I’d like to be under the sea in an octopus’ garden in the shade,” mused Ringo when asked about his day off from the Beatles. But the arty clever clogs Lennon would probably much rather have headed to screenprint outpost Octopus Gallery, one of the most exciting new spaces to appear this year.
Kicking off in July when the highly regarded BRAG collective were asked to curate an retrospective of their art prints and gig posters, the exhibition was such a success that BRAG member Rhys Wootten – the talent behind last month’s Mumdance cover – decided to move in permanently and Octopus was born.The posters are always stunning and a cut above the purely practical digital efforts that the average promoter can manage or afford to leave up in Grubs. Hours and hours are put into the design and hand-printing and even though every poster is limited, prices can still be as low as £20 (going up to £300 for the rarer and most intricate designs).
December sees the gallery go international, with some of the biggest names of the screenprint community showing work, including Ron Donovan from San Francisco’s legendary Firehouse, Aussie Ken Taylor of Beyond the Pale and David D’Andrea from Chicago. In January Octopus gets local again with a showcase from Inkspot Press.

Octopus Gallery
28 York Place Studios

Words by James Kendall
Screenprint by Firehouse