Tuesday, 26 November 2013








Just some views of Distant Fields: The world's Biggest Comic Book at Exhibiton 4: Foyleside Central Plaza: June 28th-5th July















I was asked by Noelle McAlinden, curator of The London Street gallery to submit a testimonial on my impressions/experience of the gallery. This is the testimonial below:

Artist’s Testimonial for the London Street Gallery
from artist, Joe Campbell BA

Impressions of London Street
As a City of Culture Individual Artist (and an artist with a 30 year professional history, living and working in the city) I was privileged to have my artwork exhibited at the London Street Gallery in early June 2013. As part of that engagement I formed a number of impressions of the space which I would like to offer in the form of a testimonial.

Cultural Destination
My first impression of the gallery was its location; the space was strategic, ideally situated within the Walled City, close to St. Columb’s Cathedral, and more specifically, within the area now designated as a “Cathedral Quarter”. The gallery was exactly what I would hope to come across if I was a visiting cultural tourist to a city.
In my view, if we are to realise our ambitions for the city as a cultural tourist destination, and compete with other major cultural centres from all across the world, we must view our own efforts from an outside perspective. Positioned as it is, the gallery compliments other, neighbouring galleries, craft workshops and creative industry hubs adding to the experience of any visitor and to the impression of Derry/Londonderry as a “cultural place”. If the aspiration to create a viable, vibrant “cultural quarter” is a real one, then the London Street Gallery is, in my view, an important component of that aspiration.

New Light through Old Windows
On a more personal perspective, this was not my first experience of the space at London Street. In the mid 1980s, I worked in those rooms as a tutor in art and design for Derry Youth & Community Workshop. I also worked as an “artist/visualiser” for the various redevelopments and projects of the Inner City Trust. As I walked back into that space so many years later, the only familiar thing was the view from the windows. I had spent six years (1985-91) mentoring teenagers on a YTP scheme and creating many drawings for the redevelopment of the Inner City - I was in my twenties. Back then, the “troubles” were still a reality and the idea of tourists (in spite of the worthy ambitions of the Inner City Trust) a distant, forlorn hope.

That said - all judgments are comparative. Twenty odd years later, I feel like a man positioned on a high vantage point, more able to assess the wider view. To really appreciate the difference that City of Culture has brought to the city you have to bear contrasting circumstances in mind. The difference between then and now is like that between night and day, and the idea of a gallery, like London Street-in that place, is a kind of justice.

In addition, the Inner City Trust, the gallery’s partner, now has over twenty five years of experience and development which has resulted in a confidence which has been clearly demonstrated through the trust’s decision to gift the London Street space for the duration of City of Culture year. Comparatively, I was able to see at a glance, that City of Culture had made London Street a place who’s “time had come” bringing with it new contexts and possibilities.    

Clear Remit/Curator
My second impression stemmed from the fact that any good venture should have a clear remit. The remit of the London Street Gallery is to provide a valuable platform for local artists. Whereas spaces are merely that – space. The need to animate that space, bring it to life, to make connections and create networks,  that requires a certain persona, someone who will stand within the “eye of the storm” managing a creative epicenter. In my view, such personas are key to the long-term success of any cultural venture and certainly Noelle, as a curator, had those qualities in abundance.  On first meeting, that remit was clearly demonstrated. Noelle’s drive and genuine passion, not just for the gallery, but also for local artists and the arts, was evident from the very first meeting.

Positive Experience
From an artist’s point of view, my experience of the gallery was a wholly positive one. I was immediately made to feel welcome and given the impression that my work was important and respected. From an artist’s perspective this is of great value. Creativity, to thrive, needs nurture and positive encouragement. Not only does it make all the long hours involved in creating fragile work seem worth while, but also, such affirmation spurs the artist on encouraging him or her to repeat the process and be more willing to contribute to an indigenous, creative output which is, in my view, the foundation of any real tourist destination or creative environment.

Artistic Endorsement/Centre for Artists
My third positive experience was meeting other artists who had associated themselves with London Street Gallery and its objectives. Given the fact that it was only a short time since the gallery had opened - I met more local artists in one week than I had in twenty years. They shared the ethos of the space. They were the “space” in a way. The quality of art on show was also wide and varied spanning age groups, genres and styles, reflecting a wide range of contemporary arts practice and painting a more honest picture of current trends, not just contemporary sculpture and conceptual art but also digitally generated artworks, painting, drawing etc.

“The Most Beautiful City in the World”
My final impression of the Gallery (and how it’s could contribute to a wider objective such as the One Plan) is an abstract one, stemming more from my academic background as an art historian and as a student with the Open University.

I remember studying the Renaissance, and in particular how the Florentine Republic of the 15th and 16th centuries had developed from a small provincial town into a cultural capital chiefly because the citizens of Florence, as a body, themselves decided that their town was going to emulate the beauty of ancient Greece and become “The most beautiful city in the world- Bella Firenze”. Like the inhabitants of the ancient classical world, the citizens of Florence were to have beauty surrounding them in their daily lives.

Once they had established that clear goal, that vision, they set about doing it and doing it for a long time. Florence, with all of its beautiful architecture and art did not happen overnight. It grew gradually, stone by stone, artwork by artwork. Each new building, each new statue, each new street was created with the “vision” in mind. Quality was foremost.

And, it wasn't just the Medici family who contributed. Ordinary citizens contributed in the form of a “florin for the city” through their confraternities, they - the citizens themselves, commissioned local artists with their own trust monies created from small regular contributions to create a new artwork at the foot of their street or to paint a new fresco or altarpiece for their church.

Over decades, the city began to blossom. Some of those local Florentine artists, names such as: Giotto; Fra Angelico; Brunelleschi; Donatello; Botticelli; Michelangelo and Leonardo–are now regarded as giants of the artistic world, centuries after they lived and centuries after the Florentines began their task. And, oddly enough, the fact that they all came from small provincial towns would also point to the conclusion that we may not need to “buy in” global stars of the art world to realise our vision we may just need to harness local talent to the objective of making the city a "cultural centre."

For the very same reasons that artists were key to the creation of “Bella Firenze (Beautiful Florence) local artists are key to the long-term development of Derry/Londonderry, as a cultural destination-and galleries with a local focus such as London Street are key to the achievement of the immediate aims and objectives of the city as a cultural centre and for the realisation of more, long-term visions.

Patronage/ Support/ Livelihood
In order for Derry to realise its ambitions as a cultural destination it is, in my view, vital that artists should be more valued. They should be hired by architects, schools, community groups, statutory bodies, government (local, regional and national). Their work should be exhibited in other like-minded cities. There should be posts created by government to give artists a “Monday to Friday” wage. Communities, in particular, should commission artists to create new works for their streets with respect given to their training, academic background and expertise (not just hired in to create other non artistic people’s notions of art). Certainly artists can work to “a brief” but good artists should be allowed to create without stifling constraint or preconceived ideas imposed by others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the London Street Gallery is ideally situated at the heart of the walled city and within the city’s “Catherdal Quarter”. It compliments and adds to the value of  Derry/Londonderry as a cultural destination. It compliments other neighbouring arts and craft centres and it provides a valuable platform for the nurture and development of indigenous talent. London Street is a space for local artists with the potential to form a creative pool that could be utilised for the beautification of the city and the realisation of more long-term, strategic area plans. For my part, and for the reasons outlined above, I would fully support and endorse the extension of the London Street Gallery beyond City of Culture year and for many years to come.
 Invite for the London Street Exhibition based on one of the actual panels. The locations (Ferryquay Street and The Diamond) are very close to the gallery.


Noelle McAlinden, Curator and some of the staff and volunteers who help run the London Street gallery

Tuesday, 12 November 2013


"Informed Imagining" may be the best way to describe trying to draw or recreate historical landscapes. I used the example of the Siege of Derry. So much of the physical aspects of the city, especially those of the latter part of the Seventeenth Century still exist. They have been consciously preserved. They embody and represent an ideology. We have the walls and the cathedral. The walled city is still laid out along the same lines. We still have issues with Catholics below the walls and Protestants within them. But realistically, and in reality (perhaps not in our heads) so much has changed.

In 1689 most people had (in reality) a geographical border of about 30 miles in any one direction. In such a context your allegiances lie in parish, in town, in townland-in the immediate. Today, with globalisation, such borders must exist only in our heads. There are no such physical boundaries and can never be again. The ideological and spiritual borders back in 1689 were not much wider than the physical ones.

But, today, given the amount of information available, we have to make a conscious decision to either accept or reject any ideology. But in 1698 no one could imagine the great shifts in thinking of the Eighteenth Century, those brought about by exploration, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution or even by the Industrial Revolution and socialist ideologies of the Nineteenth Century which transformed not just Derry, but the world and in the 20th century we went out and looked back at our entire planet from space. Trying to really picture the past may require more than just graphics and accurate reproduction it may require a shift in perception.

 By trying to visualise the city as it was we/I may come to a better understanding of it's past. It's strange to think that we here in contemporary Derry/Londonderry can occupy the same spaces as our predecessors, still see some of what they saw and feel some of what they felt. These physical constants may make it easier to empathise, to understand the past and they make comparisons easier but they may also bring a reality to the difference- the difference between then and now. I believe we need to acknowledge and explore that difference to move local mindsets forward.

I particularly enjoyed giving the wee talk at London Street. It had been a while since I had had the chance to talk about what it was I do.




After the paintings and stained glass I began a dialogue on the medium of "Comic books". Is it "comic" in nature? Is the term "graphic novel" more applicable? What made my approach to the medium different? I outlined my approach as one of a way to tell stories, local stories with universal appeal. I demonstrated how my experience of the "troubles" had coloured and flavoured my work and how some had resisted the idea of using "comic books" as a vehicle for reconciliation or as a tool to tell historical horror stories to children and young people. I showed examples of my work describing the long process of research and the importance of getting things accurate such as British Army uniforms, regimental insignia and weapons. I even found myself explaining the phrase "SLR" (Self Loading Rifle) to one of the audience. I was amazed at how expert I was.


Above: Invite for 3rd Exhibition:
London Street Gallery
Wed 5th-Sat 8th June 2013

One day after the closing exhibition at Shantallow Library the artwork moved to the London Street Gallery curated by Noelle Mc Alinden. Below are extracts from a powerpoint presentation given at the gallery. To begin with I provided a little background with samples of past work as a landscape painter; portraitist and stained glass artist.










World's Largest Comic at Shantallow Library: Councillor Angela Dobbins (SDLP) Mayor Martin Reilly, Ollie Green (Earhart Festival Director) Joe Campbell (artist) and Stephanie McNicholl (Branch Manager Shantallow Library).

Children from Bunscoil Colmcille and St. Patrick's Primary measure the "World's Biggest Comic"
Photo: Neil Mellon

Pupils from St. Patrick's Primary School pictured with their principal, Eamon Devlin at the closing of; The World's Biggest Comic Book at Shantallow Library, 4th June 2013. Also pictured are Councillor Angela Dobbins, SDLP, Stephanie McNicholl, Branch Manager Shantallow Library and artist, Joe Campbell.

Wednesday, 6 November 2013


Photo: Stephen Latimer

Great photo of the Big Comic book taken at the Shantallow Library opening. 
Photo by Stephen Latimer

Monday, 4 November 2013


Exhibition 1: May 23rd 2013 
Shantallow Library: Opening and launch of The World's Biggest Comic Book"

A new work by City of Culture Individual Artist,
Joe Campbell (Press Release)

“Distant Fields”
The World’s largest Comic Book
Showing at Shantallow Library, Derry-Londonderry
From May 23rd-31st 2013


“42 ft long and 5 and a half feet high! It must be the world’s biggest comic book” that’s how Derry artist, Joe Campbell describes his first offering for his City of Culture individual artist commission which will be on show at Shantallow Library for ten days from Thursday 23rd May to Friday 31st May 2013.The piece will be launched in front of an invited audience on Thursday 12 noon to 1pm.

“ It’s a difficult work to describe. You really have to see it”. Says Joe.
“I took a twelve page short story and enlarged each page up to about six or seven times the actual height of a standard comic book page. Each of the pages are free standing and when laid end to end they form a 42ft long art installation. The idea is you walk slowly along the line of pages reading the story as you go.

The basic idea was to re-present what people see as a “comic book”. By turning his graphic comic art into a large-format, public installation Joe has created something else that invites the viewer to engage with the work in a different way. You have to stand back or physically move to read the story. The piece is an object that physically occupies the room as opposed to something you can read in your hand. The piece is so large it makes you stop and stand and think and hopefully - smile

 The actual story is set in Derry and uses the city (and the artist as the main character) as a backdrop. It tells the story of two brothers from the city lost on the Somme in July 1916. Distant Fields is also a ghost story, in the best tradition of Irish ghost stories. Joe says,
“I think people like scary tales. It may come from having to find ways to pass the long winter northern nights or having to be constantly huddled around a fireside. I’m not sure, but I know most people enjoy being a bit scared now and again”.

“I also wanted the city to feature in a comic book. I’ve nearly always set my stories in Derry right back as far as the late eighties. It runs counter to the usual comic book setting of New York or some imagined American setting and it seems to work just as well and the city’s just sitting there a ready made model for backgrounds.

The story also touches on the city’s past and its history and on the ripples that still emulate from historical episodes such as World War 1 and the four Sinclair brothers who lost their lives fighting on the Western Front despite coming from a Nationalist background. Over a thousand men from Derry-Londonderry lost their lives during the Great War. Such histories still mean a lot to many people from the city and from all cultures and traditions. The piece attempts to include those histories into a short graphic story that visualises that time, the uniforms, the city and its past and hopefully will spark an interest in those particular events.

Joe has also recently exhibited at the Browse International Cartoon and Comic Art Exhibition alongside the likes of Ralph Steadman and his current work is featuring at comic conventions such as The London Super Con; the Dundee Comics Expo; New York MOCCA and The Copenhagen Comics Con. Joe is also a guest this year at Derry’s own 2D Comic Festival.

Joe is an artist who has lived and worked in Derry all his life.  He is a graduate of the Open University and is currently working as a comic book artist with a number of graphic novel publications to his credit including The Amelia Earhart Story written by Felicity McCall, published by Uproar Comics. His most recent graphic novel, Missing: Have You Seen the Invisible Man? Has just been published by Accent UK and has received strong reviews in both the UK and the US. http://test.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/p/detail/missing-have-you-seen-the-invisible-man?PHPSESSID=0e46er2rvgmhmfd2p2dlctm6e3

May 23rd 2013, after 4 months of drawing and manufacture the "World's Biggest Comic" was ready for its first outing. Lermagh Graphics had done a remarkable job with the printing and enlargement of the artwork and Billy Mc Grenary had done equally well in devising a very flexible system that not only allowed each comic panel to interlink but also stand independently. The system was also very easy to transport and put up and take down. The first exhibition was run in partnership with: The Culture Company; The Earhart Festival and Libraries NI 

A photo-montage showing the final printed panels of artwork placed against the walls of Studio 2 at Skeoge Industrial Estate. The work took between 3-4 months to make.

Shantallow Library was chosen as the first exhibition space. I felt it was important to have the work's first exhibition within a community setting. I had originally planned to exhibit the artwork on the billboard at Bloomfield Park but unfortunately that space was unavailable due to the festival and the library, being a safe, secure, community space, was an alternate, ideal venue.The opening was also officially launched by the outgoing Mayor, Kevin Campbell who very kindly praised the work and addressed some 40+ pupils from the Bunscoil (in gaelic)

Mayor, Kevin Campbell

Also speaking on behalf of Libraries NI and Shantallow Library was Stephanie McNicholl, manager of the Library. Stephanie welcomed the inclusion of a City of Culture Individual Artist as a welcome edition to Libraries Ni's 2013 schedule of events, warmly praised the artwork and encouraged the children to read the panels and look for the local landmarks contained in the work.


The Artist (yours truely) Joe Campbell speaking at the launch of the Shantallow Library Exhibition

After The Mayor and Stephanie it was my turn. I was really heartened by the interest shown by the children in how the artwork was created. I, myself loved libraries when I was young but I don't remember anything like this being part of that experience..I reiterated Stephanie's point about the importance of reading and the creative use of libraries creatively. and made points about the importance of the City of Culture year, citing that how having the confidence to compete for the award in the first place had been in effect the most crucial step, how that had demonstrated and revealed a new confidence which in itself had permeated down and back into the city.
It was this confidence I felt that would eventually mature into something new for those children in attendance.
The exhibition run for 10 days (23rd May-3rd June 2013). During that time the exhibition was seen (based on Shantallow Library estimates) by approximately 2,500 people from the Greater Shantallow area and from across the city.

Exhibition 2: June 4th 2013 
Shantallow Library: 
Closing of The World's Biggest Comic Book"

After the ten day exhibition at Shantallow Stephanie suggested we have a closing event to officially invite more schools to view the comic book. The event was well attended with pupils from no less than four schools: Bunscoil: St Patrick's PS: St Brigid's College and St Anne's PS. 100+ pupils in all including teachers. The event was launched by the incoming Mayor, Martin Reilly (his first day!) and was also attended by local community representatives and the event formed part of the Earhart Festival