The Happening in the UK

The Happening at Village Underground

This week I was lucky enough to check at The Happening in both London and Cornwall. On Tuesday night the show rolled into Village Underground, Shoreditch. The venue was great and it was a nice sunny evening which is always a bonus. The brick, arched interior provided an atmospheric backdrop and the rooftop terrace, scattered with reconditioned tube carriages, was set up by the Roxy crew with promotional posters and clothing.

Photography by Joe Curren

With art from established names such as Andy Davis, Thomas Campbell, Harry Daily and David Lloyd, photography from Joe Curren and Ryan Heywood, films from Woodshed productions and music from Mason Jennings, Neil Halstead, Zach Gill and G Love it really was a rare treat.

Zach Gill

However, it was a disappointment that there weren't more artists on hand to talk about their artwork and inject some real life into the fantastic array of pictures and films that the event its supposed to represent. In their absence, which was partly due to the artists having to fund their own travel, there was no information available on the art which left the focus firmly on the music and film. It was also a shame that so many people who should have known about the show well in advance saw it completely pass them by. Tickets were available on the door and there was plenty of room inside. This wasn't through a lack of interest, but largely because the marketing for this event was pretty low key and communications virtually non-existant.

The tube carriages

Fast forward three days to a windswept, sodden Gwithian and The Happening had arrived in Cornwall. The weather outside had no impact on the jubilant mood inside and the Sandsifter was packed the rafters with a tent out the front to host the musicians who included Mason Jennings, Neil Halstead, Matt Costa and G Love.

Matt Costa

The vibe was really friendly and although the art was a bit crammed in it felt very at home in its location. It was a bonus to meet Mike Fordham, man behind September and the Book of Surfing, and chat with Helen Gilchrest about her plans for Stranger magazine. There weren't any pieces from Wolfgang Bloch or Andrew Kidman but it was good to see local artists such as Ben Cooke represented.

Harry Daily

I had pretty high expectations for the Happening and although I certainly wasn't disappointed I would have liked to have seen more focus on the artwork. Cornwall hosts gigs all the time but the opportunity to see art from some of the most recognised surf artists of our time is much rarer. The concept is genius and lets hope they come back even bigger and better next year.

Way of The Bird

Having taken a look at Andy Davis’ art I spotted that a while back he had co-written a book with Andrew Kidman which I tracked down on Amazon the other week. It arrived from America really quickly and straight out of the box I read the story of the boy who meets an old man who teaches him to surf and becomes a very influential friend.

Teaming Andy Davis’ illustrations with Andrew Kidman’s photography resulted in a beautiful fit. The book maybe aimed at children but its appeal extends far wider, teaching its readers about the history of surfing, instilling an appreciation for the waves and cultivating a respect for the environment.

I loved simplicity of this book and the enchanting mystery behind the story reminded me of the wonderful Ernest Hemmingway novel The Old Man and The Sea. If I haven't done a good enough job of convincing you it's well worth a read then here is the link to an interview with Andy and Andrew about this book from back in July 2003.

Perfect Moments by Andy Davis

I’ve been looking a lot of surf art recently. Certain names keep cropping up and it’s not without good reason. The work of Andy Davis has particularly caught my attention and his website has some captivating images www.mynameisandy.com. His pictures are magical and his self described style is "loose and dreamy, fun and fancy free the way I think we all should be.” For me, Andy Davis’ work is all about perfect moments.

At age 12 Andy first put a surfboard in the water and the world fell away “once I discovered surfing, I pretty much dropped everything else – except art.” His doodles and sketches are centred on surfing but also encompass "scenes of domestic bliss, and yearnings of adolescence, all filtered through pop art colours, bold lines, and an elegant simplicity that evokes simpler times, without sacrificing warmth and humanity."

As with all the really good art I enjoy, every time you look at it you see it in a different way. As Andy describes on his website his pictures create “A flush of emotion. A burst of happiness. The lure of adventure.” Andy’s work always starts with a sketch. He works with found objects as well as canvas, wood, silkscreen on textiles, paintings on surfboards, pen and ink and watercolour.

But possibly the reason I love his work most of all is the anonymity of the subjects. Again, on his website, he explains precisely why many of us find this so appealing. “You may notice none of the people have faces. But it’s really about the feeling. It’s your interpretation about what’s going on there… Maybe it’s me – maybe it’s you. And that’s it. You can take what you see and make up your own concoction…”