Artiste Ouvrier

Artiste Ouvrier, originally uploaded by atm gallery.

Artiste Ouvrier puts the battle of walkerloo on the street. and in a gallery. at the same time!

Global Strategic Deployment

The deployment of forces is critical to any wartime strategy. Walkerloo Print-fantry Elites have been available for free at www.walkerloo.com since December 1st, 2009. Using Google spy technology I estimate they have been downloaded by more than 2000 people around the world. I seek picture evidence confirming this intelligence.... could you provide it? Send pics to wip@walkerloo.com


A Walkerloo Print-fantry base has also been established at War Games Vault. Here 12 different Walkerloo regiments are ready to download, print-out and makeup. I've re-arranged the soldiers over 26 new A4 sheets at 1:35 scale. Full make up instructions are included in the download. Become a walkerloo micro-manufacture facility and don't stop making soldiers until your fingers become sore, you can be your own gang-master-slave-driver! hmmm... If only poor working conditions were such a novelty in toy manufacture...


My original die cut card toy soldiers are also continuing their deployment... new distribution hubs include the Regimental Museum Shop at the Halifax Citadel, in Canada, Sierra Toy Soldier Co. in California and Busybee Toys in Australia - The Battle of Walkerloo is Global!

Walkerloo Reported

I've not yet sought reportage for Walkerloo but It has been reported upon. The first media blip was an article reporting my successful loan application for the toy soldier armies creation in Ouest France. After showing Walkerloo at a few Toy Soldier shows modest reports appeared in the metal and plastic dominated 'Toy Soldier' press. Then after the editor of 'Military Illustrated' chanced upon my display at Leadenhall Market he penned an article supporting my soldiers in his magazine.

Last summer I entered a local entrepreneur competition... a short film was made about walkerloo by 5050TV.



Upon seeing this film we had more interest from Ouest France and a front page picture and story in La Presse De La Manche, which in turn prompted a Normandie TV report on Walkerloo and an article in the Norman Advertiser - an English language News paper.



Walkerloo is now at war with all plastic toys derived from movies and television. To wage this war effectively I must begin to engage the enemy in the media - it is from here they launch their constant barrage against us. To co-ordinate my media assault I have created Walkerloo Information & Propaganda - WIP.

Keep your eyes peeled for future WIP productions - if you would like to help in the war propaganda contact wip@walkerloo.com



CHARRRGE!

diy_print-fantry_attacked_by_vintage_movie_toy_plastic_clones

diy_print-fantry_attacked_by_vintage_movie_toy_plastic_clones, originally uploaded by myTHself.

Print-fantry in action.

Vintage plastic movie toy clones advanced zombie like toward a newly created line of DIY Print-fantry Elite. Some of their number claimed to be 'rebels' but their true nature was inescapable - they were plastic clones made by the million by a Mega Corp Toy Empire. The Print-fantry Guard Officer remained cool and defiantly haughty as the non-biodegradable monsters rocked forward. 'Hold it... Hold it...' he whispered, confident in his diciplined ethical manufacture and expressive historic detailing. As the clones got within arms reach he gave the order 'FIRE!' and his men let loose their volley at point blank range...

My Dream Job Dream...

Whenever I'm doing physical work I find my self overlaying a fictional narrative. Of course my narratives are usually militaristic. When I'm a painter and decorater the most tedious work is stripping wallpaper. However as the steamer plate becomes my sheild and the blade scraper my sword time passes more funly, perhaps quickley. I'm a Hoplite Housecarl battling against infinite ranks of Persian immortal Norman knights..

When I began to dig over the weed thick ground for my vegatable garden the task seemed immense. However as the rectangle patches of the dug earth grew I imagined them army columns advancing across the plain. I made a quick picture trying to embody this fantastic narative and e-mailed it to friends.

8 years ago after the 9-11 attack I drew this picture after working in the garden. It desribes the horror and incapacity I felt whilst I moved rocks about the garden.

It's a Liberation not an Invasion...

We've been living in France for 8 years now. When we left London we had a party and I made invites. 'It's not an invasion, it's a liberation' they declared. The drawing was loose, quick, unplanned. The photo faces were made in the 'photo booth' of my local Tube station. But I'd been drawing infantile war for a while... this was a picture I made in 1999 of imagined Normandy beach action - its post 'Private Ryan'.

Sand castles and invasion beaches, seaside photo booths and toys soldiers, childrens book style pictures and the memories of veterans.

When I draw war its without direct experience but I've been occupied by its mythology from my earliest childhood. It's the scenario for my daydreams.

In 1998 I entered a picture in an 'Open' exhibition of pictures in Hammersmith, London. It was called 'Happy Soldiers and Sad Soldiers... I've never been to War'. Beautifully attired French Hussars clashed with British Infantry, the Napoleonic detail accurate except the French wear Nike Cyrus running shoes and the British wear Adidas shell toes - classic costume (The pic above was cobbled together, the large originals are with friends). I made two copies of my ink and marker drawing, one was a mirror image, and I joined them to make a long panarama style picture. None of the soldiers in the original picture had mouths. On one of the copies I gave all the soldiers smiles and on the other anti-smiles(?)... I'm not sure what else to call a down turned mouth.

The other day I came across the work of Todd Tremeer. He's a painter who makes lucid 'televisual' watercolours. He's painted the military models in museums, I don't think he's yet drawn any of the models on sale in their shops... and check out his 'Artist's Statement'.

a Walkerloo near you...

Over the summer I'm taking my pictures on campaign. The first engagement was at the 2009 re-enactment of Waterloo. The Toy soldiers equitted themselves admirably and the YouWalkerloo booths proved very popular. I shot a little video in the quieter moments... But I was otherwise fully involved explaining the stories behind the paintings and demonstrating how I intended hands and heads to be placed within them. One very little boy engaged with the painting using his toy sword... an understandible response although I did quickly and carefully intervene.

During the summer I'll be doing several events including:

• 18/19 July. Festival multi-époques. Boulogne-sur-mer.
• 25/26 July. Napoleonic Association Re-enactment. The Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey.
• 29/30/31 August. The Military Odyssey. Kent Show Ground, Detling, Kent.
• 3/4 October. International Napoleonic Weekend. Dorset.
  

Last weekend I presented the Battle of Walkerloo in a small town called Miélan where a Napoleonic bivouac had been organised, alas it was a little quiet. I deployed YouWalkerloo in a new way. As well as the toy soldier battle, using my camera and a portable photo printer I offered to take people's photo inside my paintings, I mounted the printed photo in a 'frame card' which included a brief explanation of the paintings and the Battle Of Walkerloo. The framed picture cost €5.

This was the first time I'd presented 'Walkerloo' to a French audience in France. Most people read 'Waterloo' on seeing it... sometimes they were a little hostile to an object which seemed to celebrate a national defeat. I explained my creation was the battle of Walkerloo which is not a French defeat but a series of pictures which as a game could in fact be 'played' as a French victory... hmmmm. I'm British and conversely the word Waterloo has some immediate self congratulatory nationalistic emotions attached... as for 'Walkerloo' it's a work in progress and can make me feel very proud, defensive, worried and excited. What does it do for you?

YouWalkerloo2 involes two people partaking in three characters. One is an Ensign holding the Colours, another a stout infantryman and another a recently decapitated bugler. I created the composition after reading about an incident said to have happened at the battle of Waterloo. I've since found a memoire in which it was described -

“...we halted and formed square in the middle of the plain. As we were performing this movement, a bugler of the 51st, who had been out with skirmishers, and had mistaken our square for his own, exclaimed, ‘Here I am again, safe enough...’ The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when a round shot took off his head and spattered the whole battalion with his brains, the colours and the. ensigns in charge of them coming in for an extra share. One of them, Charles Fraser, a fine gentleman in speech and manner, raised a laugh by drawling out, “How extremely disgusting!...”

An extract from 'Fifty Years Of My Life' George Thomas Keppel, Earl of Ablemarle 1799-1891 Ch.7 p.128 'A Narrow Escape'

I tell the story of the painting before I take the photos and try to express something of the excitement, glee, tragedy, horror, disgust, comedy and history that went into the creation of the paintings. We tend to smile when posing for photographs... 'say cheese...' and I also hope people will be happy with the purchase of their picture because I charge them €5. Thanks to anyone who takes part!