Looking back over 20 years of commissioned work for publications such as The Guardian and The Observer, this retrospective of renowned illustrator Frazer Hudson explores the relationship between art director, art editor and artist from working drawings/roughs leading towards fully realised illustrations.

The exhibition explores the editorial storylines and resulting illustrations Hudson has produced over the last two decades with a particular emphasis on cultural, political, social and economic news.

Frazer Hudson

Frazer was born in Sheffield, England in 1968. He graduated from Leicester Polytechnic in 1990 then went on to study at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design graduating in 1992. Frazer has firmly established himself as an illustrator with an ability to 'short circuit' complex ideas using quick fire conceptual thinking, satire and wit. He has received many accolades including the Victoria and Albert Museum illustration award on no less than three occasions for editorial work, (once for collaborative work with fellow illustrator and educator Andrew Foster).

'Cocktails and Champagne' is a retrospective exhibition in celebration of commissioned work spanning the last 20 years, predominantly showcasing his work for the British editorial market and reviewing the relationship between the roles of the art director and illustrator. Frazer currently combines freelance activity with his position as senior lecturer on the Visual Communications course at Sheffield Hallam University.

Background

The fourth of five children, Frazer satisfied his early love of image making by utilising recycled cereal boxes lovingly spared and cut into tidy pieces by his Mum and Grandmother. Thrift being the order of the day (it was the early 1970s) Frazer was often commandeered, alongside his other siblings by his Dad, to offer a hand in building various sheds, rabbit hutches and garden fences. In turn he would be rewarded with bespoke (homemade) go-karts, sledges, bikes and even skateboards! When not mastering his early 'urban' skateboarding skills, or sliding down 1:4 gradient dry-grass hills on corrugated cardboard sheets, Frazer spent long hours playing/fighting (and learning the difference between the two) with a throng of other kids in the surrounding fields. Rich characters indeed for a fervent imagination - future protagonists in curated anecdotal narratives. A rich vein of storylines were also mined and gathered each evening 'earwigged' from chattering mums' congregated in back gardens, these overhead conversations often inspiring the early fruits of penned creative writing exercises at school. Always peppered with a smattering of coloured pencil illustrations.

It is upon reflection, collating work for his 20 year retrospective, that a realisation of how these early sensibilities have unwittingly carved his own identity, rationale and ideological grounding. His desire is to make sense, to clarify an increasingly complex world and to create some order from the chaos of everyday life for himself and for others.