APOCALYPSE MUSEUM
This year the Hell Bus returned to Glastonbury but at a different location, moving up the road to the Greenpeace field who had asked if I could produce a new installation in an old hexagonal space they had ringed by chopped tree trunks. Teaming up again with Gavin Grindon my co-curator from the Museum of Neoliberalism we put together an Apocalypse Museum in just five weeks, starting as soon as I got back from the Apartheid Apartments install.
The reaction was fantastic, with the place packed out and a host of sad/happy/angry faces on the way out. I was really happy with some of the new pieces, such as the above reverse perspective painting of a nuclear attack on a British city, and the below collaboration with Tim Hunkin from Novelty Automation, of a terminator robot painting an AI-generated image of an evaporated lake.
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We also had a talks and workshop programme, which included one of the last legal talks by Francesca Nadin from Palestine Action, and an super popular workshop about using makeup to fool facial recognition cameras by our Hell Crew member & museum producer Michelle Tylicki which ended up in The Times.
The project and installation was only possible thanks to our crew, which also included Hannah Jones, Lib Lobberson, Bethan Schofield, Tess Piggot, Danny Squarelips, Chris Taylor and Kieran Thomson. And a massive thanks to everyone at Greenpeace for taking a chance on this project and helping get it over the line!
As for what happens next with the museum, we would love to find a location to show it again, prefferably something long-term, for a few months at least. If you know of a space that could host it, please get in touch! (Likewise for the Museum of Neoliberalism!)
NIGER DELTA
This week I returned from the Niger Delta where I’ve been recording footage for a new documentary I’m making for Amnesty UK. Below is video I took of gas flaring in Rivers state, the constant, 24/7 burning of extracted gas that contains impurities which prevent it from being sold without some additional processing. Shell made the calculation that they make more money by simply burning it off rather than refining it into a sellable product.
The energy contained in all this flared gas could power the whole of Nigeria, a country of 230 million people. But since the poverty of the country is so high, due in no small part to the decimation of farming and fisheries by oil extraction, that Shell have found it makes more economic sense to use this gas to poison the population instead.
I will be returning in November to record more footage and interviews, with the finished documentary planned for release at the start of 2026.
PLENTY OF GOOD THINGS FOR SALE,
STRANGER
I’ve been doing back-to-back large projects since April, which is great, but having intense deadlines always means I post less on social media, and when I post less, I sell less art & merch, get fewer Patreon sign-ups etc, so right now, I’m running on fumes. Having paid out-of-pocket to get myself back to Nigeria, with around £2500 in bills waiting for me when I got back, and the inevitable £3880 I owe for the Hell Bus insurance before it can drive anywhere again.
So if you’d like a t-shirt or an art print from my shop right now it’d be a massive help! I also have a catalogue of my original work for sale. And you can sign up for my Patreon here.
If you don’t need anything I’ve now added the option to buy me a pint in my shop, or you can donate directly from paypal to my email address: [email protected]
I realise there are far better and more urgent causes to support right now, but if you can spare it I can use it.
NEXT EVENTS
The Politics of Irony and the Irony of Politics
Montez Radio – London
24th July 2025
I’ll be speaking on Montez Radio at the ICA for this show about the swhrinking welfare state and its effect on cultural production. You can attend the recording itself by getting a ticket here. Or listen to the segment after it airs here.
Hell Bus @ FORWARDS
FORWARDS Festival – Bristol
Saturday August 23rd 2025
The Hell Bus returns to FORWARDS festival for both days. Come and say hello if you’re on the Downs.
Hell Bus @ Green Man
Green Man Festival – Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)
14th – 17th August 2025
The Hell Bus will be open in Einstein’s Garden at Green Man 2025
2024 + 2023 PATREON ZINES
As a thanks to my Patreon backers I send them all an exclusive annual zine documenting all the work this support has helped me make through the year.
If you’d like a copy, just sign up for £3.50+ a month on my Patreon, and I’ll send you a copy of my 2024 AND 2023 zine (while stocks last!)
Patreon is the only way to get these zines. But there’s no minimum subscription, you can cancel anytime!
GLASTO EASTER EGGS
My home at Glastonbury has always been Shangri-La, since they first invited me to reprise my Pocket Money Loans installation in 2016, and they’ve been a constant source of support and inspiration in the 9 years since then. I wouldn’t have done the entire Hell project if it wasn’t for Shangers. So while I moved the Hell Bus to Greenpeace this year I still included a couple of smaller pieces in Shangri-La, the above anti-bird bird house and the below Bug Hotel. Massive thanks and love to everyone who makes the naughty corner of Glastonbury happen. X
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