Mark James is not bored (and he would not assume you have to be both)

Mark James would not like to sit down nonetheless. He admits as a lot early on in our chat. “I discover it arduous to loosen up, my mind’s continuously on the go,” he says. “So the busier, the higher.”

It is maybe no shock, then, that over the past twenty years, the Cardiff-based multidisciplinary artist and artwork director has constructed a strikingly various physique of labor. From album sleeves to immersive installations, viral hoaxes to iconic branding tasks, Mark’s portfolio blends humour, subversion and sharp conceptual pondering in a method that is immediately recognisable.

Even when you do not know his title, you’ve got most likely seen his work — and really presumably chuckled, raised an eyebrow, or questioned your eyesight within the course of.

“I by no means had any formal coaching…”

Rising up in Cardiff, Mark knew from a younger age he needed to work in music and design sleeves. However with out apparent routes into the artistic industries, he cast his personal path, making collages impressed by Jamie Reid and Barney Bubbles, designing flyers for native golf equipment, and ultimately going freelance after a stint in a display printing store.

A transfer to London got here in 2000 with the chance to artwork direct at Island Data, earlier than a return to Cardiff in 2012 noticed him arrange a house studio, the place he nonetheless works at the moment.

“I work largely by myself,” he says, “however there are at all times collaborators. DOPs, animators, photographers. You herald who you want, relying on the venture. Working with musicians, particularly, is such a artistic course of. A title or lyric can spark an entire visible world.”

That is precisely what occurred with Gruff Rhys’ 2024 album Disappointment Units Me Free, the place Mark constructed the paintings totally in Blender after which prolonged the idea into animated movies and tour visuals.

Highs, lows and chickens

Over time, Mark has had his justifiable share of profession highs. There’s the Abbey Street Studios rebrand. A sold-out designer toy sequence chosen by MoMA. And ‘Below Neon Loneliness’ — a 20ft delivery container turned immersive mild set up that pulled in 16,500 guests in simply three weeks.

He is additionally no stranger to going viral. In 2014, his now-infamous emblem for Soiled Hen Fried Rooster stirred up headlines through the use of the lowercase letters’ db’ to type a rooster that – relying in your creativeness – additionally resembled one thing a bit extra ahem anatomical. “Fairly puerile actually,” he says, “nevertheless it introduced a smile to folks’s faces. Ten years later, it is nonetheless getting consideration. The reward that retains on giving.”

One other viral second got here in 2016, when Mark faked a meteor sighting over Flatholm Island as a part of an artwork marketing campaign. “I posted shaky cellphone footage to Twitter and requested if anybody else had seen it. By morning, it had gone international.” The meteor turned out to be a returning NASA Golden Report from 1977, and a intelligent launch stunt for the Cardiff Modern Visible Arts Competition.

However with the highs come the inevitable artistic wobbles. “There’ve been robust instances, particularly working solo. You could have quiet weeks, and that little voice begins asking if it is throughout. Nevertheless it’s often high quality. You simply should hold making. Hold doing your personal factor.” For Mark, which means self-initiated tasks are at all times on the go — “simply to maintain the wheels turning.”

On the enterprise of creativity

With over twenty years of freelance expertise beneath his belt, Mark is refreshingly pragmatic in regards to the enterprise aspect of issues.

“I put aside half a day per week for admin. That is often sufficient. I’ve an accountant who helps me massively. And actually, it is not all that sophisticated.”

Most of his work comes via phrase of mouth, significantly from bands and musicians. “Social media’s good too. Though folks could assume they can not afford me, which is not the case. If it is a enjoyable or attention-grabbing job, I am recreation. It is not simply in regards to the funds — I would like to remain creatively energetic.”

Wanting forward

As for what’s subsequent, Mark’s ambition hasn’t dulled. He is open to company illustration, eager for brand spanking new artistic challenges, and dreaming greater — from style model installations to full-scale worldwide exhibitions.

“There’s positively a pull in direction of Japan,” he says. “I’ve carried out a number of collaborations there and had a solo present in Tokyo in 2022. I am planning one other for October. I would like to develop that aspect of issues — extra worldwide work, extra large-scale stuff, extra connections.”

Within the meantime, there is a dream café idea effervescent away within the background: a Japanese curry spot in Tokyo’s Tomigaya neighbourhood, absolutely designed and branded by Mark himself. “It would by no means occur. However I am designing the menu, the inside, the merch… all of it – simply to maintain the artistic juices flowing.”

Last ideas

Mark’s go-to artistic rituals are surprisingly easy: strolling (“fast-paced, concepts begin flowing”) and making lists (“so many lists on my cellphone – ticking off even one small factor seems like progress”). He finds inspiration in style, galleries, and music, quoting John Miles as he grins: “Music was my past love, and it will likely be my final.”

So, what has stored him going all these years? “Simply that pleasure,” he says. “The spark you get initially of a venture, when an concept clicks and also you assume: yeah, that is it. That is the one.”

Spoken like a person who’s nonetheless very a lot in love with the work.