Overview
A Box of Bubbles celebrates a graphic design genius whose work linked the underground optimism of the 1960s to the sardonic and manipulative art that accompanied the explosion of punk. With his unique style, Barney Bubbles took the 1970s and 1980s British independent music scene by storm, and he remains a powerful influence on contemporary artists four decades after his death in 1983 at the age of forty-one.
His dazzling breadth of work encompasses designs for homewares pioneer Terence Conran, psychedelic light shows at countercultural venues and the art direction of the underground magazines Oz and Friends. He’s perhaps best remembered for the remarkable run of record sleeves, posters and ephemera he produced for Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Depeche Mode, Ian Dury, Hawkwind, The Damned and Nick Lowe. Bubbles also collaborated with such artists and photographers as Derek Boshier and Brian Griffin, and created paintings, furniture, set designs and promotional music videos, not least the era-defining clip for The Specials’ 1980s hit ‘Ghost Town’.
Coinciding with what would have been his 80th birthday on 30 July 2022, this is the collector’s edition of Paul Gorman’s definitive monograph, originally published in 2008. It contains hundreds of rare and previously unpublished photographs, working sketches, notebooks and original artwork. Only available on Volume, the centrepiece of A Box of Bubbles is the revised and updated edition of the book, with an exclusive cover design, an essay by American designer Clarita Hinojosa and sixteen new pages of rare material painstakingly retrieved by the author, together with five specially re-created pieces of Bubbles memorabilia in a truly covetable celebration of one of the greatest creative minds in design history.
All artworks © Barney Bubbles Estate
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