From the guys who brought us the TV show ‘Modern Toss’, an exhibition is currently being held at Ink_d Gallery in Brighton, cleverly labelled, ‘Modern Cloth’. As part of the Brighton Fringe Festival, and due to popular demand, Modern Toss is returning for a groundbreaking new show of innovative ‘clothworks’, promising some challenging tea towel designs and a selection of limited edition prints.
Never before has a garment been graced with the popular activity of swearing, until now. The ‘Modern Toss’ artists have collaborated with contemporary designer-tailor, Gresham Blake, to produce the bespoke ‘Swearing Jacket’. It features precision-selected abuse based on their sell-out print of the ‘Periodic Table of Swearing’.
‘Modern Cloth’ opened to coincide with the Royal Wedding, and to mark the occasion they are launching an obligatory collection of Royal nick-nacks, comprising celebratory stamps, a whimsical take on the memorial mug, and a commemorative royal tea towel – so you can forever treasure the memory of the young Windsor’s wedding through the medium of cloth.
The scandalous cult comic, Modern Toss, is the work of Jon Link and Mick Bunnage. The early editions are now very collectible, especially the second issue which had what was alleged to be ‘free royal hair’ stuck on the cover. The writers, cartoonists and animators have taken Modern Toss in many different directions, including a brazen late night television show, which was a mix of blunt-talking, animated characters with bizarre and surreal live action. They have had two previous exhibitions at the Ink_d Gallery, and last summer presented a musical evening of their animation to celebrate Brighton Arts festival. A trimmed down version was taken to the Latitude festival. A celebration of their artwork took place in London’s Maverick Gallery in June 2010, where their startlingly innovative ‘Periodic Table of Swearing’ print became an international phenomenon and was tweeted globally.
Modern Toss’ cartoons are small and simple, making them ideal for weekly appearances in the Guardian and on greetings cards. As the name suggests, cloth is the means of choice this time, an interesting change from the prints, cards and booklets for which they are known. Bad language is the staple of Modern Toss, and expect no less at their latest exhibit of all things witty and British. The exhibition runs until the 29th May, and is open Monday to Saturday 10am – 6pm. Sundays 12 pm – 4pm.
