CityLife

Exhibition: Oliver East - International 3

Oliver East

There always has been something universally charming about Oliver East’s illustrated travelogues – books with train tracks as their navigator and trains of thought as their narrative.

Drawn from memory in earthy hues, East’s Trains Are... Mint series is drawn entirely from memory (“Not because I have a good memory,” says Oliver, “but because I’m obsessed with making something look like what it looks like if I have a physical reference in front of me”) and capture the scenery, emotion and often the weather that the author encounters on his way.

Often referred to as independent comic books, the novels have a strong autobiographical feel as the 31-year-old Mancunian travels through the landscape and his subconscious.

But the third in his series, Berlin and That, is what he calls a ‘more guarded’ affair. Instead, it is Berlin’s streets – their graffiti and billboards, brought to life by over 50 contributing artists – and East’s 80km walk from Berlin to the Polish border that do the talking.

Invited by a friend to stay in Berlin for a week, East planned his 27-hour trek, but never expected to encounter so much street art along the way.

“Rather than recreate it all in my hand, which I thought would look rubbish, I decided to ask a few friends to fill in these spaces on my pages,” says Oliver.

“I started with Stuart Kolakovic, a fantastic illustrator friend of mine, and it snowballed really quickly from that to getting someone to do one page each, which meant another 51 artists.”

The guest artists modified panels on about a third of the pages with graffiti, script or illustrations, and all 52 pages are currently showing at the International 3 art gallery – in conjunction with the launch of the 150-page book – until June 5.

Among the chosen group of trained and untrained artists are many of East’s ‘fellow drinkers’: Dean Hughes, whose latest solo show sold in its entirety to Charles Saatchi half an hour after opening, Manchester musicians Guy Garvey (of Elbow), Pete Jobson and Andy Hargreaves (I Am Kloot), comic artists Gareth Brookes, Malcy Duff and Steven Tillotson, old colleagues Dave Gamer and Mia Kiuru, and Oliver’s wife Clare.

A new dad with an eight-month-old son, East says he is most satisfied with his third Trains Are... Mint book – so much so, it could be the last. “At the end of Berlin and That, I said that was it,” he laughs.

“I’m just really happy with how the book came out.”

At International 3, Fairfield St, Manchester, until June 5 , 2010 (Wednesday to Saturday, 12pm to 5pm). Free.