When presenting my latest posters, I still found that the new symbols I was using too abstract. While the fish was more complex than a square and tied to King’s Cross’s industrial past, its meaning wasn’t obvious without context. I realised some explanation would be needed, but I was trying to communicate too much. Breaking regeneration into four factors felt overly reductive so I needed to focus my enquiry on what mattered most which was lamenting the loss of club culture to corporate interests. To communicate this critical message effectively, I had to find a different approach.
At this stage, I needed to decide how I wanted to realise my project. Inspired by the Mutoid Waste Company’s scrap metal sculptures used in 1980s squat raves at King’s Cross, I connected metal’s industrial heritage with the area’s railway history. I knew I wanted to continue screen printing and so I decided to present the screen prints within metal frames, making materiality central to my work. Because of this my enquiry had evolved: How can materiality be designed to critically communicate the symbolic significance of a subject?
I learned metalworking techniques such as cutting, drilling, sanding, and welding mild steel. After debating between multiple frames or one large piece, I chose a single large frame, inspired by the impactful scale of protest art with the likes of Katherine Hamnett and Corbin Shaw. I wanted a bold, disruptive presence that demands attention and effectively communicates complex social issues.
Having built the metal frame, I now needed a screenprint. Inspired by Hamnett and Shaw’s concise, emotional communication, I chose a modified quote from Debby Lee, one of founders of Bagleys. The quote provided social commentary, highlighting clubbing as a natural act of community and dance as an act of resistance against the demonisation of club culture.
Focusing on materiality, I removed distractions like random symbols such as the fish and the crown and instead experimented with meaningful materials. Burlap sacks referenced King’s Cross’s coal industry but I felt it felt nostalgic and before the height of the club culture in the area. Instead, I used old Uniqlo T-shirts, symbolising the transformation of Bagleys’ nightclub site into a commercial space.
The final outcome combines the metal frame, reflecting the King’s Cross industrial roots and squat raves ran by the Mutoid Waste Company with the screen printed quote on a T-shirt that has been commodified (Uniqlo and co.) as well as used in acts of rebellion (Katherine Hamnett). This ties together King’s Cross’s corporate regenerated facade to its underground history as a critique on which cultures are valued within capitalist-driven regeneration projects.