This is a poster I designed for Great Noises That Fill The Air, the first retrospective of influential artist collective Bow Gamelan Ensemble (Anne Bean, Paul Burwell and Richard Wilson) at the Cooper Gallery, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee. One of the curatorial ambitions for this exhibition is to ‘bridge a connection between Bow Gamelan Ensemble’s historical work and their ethos of collaboration, improvisation, conviviality and antagonism and our present moment’, so the brief for this poster was to ‘convey the liveliness of the collective’s practice through the activation of archives and not situate their work in the past’. I have created a bold layout using Industry Inc, a striking contemporary typeface designed by Mattox Shuler in 2014, alongside an image supplied by the artists. The poster was designed in a range of colour ways and was re-worked, at a smaller scale with different proportions, for an advert that appeared in Frieze magazine.

Sophia Hao, Curator, Cooper Gallery: We have worked with James on several major projects in Cooper Gallery’s programme. James always responded to the design brief with an appropriate flair and rigour which resulted in stunning designs with a strong attention to detail. What impressed me most is how brilliantly James’ artistic background and well-versed knowledge of contemporary art contributes to his exquisite and intelligent interpretation of the conceptual focus of the artwork and the curatorial intention of the organisation. James is a pleasure to work with, extremely professional and importantly always sticks to deadlines. He is also very patient and always endeavours to find the best solution. I cannot recommend him highly enough.