Artist Biographies

Noma Bar

Born in Israel into a highly artistic family, Noma Bar, graduated in 2000 from the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design with a B.DES Bachelor of Graphic & Type Design. Now based in London he describes his craft as visual communication, combining the skills of artist, illustrator and designer. His two stunning and highly acclaimed books, The Many Faces of Noma Bar and Negative Space have become a must have for design school library's and tutors.

Noma's development process takes place in the sketchbook, going on to digitally produce finished work on the computer once the idea is fully conceptualized. The duel strategies of his practice, efficiency and humour, come from a keen understanding of how the brain accesses and understands imagery.

With a limited pallet he subtlety and precisely manipulates shape and form where familiar symbols and pictograms evolve to form new meaning. Negative and positive spaces tessellate creating several images in one, that sometimes need a few moments to see the embedded, sometimes poignant, message. Noma uses this technique to its best effect when dealing with social and political issues. Subjects such as nuclear warfare, corporate greed and national identity are illustrated with a hidden twist of humour. His portraits merge the subject's features, with images that epitomise their fame, to form an instantly recognisable face.

“I am after the maximum communication with minimum elements”

Noma's ingenuity in turning complexity into simplicity exemplifies this idea and his dedication to his own principles means Noma continues to achieve his personal challenge, time and time again, with universal elegance.


Wilfrid Wood

Wilfrid Wood is an artist that approaches 3D work with a designers sensibility, the process of a craftsman and the aim of an illustrator. Born in London, raised in the Sussex countryside, he studied Graphics at Central St. Martins and now lives in East London.

Wilfrid's graphic design days ended after being introduced to model making while working for the notorious Spitting Image studio. Inspiring Wilfrid not only to work in 3D but to take humour seriously in the work place. Resisting rapid prototyping Wilfrid predominantly works by hand, only occasionally using casting techniques, sketching all his ideas out first and testing their existence in three dimensions with plasticine maquettes. The finished articles begin as a wire armature which is wrapped in Aluminium foil and then covered with a polymer clay then modelled, baked, sanded, airbrushed and varnished to create an immaculate finish.

After realising that trying to second guess what people are interested would only lead him to competing with the predictable, he allowed himself to fully indulge in his own interests. Drawing inspiration from friends, faces, bodies, animals, androgyny, toys, cartoons, freaks, images in magazines and contortionists, to name a few. Zoomorphising, anthropomorphising, deforming and reconfiguring these raw ideas until they belong to the extraordinary world that is Wilfid's imagination.

“I hope my sculptures are a celebration of life's variety”

Delighting in the weird and the wonderful, Wilfrid's characters and forms resound with overt sexuality and dark undertones. A kind of candy coloured cartoon porn with a twisted sense of humour, so flawlessly and cutely presented, they could almost sit on top of a wedding cake.

Alessandro Gottardo

Born in Porhdenone, Italian artist Alessandro Gottardo studied Illustration at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan and went on to work as an illustrator under the name Sashimi. In 2005 his second pseudonym, SHOUT, emerged marking a new and purposeful beginning for the artist. The success that followed led to worldwide recognition and the celebration of his work in important publications. He has won many gold medals including some of the industry's most prestigious from the Society of Illustrators and Society of Publication Designers.

Choosing a name that represented his idea to speak with his own true voice Shout's conscious goal was to work on projects where he could express his personal beliefs about a subject rather then always being forced to present the safe, commercial option. Describing sensitive issues with delicacy and elegance he lends his hand to many NGO projects, charitable causes and political articles.

“the idea always triumphs over style”

Shout lacks neither, fluid and minimal, his reductive technique and spacious compositions draw you in seductively. Narrative scenes composed of soft colours are interjected with flashes of red, where significant objects lead the eye to where the underlying idea is revealed. His graphic works get straight to the point with much closer perspectives and centralised subjects. Wonderfully textured, his works look hand drawn or printed yet, surprisingly, they are digitally produced. Shout's subtle and poetic creations seduce you into thinking you know what your looking at...look again.




Yoco Nagamiya

Based in her hometown of Osaka, Yoco Nagamiya studied Illustration at Masa Mode Academy of Art. Her beautiful and delicate works adorn an array international women's magazines, fashion adverts and editorials.

Yoco adheres to the ancient Japanese sumi-e painting principles of the beauty of simplicity. With ink and watercolour she executes as few strokes as possible to describe the subject. Her light and expressive brushwork glides across the page, describing the female form with elegance. Scenes are similarly set, with just a few skilful touches, a cityscape, landscape or room is created, leaving precious space for the possibilities of the mind to wander in.

Intrigued by the psychological portrayal of women in films by François Ozon and Rodrigo Garcia, and in the writings of Yasunari Kawabata, her works, have a similar sense of observation. With some of her artworks the viewer seems to be watching the women as they engage in their own process of self examination or meditation.



Her fashion illustrations convey the eternal idea of the desired women, the perfect balance of confident and sexy yet fragile and alluring. Fusing traditional techniquewith a modern context, Yoco's fluid presence of hand and acute perception capture the essence of femininity with true grace.

Dragon76

Japanese artist Dragon76, is an immensely successful painter, specialising in large scale live painting at galleries, music events and alternative spaces world wide. He simultaneously studied oil painting at Osaka College of Art and graffiti outside the education system. Born in Shiga, and based in Yokohama, his work frequently appears in all manor of publications, on record sleeves, clothes ranges and in advertising campaigns.

Dragon's intricate and complex style is rooted in a combination of Graffiti, Manga and Ukiyo-e. Landscapes and figures defined by black shadow, mimicking traditional block printing, are superimposed upon textured layers of vibrant colour. Working fast, in classic graffiti “throw up” style Dragon76 paints with acrylic and marker pen as well as using stencilling techniques. Watching his process, which he often exposes by painting front of an audience, allows a full appreciation of the level skill and vision he has.

Particularly inspired by themes of co-existence, Dragon76 aims to spread a contemporary message of peace, harmony and revolution, exemplified by his participation in projects painting murals onto the walls of refugee and peace camps as well as highlighting prejudice by depicting current affairs and protests.

“I will be so glad if they can feel positive energy which I felt from graffiti and minority culture though my painting”

Be it music, dance, bathing in sunshine or marching against injustice, his talent lies in capturing an energy that conveys action, Dragon76 creates stunning works that feel as well as look wonderful.




Finn Campbell-Notman

A celebrated fine art illustrator, Finn Campbell-Notman's work has featured in infinite newspaper and magazine editorials, book publications, and advertising campaigns. Born in London, Finn grew up in rural Norfolk. He completed his BA (Hons) Illustration at University College Falmouth and received his MA in Communication Art & Design from the Royal Collage of Art. He now lives in Andalusia, Spain and works internationally.

Each of Finn's prints is hand drawn with pencil, scanned and digitally coloured. His exquisite draughtsmanship, warm harmonic tones and balanced composition has led to his work being compared to the Golden Age illustrators. There is a characteristic sense of stillness, warmth of tone, and space to Finn's work that he attributes to the landscape of his upbringing.

“...the Norfolk Broads are always present, exerting their colours and long views, the spare and warm starkness of the atmosphere on my images.”

His interests and research in aesthetic and academic theory, literature, and visual practice, gives Finn a unique grasp of contemporary illustrative practice. He has thus contributed his expertise on the subject to

documentaries, academic courses, articles and publications worldwide. Finn's art reflects his cultural understanding through subtle or playful reference in artistic technique or style, creating works rich in history and beauty.