him. we had a nice old chet.

Framing my work...

2009-01-18T03:29:00.003Z

I've been framing some of my older work in preparation for our up coming show. I've been wanting to do this for a while so am happy its finally happened! I'll paint the frames next... still deciding what colours though...

Please check out *www.chrismenes.com* for more of my nonsense!* ^_^

More More MORE

2009-01-15T12:07:00.003Z

See See! We seds we wuds and we dids! Whats happnin soons? stuffs!? YES!

Birthday Messages

2009-01-07T16:09:00.002Z

The thing about the corner
is that you cant see round it
unless you've got
extendable eye-stalks
The trouble with being aware of the past, the future
is forgetting about the now
just have fun
and stop worrying
FORWARDS!!

happy? birthday?

2009-01-06T10:36:00.002Z

we are 2. we are confused. is this year doomed? is chrx right about 2009 being an odd one? leap second, yeah sure is strange. time to shine? only cos it rhymes. whatever. so it begins... era two is coming along nicely anyway. not so dark anymore. we'll see you all at the 'blue room' or whatever its called these days. back to basics, albanian dodginess, old faithfuls. supreme reign. im at work. haha, i beat you. shut up layls

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T18:14:00.001Z

Christmas gifts, given

2008-12-28T02:57:00.004Z

Back from the dead

2008-12-27T14:59:00.003Z

So after a silence far too long i'm returning to the art fold and drawing again. Here are two samples of recent exploits....

....and....

To check out the Wolfboy nights in London, click on this link

I'll be adding pictures of the screen printed wolfboy t-shirts and January's poster, the final one soon soon soon.

cant get through the dressing room door

2008-12-17T13:30:00.001Z

lunchtime angerishness