Crack

Daddison sits in the heart of Stokes Croft sipping on his Guiness and tells Crack about what makes Bristol such an inspirational place to produce artwork.

“People are very receptive here and there is a lot of good work. You look over there you’ve got a Banksy piece; look there you’ve got the Jamaica Street Studio. People are used to a high quality product here. When I first moved here, I was blown away. So many people are trying to do their own thing.

“Check out a place like the Canteen (where we are seated), a whole new space devoted to art, music and socialising with studios upstairs. There are a load of people working on creative things just upstairs from us right now.”

Daddison (real name Dave Addison) is a big fan of the ethos urban Bristol brings to the creative table and sitting from our perch in the heart of Stokes Croft it’s hard to argue with him. Holding court in the recently refurbished Canteen, there is a good feeling in the air.

Through a number of efforts the whole area is taking on a whole new shape. Bars and art spaces are opening up, new people are coming to the area but retaining the spirit and level of bohemian freedom that makes Stokes Croft perhaps the best area in Bristol to actively engage with. It feels an appropriate setting to be talking to an artist whose career is also on a creatively upward trajectory.

Daddison is 27 and cuts a fine conversation. Originally from Sheffield, Daddison briefly studied at Southampton before moving to Bristol eight years ago to complete a design course at Bower Ashton. You can tell his Stokes Croft roots are firmly planted with his home in Montpellier and his creative home in the basement of the urban supplies and clothing store; Dutty Girl on Cheltenham Road. Constantly smoking and nervously enthusiastic about his work, you can tell Daddison is in a good place right now.

Sounding genuinely surprised by the level of interest in his work, his refreshingly modest tone and attitude conveys a real pleasure at the good things that have come his way of late.

“At the moment I’m turning down work which is crazy. Not long ago I was on the dole, working tax credits and housing benefit; but I think I had to go through that to help me get where I am today. The thought of doing some bullshit call centre job which makes me too tired to be creative is no good for me.”

Daddison draws a distinction between his design work, which he feels proud of, and other, often well paid work, that he is less interested in showcasing under the Daddison brand.

“There is a large distinction between what I do commercially and what I effectively do in my own time. I do so many crap jobs that I don’t put my name too. I do a lot of web design for companies and in this respect I am fully self-employed because I can offer a whole design package for them. I need that fucking money on a weekly basis.

“This morning I was working on the website for janitorial supplies. I’m embarrassed by it and my name is not going on it. But at the same time it’s ten times more paper for me. Trust me they’ve got the best looking janitorial supplies website out there!”



By making sure he’s not out of pocket, Daddison has afforded himself the opportunity to create the art he is proud of.

Daddison’s work is distinctive. His flyer designs are sought after for their friendly illustrative typography and friendly welcoming slant. Through this design style he has looked to challenged pre-conceived ideas associated with the hip-hop nights he was helping to putting on.

“The first time I started putting that style out there was when I started doing design for the Shoestring night in Bristol and Kung-Fu in London, which was a fucking massive hip-hop night. They had a different attitude and wanted to make a hip-hop night seem friendly and to get girls going to it. I was just trying to do the opposite of what everyone else was doing with really dark graffiti graphics, almost aggressive really. I don’t want to diss that too much, but it’s a bit obvious.”

Having done high profile flyers for Blowpop, Kung-Fu as well as Donuts clothing store and their associated club nights, Daddison has had a steady stream of work in this area.



“I always liked drawing letters, but not in a graffiti way. I like the warmth of it and the friendliness of the designs. I feel like people instantly connect with it. I try and appeal with cheerful, happy, colourful texts. I also do normal straight down the line typography, but I find it doesn’t have the same warmth as my drawing.”

In a vein not too far removed from his distinctive flyers, Daddison’s illustration carries with it the same of level of visual engagement. Utterly captivating and eye holding, his work leaves you transfixed on the various parts that go to make up the whole. Instead of dismissing his work with a passing glance, looking at a Daddison piece takes time.

Never visually garish, the beauty of the complimentary colours and the intricacy of the piece is a nod to the time and effort they’ve taken to put together.

“The point of my illustration is that your eyes don’t settle in one place and it keeps you interested again and again. There are certain bits of artwork and design that you glance at it and you’re done. It’s nice to try and draw people to a piece that makes your attention last a little bit longer. I definitely know when the piece is finished, because there isn’t one part of it that holds your attention too much. All of sudden when creating, one bit will seem balanced against another.”

One of the most engaging things about Daddison is his unwillingness to be associated with the urban art forms Bristol has become synonymous with. Through being associated with stores such as Donuts and Dutty Girl that retain urban links, he is keen to keep his art from being pigeon-holed.

He explains: “Street art and graffiti is so big here. I’ve done a few shows with street art people and I’ve felt like I don’t know whether I should be doing this.

“In many ways it’s wicked that the whole street art thing blew up, but at the same time because I’m not really a part of it, so I’ve consciously tried not to associate myself with the whole thing because I’m not a graffiti artist.

“I do a lot of website for galleries in London for people who sell street art and were making a lot of money. It seems like the whole thing is crumbling. A year or two they were selling originals for thousands and prints were getting sold out straight away. Maybe it’s just the recession but certain people are really worried about what has happened.”

Daddison’s formula is an effective one. Polarising his artwork at one end and his commercial brief at the other, his excitement about what he creates is infectious. The whole model from the menial jobs that pay the bills, to his work in pushing forward independent clothing and club night’s means he’s stayed true to his interests and helped other pursue theirs along the way.

His likeable personality is vociferously translated in a series of pieces that creatively inform on one hand in his flyer work and engage magnificently on the other in his illustration. Sounding like he’s never been happier in the creative heartland of Bristol’s most inspiring, diverse and regenerated area, Daddison feels like he’s on the cusp of a wave and so he might. In times when artists are struggling, it’s encouraging to see one bubbling along in a creative wonderland.

Crack’s conversation with Daddison finishes on a high note: “I’ve also got this company are paying me to fly to LA and do some work for them. I can’t believe it.”

Good work if you can get it.

http://www.daddisonish.com


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