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oodles of doodles
A personal journal produced over two years by Durban-based graphic designer Trevor Paul, while living in London and travelLing around the UK, has
reignited his creativity and drawn crowds of both the creative and the simply curious.
Produced in felt pen, pen and ink, ballpoint pen and collage, Trevor’s pages were first exhibited at Beanbag Bohemia, a small, unpretentious gallery
space and restaurant in Morningside, Durban. This was thanks to financial backing from his ex-boss Neil Roake, co-owner of The Space/ Durban Designers
Emporium and Modern Museum Advertising.
At the gallery opening (a sell-out!) the work was spotted by fashion designers The Holmes Brothers. This led to an opening at their store to launch
their winter range. The work was exhibited and sold there for a few months and is available on a range of men’s and ladies’ T-shirts.
Tales from the Shallow End is currently on show at Euforia, a space in up-and-coming Glenwood where designers and artists get to flaunt their wares.
“A lot of the content could be criticised for being narcissistic, cynical, contrived or just plain infantile,” Trevor says, “but it was fun. It was
therapy. That’s all that mattered at that stage of my life. It was a growth process. It was a trusty companion during some lonely patches while
travelling around.
“I tried not to censor myself and I tried to be as expressive, creative and un-formulaic as I could, and it was through this process that I found
myself. I felt creative for the first time in years.
“Over time I developed some new drawing styles and ideas, and formulated my own two-bit life philosophy to boot. I learned a new confidence through
creativity. And a new creative confidence which has given my graphic design steam.”
He attributes the exhibition’s success to its being “a little bit off-kilter, because of the sheer volume of it and it because it appeals to the
voyeuristic side of people; even if we deny it, we all have a perverse hankering towards paging through other people’s diaries.”
Trevor hopes to find a publisher for his journals (“actually it’s just a book full of doodles”) but is currently focusing on his graphic design
business. Some of his latest work can be seen as part of a deck art (art on skateboards) exhibition organised by Iron Fist that is showing in the main
city centres countrywide from September to November.
“I'm really enjoying street art and graffiti at the moment. There are a lot of good things happening in South Africa right now, especially in Durban.
We’ve got illustrators like Kim Longhurst, designers like Richard Hart at Disturbance, Ijusi, it’s a hotbed
of talent.”
Tales from the Shallow End and Trevor’s design work can be viewed on:
www.flickr.com/photos/firebrand_design/sets/72157594268886215
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