I remember 9/11/2001. I was sat watching it unfold live from my living room with my sketch book in hand. The impact the subsequent events would have on the world are still being felt today and,  in the coming years, the term ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ would become a familiar phrase.

After the invasion of Iraq, another war began closer to home. Operation Juggernaut, referred to in the local news as ‘the war on graffiti’, was in progress. The British Transport Police and Greater Manchester Police began a serious campaign against graffiti artists. Apprehended graffiti artists were being given severe penalties and even custodial sentences for their art-crime whilst previous offenders found themselves woken at dawn to police raids, searching for evidence of participation in graffiti, or being taken in for questioning concerning illicit artistic activity around the city.

My response was  the Weapons of Mass Creation illustrations; a collection of designs I would print on stickers and place around the city and intended for a series of t-shirts.

The Weapons of Mass Creation really created the basis of my career as an illustrator and digital designer from being a graffiti writer. Although these robotic graffiti drones, started life as a letter piece reading Def Noyse (above), they also became interactive, animated models using flash (Adobe Animate), published online, on flyers and produced live at events.

Inspired by sci-fi and Japanese Gundam, the second Weapon of Mass Creation design was more robotic; consisting of artistic tools mounted on legs. This first robotic design featured markers, pencils, aerosol, sticker and even a pencil sharpener.