Last month, we flagged up an anonymous artist who had come up with a series of (very good, it has to be said) spoof Best of Manchester Posters.
These were flyposters that on first glance appeared to be identical to our own BOMA ones but on closer inspection turned out to be completely different (see image, below).
We put out a plea via the local press and blogosphere to find out who’d done ‘em. And, luckily for us, the designer in question got in touch. Although that person is unwilling to reveal their true identity, they emailed us to explain why they had gone to the trouble of creating and distributing their posters throughout Manchester and Salford. ‘The posters are designed to encourage, challenge and inspire,’ they said. ‘My dream is to hire all the advertising space in England for a month and fill it with one of two things: pictures of the sky, or nothing at all. This would give us a rest, help us think more creatively.’
This is not the first time this anonymous artist has created such artwork – the Best of Manchester spoofs are the tenth non-commercial posters they have produced in the last two years. Their artwork is the antithesis of the advertising posters they ape: they have no logos, nothing to advertise and nothing to indicate who made them or why. ‘They are my anti-advertising project,’ says the artist. ‘A work in progress. A gift to the city.’
You can see the flyposters for yourself, up close and personal, as part of the Best of Manchester exhibition, which opens at Urbis on Friday. But before that, we’ve got the awards ceremony. And before that, we’ve got to put the finishing touches to the show, and make those final arrangements that mean that everything will go smoothly tomorrow night (you know, little things like building a stage for the live bands, painting walls, applying vinyls, writing text panels, mixing cocktails, running through our speeches, putting our glad rags on…).
