Brit punk artist Mark Sloper has launched a commemorative collection of special works to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The artist known as Illuminati Neon has created the £2million works which will be the biggest art tribute to Her Royal Highness The Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
Mark became globally recognised after HRH The Queen saw her painting and asked that her punk portrait changed as she didn’t like the tattoo on her neck. The artist who regularly exhibits at London’s Saatchi Gallery famously created the image of Her Majesty with blue hair, a nose ring and the loveheart inking. The monarch, 95, found the artwork ‘hilarious’ but asked for the tattoo of husband Philip’s name to be altered to show her royal crest.
For the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Mark has produced forty specially designed original ‘Queens’ and a 500 limited edition exclusive print run. The UK’s biggest group of high street galleries, Castle Fine Art, has agreed to proudly display a neon original queen in forty of their windows over the platinum weekend to mark the once in a lifetime event.
And the there will be a special VIP launch at St Christopher’s Place Castle Fine Art Gallery, London, attended by Sex Pistol legend Paul Cook, Stranglers Hugh Cornwell, Adam Ant, Dave Barbe and Andy Warren, John Terry, Chris Sullivan, Philip Salom, Boy George, Anthea Turner, Charley Boorman, Lord Ed Vaizey and Lady Martha Sitwell.
Mark’s in demand hand-embellished canvasses are influenced by the English artist and anarchist Jamie Reid, whose controversial ‘God Save the Queen’ album artwork for the Sex Pistols was based on Cecil Beaton’s Silver Jubilee portrait. His collections of original paintings feature controversial images of the royal family, Princess Diana, The Queen, The Joker and other rock and roll iconic designs.
Mark said: “It’s the platinum jubilee, 70 years of HRH, and in true punk irony, what we thought of as establishment ‘the royal family, politicians, rich old rock stars’ of which we greatly disliked, 40 years on we've come to love! In the same vein as Danny Boyle using the Sex Pistols to open the Olympics, I have Lords and Ladies buying my royal punk art.
“My art punk Queens are beautifully constructed with sparkling jewels, newspaper headlines and the fabulous HRH Elizabeth II looking splendid and regal, but of course retaining a little punky attitude.
“It’s my homage to punk – not only the way we looked, but the way we thought and treated others. A little bit of Shepherd’s Bush punk ghetto is illuminating walls globally. I love the ceremony and the old-fashioned English respect for our lovely Queen. Punk rockers such as the Sex Pistols have been misunderstood as anti-royalist but I celebrate the monarchy and love the Queen. Rule Britannia! The Queen has seen herself reimagined by me, and I still have my head.
“The Royals themselves see the humorous side to my art and now themselves are becoming collectors, if I made this beautiful art in the 1970's, I may not have had a head. Full circle the wheel doth turn and now at Castle Fine Art in swanky St Christophers Place, we launch my new Queen range for the delight of art collectors worldwide.”
Mark added: “Headlining the collection is a small edition of platinum Queens with over 4000 gems encrusted in the crown. Taking weeks to construct, paint and produce, these are my ultimate tributes to our glorious Monarch. Long may she reign over us, happy and glorious. Let’s all celebrate HRH 70 years.”
Mark’s work is collected by celebrities including Sir Elton John, Sting, Boy George, Danny Dyer, Anthea Turner, John Terry and Sex pistol drummer Paul Cook. Actor Danny Dyer said: “Beautiful art from punk nut mark_illuminati. Look him up people, he’s a proper geezer.”
TV presenter Anthea Turner said: “I love art and galleries, especially when its one of my friends exhibiting, I genuinely love his work. When I look at Mark’s punk Queen at home it always makes me smile.”
And Paul Cook, Sex Pistols legend, said: “For someone so rough and horrible, I can’t understand how he makes such lovely art. Steve Jones in LA and I have punk Queens in our homes. He’s nicked all his ideas from us the Sex Pistols and must owe us a big commission by now!”
When British punk rock took over London’s cultural scene in the 1970s, the world turned up the volume and listened. Spearheaded by bands like The Clash, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sex Pistols and The Damned, this ear-splitting fusion of anarchy and expression defined a generation. Its working-class angst spoke to a young Mark, and after a chance encounter with the new wave musician Adam Ant at the age of just 11 led to him touring with the band, Mark became drawn to the punk subculture, eventually becoming close friends with some of the movement's pioneers and troubadours, including the Sex Pistols and the Stranglers.
A career in videography beckoned, and Mark went on to work as a cameraman and a director of photography for bands like the Police and Frankie Goes to Hollywood before joining the BBC. During his successful film career, Mark has directed and produced documentaries on Billy Fury, the Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie, Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols and more. These legendary figures, along with his friend and fellow neon artist Chris Bracey, inspired Mark to create the Illuminati Neon brand.
Featuring punk-inspired imagery emblazoned with neon, vintage memorabilia and song lyrics, his original artworks have commanded the attention of the art world and is currently represented by Castle Galleries.
Hand-painted in oils and acrylics at his studio in Shepherd’s Bush, London, his fluorescent creations are just as anarchic as their namesake. The handblown glass neon is formed using a centuries-old technique, echoing the exhilarating mixture of modern and classical that shaped the punk rock aesthetic.
Mark, who became an artist late in life at 45, added: “Every piece tells a story about that transformative era: my experience of it, the people who made it and became my friends, and the honorary punks who personified its anarchy, chaos and rock ‘n’ roll long before the movement had a name.”
