Pictures from the launch weekend for GULP Magazine #7 and the debut print exhibition of works by graphic designer Jordan Warren.
This September UNITOM hosted GULP magazine for a weekend-long pop-up to launch their latest issue on the theme of ‘Disruption’. GULP was established in 2019 by Natasha Kay-Sportelli and Tomas Walmsley to give artists a platform to experiment. They champion the offbeat and aim to encourage encounters with unknown and under-appreciated oddities. GULP has a growing reputation in Manchester for great gigs, exhibitions, films, and interdisciplinary projects, with an ever-expanding repertoire of creative output they are making a distinctive mark on Manchester’s local scene.
GULP magazine takes inspiration from the counter-cultural press of the 1960’s such as OZ and IT magazine by producing a visually chaotic, maximalist design and a desire to keep up with the underground. They aim to offer the reader an alternative experience of how to consume developing artistic ideas and project off-shoots. We love that GULP commission and facilitate work from creatives at any point in their career, making the mag an exciting mix of emerging and established artists.
About Issue 7: Disruption
“As our platform was born out of an impulse to disrupt our rigid approaches to the fields we wished to enter - curation and filmmaking - Issue 7 seeks to return to that initial feeling. Protest is commonly included in the curriculum at contemporary art schools and even the mention of ‘subversion’ can elicit an eye roll. So how do we disrupt from here?
Inside you’ll find notes on Michele Soavi’s Italian horror, the importance of DIY sound in Katalin Ladik’s Phonopoetica, artworks made with human intelligence, CURRENTMOODGIRL throwing a bag of chips at a seagull and chatting about how disrupting your norm can boost creativity, plus loads of articles, gig recommendations, poetry, collage art, and more to gulp down. Bonus: each mag comes with two limited edition prints. You can purchase your copy in-store or online.
The weekend included a debut print exhibition of works by graphic designer Jordan Warren. It was great to celebrate design for music and showcase Warren's work, including designs for the likes of Sour Grapes Records, Library of The Occult, and Up In Her Room. Warren specialises in designs for the music industry, with an emphasis on composition and form used for physical media. Aside from his signature digital airbrush illustration style, his work features elements of 3D graphics, animation and bespoke typography; creating multiple custom typefaces. His work seeks to enhance the sensory experience of the listener, using strong textures and surrealist visuals to evoke a heightened interaction between the music and its audience.
The exhibition was curated by GULP’s editorial duo Natasha and Tomas to kick off their latest issue, the display included record sleeves, posters, and speculative designs. Warren is a regular contributor and collaborator with GULP’s broadsheet magazine, in Issue 7 his work is featured on the centrefold.
Huge thanks to GULP, Jordan Warren, all the talented contributors and friends who joined us on Friday evening, and everyone who came by over the weekend. Happy disrupting everybody!
