United by a love for niche art and a penchant for drawing wacky pictures while binge drinking, Le Gun have come a long way in their almost ten year period as one of London's most innovative art collectives. Crane.tv catches up with them.
The seven strong group (Neal Fox, Matthew Appleton, Bill Bragg, Chris Bianchi, Alex Wright, Steph von Reiswitz and Robert Greene) met while studying at the Royal College of Art in 2004 and decided to launch a magazine that reflected their unique tastes in art and design. And thus, Le Gun was born.
Since then, the group have gone from strength to strength, exhibiting in London, New York and at Art Basel to name a few. The magazine is no wallflower either, garnering a cult fan base and featuring anything up to 50 artistic contributors per issue. In essence it's an 'underground spirit' bound in a 'posh book' says Le Gun's own Neal Fox. Not bad for a group that started drawing together at university house parties.
Their latest installation, "The Unknown Room," was inspired by an old briefcase found in an abandoned Masonic cobblers, which is believed to have been owned by late jazz singer and writer George Melly. The Unknown Room, a huge, awe-inspiring 3D drawing was created based on what was found in the briefcase - from a map to a photograph of an old table.
"We take our work seriously but not ourselves," continues group spokesman Fox, clear when you inspect the intricate, evocative drawings of true professionals, then listen to the group joke about starting a trippy Le Gun theme park. Not safe for kids, of course.
Text by Holly Fraser for Crane.tv
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