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Mikey Georgeson (born 1967) is an English artist, working in various media. He is a painter and illustrator, who regularly exhibits his work at
Sartorial Contemporary Art Sartorial Contemporary Art (2005–2010) was an artist-run gallery founded by Gretta Sarfaty Marchant, artist and curator, as a project-led space in central London, England. Originally based in an 18th-century Georgian house on Kensington Chur ...
and other galleries. As "the Vessel", he is songwriter and singer of the cult art-rock band,
David Devant and his Spirit Wife David Devant & His Spirit Wife are an English Indie rock, indie/art rock band from Brighton, England. They are named after the English magician and early film exhibitor, David Devant (1868–1941). History The band were formed in Brighton in M ...
. Side projects have included Carfax, a collaboration with
Jyoti Mishra Jyoti Prakash Mishra (born 30 July 1966), better known by his stage name White Town, is a British-Indian singer, musician, and producer. He is best known for his 1997 hit song " Your Woman". Early life Jyoti Prakash Mishra was born in Rourke ...
, Glam Chops, a
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...
band formed with
Eddie Argos Eddie Argos (born Kevin Macklin 25 October 1979) is the lead singer of English rock band Art Brut, and writer of comic books, comics. Personal life Born in Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, England, Argos later moved to Poole, Dorset as a young chi ...
of
Art Brut Art Brut is an English indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, ''It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Jean Dubuffet's definition ...
, This Happy Band and Mikey Georgeson and the Civilised Scene. Georgeson has also performed and recorded on his own, as Mr Solo. Peter Kimpton, writing in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' praised Georgeson's "impish genius for melody". Ashley Hames, in the
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
, described Georgeson as 'an original British songwriter of lasting quality. He remains a presence somehow transcendent and other-worldly, bringing us songs that seem to have always existed, holding up the mirror to connect us to something we can truly love.'


Art

After a childhood in
Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Rother District in the county of East Sussex in South East England. It is located along the Sussex Coast and between the towns of Hastings, England, Hastings ...
and
Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
, Mikey Georgeson attended Worthing College of Art (1985–86) and
Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further and higher education courses in fine art, graphic design, interior design, produ ...
(1986–1989), where he studied illustration when it was a figurative painting course. In 1989, he moved to
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, for a postgraduate illustration degree at Brighton University (1989–91)., Artist's biography from the website of the
Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...
, Liverpool.
As an illustrator, he published a series of quirky screenprinted booklets, which he sold in Brighton gallery shops. ''A Shady Tale'' (1993) contained a series of unlikely shadowgraphy images. ''The Hat He Mistook for His Wife'' (1993), reversing the title of
Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurology, neurologist, Natural history, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford ...
' famous
book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
, showed a fedora hat in various marital situations – covered with confetti, posing for a honeymoon photograph beside the Eiffel Tower, on a caravanning holiday, and being weighed on bathroom scales. Georgeson lectures in art at the University of East London, and is a practising painter. He has exhibited his work in the following group exhibitions: 'Wapobaloobop', Transition Gallery London 2008, 'Legends of Circumstance' Whitecross Gallery London 2009, Bargate Gallery Southampton 2010 and the Liverpool Biennial 2010. In London, he has had three solo shows: 'My Magic Life' Sartorial Art 2008, 'Father, Son & Holy Smoke', Bear Gallery 2009, and 'Tragicosmic' at Sartorial Art in 2010 Georgeson describes his paintings, which use thickly applied bright oil colours, as "a distillation of a desire to capture what I consider to be episodic globules in the glistening, sticky fluid called paint." With My Magic Life, his 2008 exhibition inspired by magic and David Devant, he brought the different strands of his work together. Georgeson explained in the exhibition catalogue: In July 2007, Georgeson began to create a drawing every morning on waking, beginning to draw before he knew what the image would become. He posted them o
Instagram
and, in 2023, the first two months' drawings were published as a book, ''The Early Morning Drawings'', by the Portuguese publisher, Stolen Books. In his introduction, Georgeson described the project as a "trance-ritual": In June 2012, Georgeson exhibited a new solo show, 'Trope' at the Royal Standard in Liverpool. According to the gallery website, Georgeson identifies the 'Trope' as 'the crack that opens between the audience (life) and the artist (art). Eleven paintings in the show focus on Georgeson's ongoing love of Liverpool Football Club as a trope through which he can explore 'sending an emissary from his adult rational self to mix with the transcendental awe of his childhood'. He taps into memories of his boyhood bedroom in which his father had created a large scale recreation of the Kop, pasted together with faces cut from the Observer Magazine.' In 2014, Georgeson began a doctorate in fine art, which he was awarded by the University of East London in 2019. His doctoral thesis, ''The Vision of the Absurd, Aesthetic Machines, Entanglement and Affect'', looked at the ways in which 'art has an excess that delivers understanding outside of conceptual cognition'. In June 2015, he exhibited his first year paintings in the 'East London Artists' show at the UEL. At the opening, he staged a live performance with the accordionist, Martin White, singing the song "Is David Bowie Happy?". Georgeson explained, 'The show explores the idea that David Bowie saved his disciples from anomie (Is there life on Mars?) but potentially at the cost of the individuation of his psyche. In the face of the vacuum of meaning created by post-history culture, rather than resorting to appropriate irony, meaning becomes the mystery of creation itself.' As a tutor at UEL, Georgeson created the Dewey Decimal Dowsing Project, which "began as a way to make the library more engaging and accessible to new art students and also bring practice and research closer."Mikey Georgeson, 'Dewey Decimal Dowsing Project: Meaning inside the Event', in Kirsty Macari (ed), ''Transformative Teaching'', AMPS Proceedings 31, 2022, p40
/ref> Students were asked to convert their name into a numerological value, used in the Dewey Decimal library code to locate a shelf in the library. Using
dowsing Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, Petroleum, oil, claimed radiations (radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active do ...
, the student would then select three books, create a clay effigy "to process the encountered knowledge" and then write "a simple scientific report (Title, Apparatus, Method, results, Conclusion)."


The Deadends

The Deadends is a 'made up culture', which Georgeson has investigated in a series of exhibitions, printed matter, and a film, ''The Deadends – in Search of Truth''. This was shown at the ICA in May 2016, as part of Film is Dead - 100 Years of Dada. On the Deadends website, Georgeson asks, 'Who or what were the Deadends or deadEnds depending on whom you’re speaking to? What exactly is the meaning behind the signature shapes and forms analysts have chosen to name them after?....Unfortunately the deadends left behind no written evidence or documentation of their culture or thought process leaving scholars to project or speculate as to the exact structure of their intended passage through their geographic specificity.' On 23 February 2017, Georgeson held a celebration of the Deadends in the Studio One Gallery in Wandsworth. Alongside artefacts (abstract paintings and sculptures), the event featured 'speculative enactment as well as...the first ever discoveries of... artifacts.'


The Sensorium

Georgeson is co-curator (with Dean Todd) of the annual Sensorium art show in east London. This event exhibits alongside the ''Affect and Social Media'' conferences organised by the digital media critical theorist Tony D Sampson. Georgeson's work also features prominently (alongside other Sensorium contributors) in the book ''Affect and Social Media: Emotion, Mediation, Anxiety and Contagion.''


Cloak of Longing

During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, Georgeson made a series of paintings of oversized blue tears, which he called the Case of the Missing Shade of Blue. Georgeson has written that these were "an expression of grief and a feeling of joy in the way the cosmos expresses itself symbolically, tears, leaves, snails, moons, waves, wings, tears. In the procession we express the cosmos as it makes it up as it goes along.” This led Georgeson to wear the paintings as a 'Cloak of Longing', in processional performances including singing and meditation, first in the Container Space at the University of East London and later, in June 2023, in the
Liberty station Liberty Station is a mixed-use development in San Diego, California, on the site of the former Naval Training Center San Diego. It is located in the Point Loma community of San Diego. It has a waterfront location, on a boat channel off San Diego Ba ...
in San Diego, California. Georgeson's essay on the Cloak of Longing can be downloaded from th
Laurentian University website


Music

In Brighton, in May 1992, Georgeson formed his first band,
David Devant & His Spirit Wife David Devant & His Spirit Wife are an English indie/art rock band from Brighton, England. They are named after the English magician and early film exhibitor, David Devant (1868–1941). History The band were formed in Brighton in May 1992 by ...
, with
Foz Foster James 'Foz' Foster (born 1960) is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the art-rock band, David Devant and his Spirit Wife, and in the 1983-5 incarnation of The Monochrome Set. Foster also plays ...
, ex-guitarist of
the Monochrome Set The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk/ new wave band, originally formed in London in January 1978. The most recent line-up consists of Bid, Andy Warren, Athen Ayren and Stephen Gilchrist. History Original band: 1978–1985 The Mono ...
, Jem Egerton, a classically trained musician, who played bass, and drummer Graham Carlow. Georgeson took the name for his band from a second-hand copy of ''My Magic Life'', the autobiography of the great English stage magician,
David Devant David Devant (22 February 1868 – 13 October 1941) was an English Magician (illusion), magician, shadowgraphist and film exhibitor. He was born David Wighton in Holloway, London. He is regarded by magicians as a consummate exponent of suave a ...
. A Devant show was conceived as an act of invocation, in which the spirit of the late magician would speak through Georgeson, and the songs would summon down the Spirit Wife. In concert, Georgeson performed as "the Vessel", wearing a black pompadour wig and a pencil moustache. The elaborate stage show created a false impression that the band was a novelty act. But, as a songwriter, Georgeson was easily the equal of any of his Britpop contemporaries. In 1997 the band released their first album, ''Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous''. Its tour was accompanied by a Channel 4 film crew from The Other Side series. The documentary, shown in 1999, marked a farewell to the first incarnation of David Devant as, in the final sequence, filmed in 1999, Georgeson symbolically set fire to his wig. In 2001, while Devant were not performing, Georgeson began to work with
Jyoti Mishra Jyoti Prakash Mishra (born 30 July 1966), better known by his stage name White Town, is a British-Indian singer, musician, and producer. He is best known for his 1997 hit song " Your Woman". Early life Jyoti Prakash Mishra was born in Rourke ...
of
White Town Jyoti Prakash Mishra (born 30 July 1966), better known by his stage name White Town, is a British-Indian singer, musician, and record producer, producer. He is best known for his 1997 hit song "Your Woman". Early life Jyoti Prakash Mishra was ...
, whom he met at a Devant concert. As Carfax, they released two albums, ''Momento from a Digital Age'' and ''Minky Pauve''. According to Georgeson, the band took its name from the centre of Horsham where the last public hanging took place. In 2005, Georgeson began to perform as a solo act. Using the stage name Mr Solo, he accompanied his new songs with backing tapes while playing ukulele, keyboards or acoustic guitar. As Mr Solo, he has released two albums, ''All Will Be Revealed'' (2006) and ''Wonders Never Cease'' (2009). Mr Solo has performed at
live art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
events, as a member of The School of English Dada and Daniel Lehan's This Happy Band, a group of roving musicians, inspired by medieval troubadours. As part of Margate's 'Dead Season Live Art' festival of 2010, This Happy Band paraded 'around the seaside town, commemorating its past, and the themes of Winter Dormancy, and Glorious Resurrection'. In 2011, in honour of the Royal wedding, he performed with the English School of Dada, at Cabaret Voltaire, the home of
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
, in Zurich. In London, he has appeared at three other live art events: 'Mr Solo' Whitechapel Gallery (2009), 'Return of the Repressed' Portman Gallery (2009) and 'Artist As Scapegoat' Norn Projects (2010). In 2008, Georgeson collaborated with
Eddie Argos Eddie Argos (born Kevin Macklin 25 October 1979) is the lead singer of English rock band Art Brut, and writer of comic books, comics. Personal life Born in Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, England, Argos later moved to Poole, Dorset as a young chi ...
to create Glam Chops, inspired by the stomping rhythms of
The Glitter Band The Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who initially worked as Gary Glitter's backing band under that name from 1973, when they then began releasing gramophone record, records of their own. They were unofficially known as the Glitte ...
and the image of
Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...
. The critic
Simon Price Simon Price (born 25 September 1967) is a British music journalist and author. He is known for his weekly review section in ''The Independent on Sunday'' and his books ''Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers)'' and ''Curepedia: An ...
described the new band: "Think Evel Knievel jumpsuits, Red Indian head-dresses and star-shaped warpaint, think lyrics about Bowie vs. Gary rivalry, think parping saxes and stomping stack-heeled beats." The band released a Glam cover of
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
's " Born in the U.S.A.", with a video showing Georgeson and Argos singing the song while driving down the M4. The version was a showcase for their different singing styles, with Argos speak-singing the verses, and Georgeson providing a soaring operatic refrain. There was also a Christmas single, "Countdown to Christmas", released as a free download. In 2012, Georgeson began to make music with Rob Jones (
The Voluntary Butler Scheme The Voluntary Butler Scheme (VBS) is the stage name for one-man band Rob Jones, based in Stourbridge near Birmingham. Jones records and produces the majority of his material by himself in a home studio in his bedroom. The VBS uses the technique ...
), Simon Love, Simon Breed, Arec Koundarjian, Nathan Thomas, Iain McCallum and Ben Handysides. The new band, called The Civilised Scene, released a single "Moth in the Flame"/"Bringing Rocks Back from the Moon" (Corporate Records). In 2013, the band recorded for a new label, Popianosz, releasing a single, "Candy Floss". Georgeson has said, 'With the Civilised Scene there's a similar thought process as with the paintings.' Debut album ''Blood and Brambles'' was released in 2014 to positive reviews. In 2015, Georgeson brought out a retrospective compilation album, ''The Best of the Vessel'', including music recorded throughout his career. Ashley Hames, writing in the
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
, described the album as a 'blinding triumph....it seems that only now are critics reassessing the undeniable pop sensibilities of David Devant & His Spirit Wife. And hearing the songs on this album, it's an absolute wonder that it has taken so long. 'This is For Real' and 'Pimlico' are hidden classics that, back in the day, would have sat comfortably on top of the charts. With hooks that could snare a whale and lyrics packed with pathos, they'd still be perfect additions today. I could repeat that for most of the songs here. This album is that good. There are particular gems: 'Life on a Crescent' is a heartbreakingly delicate and perfectly formed reflection on suburban life. 'Going To London' and 'My Heroine' are quite simply two of the purest pop songs I've ever heard. Best of all though is 'Half of It'. Again, it's a great tune, but significantly it's a new release, and a wonderful sign that even though this album is a retrospective, it shows us that perhaps only now are we really seeing the very best of Mikey Georgeson.' In 2021, as Mr Mikey, Georgeson released a new solo album, ''Simply the Best''. Its opening song, 'P.A.I.N.' is 'a soulful, atmospheric meander through the question of whether or not pleasure needs the shadow of pain to be felt. The track’s meaning is perhaps more resonant because, like Lady Gaga, Mikey suffers from the pains of
fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia (FM) is a functional somatic syndrome with symptoms of widespread chronic pain, accompanied by fatigue, sleep disturbance including awakening unrefreshed, and Cognitive deficit, cognitive symptoms. Other symptoms can include he ...
syndrome.'. The album also included cover versions of
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's ' Ashes to Ashes' and
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
's '
Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...
'.


Publications

* * * * * *


Discography


Albums

David Devant and His Spirit Wife * ''Don Spirit Specs Now!'' (1993) assette Only* ''Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous'' (1997) (Kindness Records) * ''Shiney on the Inside'' (1998) (Kindness Records) * ''Power Words For Better Living'' (2004) (
Outstanding Records Outstanding Records is a record company based in London, England, which also manages many of the bands on the label. Roster * The Pinker Tones * David Devant & His Spirit Wife David Devant & His Spirit Wife are an English indie/art rock b ...
) * ''The Lost World of David Devant'' (2006) ompilation, download-only* ''Cut Out and Keep Me'' (2019) (Kindness Recordings) Carfax * ''Momento from a Digital Age'' (Corporate Records) * ''Minky Pauve'' (Corporate Records) Mr Solo * ''All Will Be Revealed'' (Outstanding Records) 18 September 2006 * ''Wonders Never Cease'' (Outstanding Records) 7 April 2009 Mikey Georgeson and the Civilised Scene *''Blood and Brambles'' (Popianosz) 11 March 2014 The Vessel *''The Best of The Vessel'' (Seraglio Point Productions) 2015 Mr Mikey *''Simply the Best'' (Kindness Recordings) 2021


Singles

David Devant and his Spirit Wife * "Pimlico" Humbug Records HUM4 1995 * "Cookie" (Kindness Recordings) 1996 * "Miscellaneous" 7" (Kindness Recordings) 1996 * "Ginger" (Kindness Recordings) 1997 * "This Is For Real" (Kindness Recordings) 1997 * "Lie Detector" (Kindness Recordings) 1997 * "Radar" (Kindness Recordings) 1999 * "Space Daddy" (Kindness Recordings) 2000 * "Contact" (Outstanding Records) OSTRS002 10 May 2004 * "About It" (Outstanding Records) OSTRS003 8 November 2004 Mr Solo * "Kiss it Better" CDs (Outstanding Records) * "Number One" CDs (Outstanding Records) 18 September 2006 Glam Chops * "Countdown to Christmas/Baby Jesus was the First Glam Rocker" 2008 * "Born in the USA" Where It's At Is Where You Are 10 August 2009 Mikey Georgeson and the Civilised Scene * "Moth in the Flame"/"Bringing Rocks Back from the Moon" Corporate Records 2012 * "Candy Floss" Popianosz 2013 * "Till It's Over" ownload* "Shine a Light" ownload single* "Rocks Back From the Moon" ownload single


References


External links


Mikey Georgeson website

L'Arm Chair du Monde (Mikey Georgeson blog)



Deadends website

Georgeson's Doctoral Thesis, ''The Vision of the Absurd, Aesthetic Machines, Entanglement and Affect'', 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgeson, Mikey 1967 births Living people English modern painters English male painters 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English alternative rock musicians 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists