When you think of the 1960s, you think music and fashion. But the graphic design of the time was just as revolutionary, as a new exhibition is bringing into sharp focus.
‘Bamalama Takes a Trip: A Celebration of 60s Graphic Design’ in London will feature a mix of carefully curated vintage music advertising posters and exclusive limited edition prints – some for sale and some for exhibition only – which vividly capture the ideals, rhetoric and visions of the period in a graphic format.
A special section will be dedicated to 60s design duo ‘Hapshash and The Coloured Coat’, the graphic design duo of Nigel Waymouth & Michael English who, over 18 months in the late 1960s, produced a series of designs and posters that transformed and encapsulated the vibe of the time.
Bridging the gap between Pop Art and tagged graffiti, their posters often contained subversive elements, including sexually explicit graphics, mystical symbols and dissenting messages. Waymouth, who was also one of the co-founders of the ‘Granny Takes A Trip’ boutique on the Kings Road, has been working exclusively with Bamalama on re-releasing Hapshash’s psychedelic designs.
The exhibition runs from 21 October until 21 December at the Bamalama Gallery, 55 Leather Lane, Holborn, London EC1N 7TJ.