Holy Moly UK

Carl Cozier aka Holy Moly is an artist, activist, and illustrator from Bristol, or, as he likes to describe himself; “a multi-disciplined creator of colourful things”. Since he can remember, Carl has always had an obsession with art, and it was clear to him that this is what he would do with his life. Originally from a small market town called Witney, just outside Oxford, he went on to study for a Foundation at the Oxford School of Art & Design, but then made a dash for the coast and ended up at Swansea Metropolitan University, studying Graphic Design. Carl comments; “I enjoyed working with collage and type but, quite why I opted for graphic design remains a mystery to me”. Arriving at the interview with an unwieldy folder full of A0 charcoal drawings and paintings but no computer work, Carl was “amazed” to get in.

Leaving Swansea with a BA (Hons) degree and a huge affection for the Gower Peninsula, as well as the opportunity to exhibit at the 2003 New Designers Award in his final year, Carl decided to take a little time out; “I didn’t really see a real world application for my style of work”. It wasn’t until his father passed some 5 years later that he decided to explore art again full-time, throwing himself back into it with renewed passion.

Carl started furiously designing album covers for people he met DJing, and eventually got given a chance at a small studio in Llandow, Wales. “I learnt all I could from Richard, the amazing Creative Director there,” says Carl, and after a few years of hustling hard in the music and events scene he got offered the chance to work for an exciting new type of festival. He took a punt, moved to Bristol, and is now the “proud” Head Of Design at Boomtown Fair; an arts, music, and theatre festival that is a creative force of nature with a very passionate fan base. Here, he is in charge of design concepts and branding, as well as a lot of the in-world graphics, sometimes even naming venues and districts. He has taken the festival through two rebrands, resulting in strong brand recognition in the festival scene, 1000s of tattoos, and a thriving merchandise range. “It continues to be an incredibly challenging, but a hugely rewarding job,” describes the designer.

Carl uses his free time to concentrate on his personal projects, creating prints, murals, and sculptures under the fast developing Holy Moly UK handle. Some of his stand out projects have been those that were self-led through the lockdown of 2020; “The motivation and universal themes were inescapable, and the work I made in this period seemed to resonate with a lot of people”. To celebrate our shared pride for the NHS workers during lockdown, Carl designed National Hero Service. Since its creation, there have been two national billboard campaigns with print sales contributing thousands to NHS and Mind charity appeals. “A particular highlight for me was it featuring on the Adobe homepage for a few weeks as well as an advert for them in the states,” states the artist. The sister piece, International Hero Service, was used by the Amplifier Foundation in their global campaign. It was printed and projected all over the world alongside works by world-renowned artists including Shepard Fairey. The work is currently held in the Boston Museum of Modern Art’s collection as well as by the US Library of Congress, and a mural of it still occupies a large 3 story wall in Walthamstow, London.

During 2020 Carl also worked on Make Noise; a print created in the style of linocut in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. He was honoured to have this picked up by a local Billboard firm and some protesters at the time. It featured on banners and billboards all around Bristol stating ‘Make Noise – Change Isn’t Silent’, with “the intention to challenge ‘white silence’ on the subject of racism and encouraging discourse”.

Another project, Taking the Peace, is a project that means “a great deal” to Carl because it is something he was working on in the background for many years. Its influences may appear obvious, however it was a really important process of learning new techniques for Carl, allowing him to refine his storytelling and get lost in the detail. He comments; “I’m really grateful to past me for embarking on it as it taught me so much, probably more important to me than anyone else to be honest”.

Carl also notes one of his favourite pieces he has worked on as Love Is Love, describing it as “simplicity itself” and a piece which he still enjoys working on. He is currently creating a canvas with a view to produce some screen prints of the design soon.

Carl works predominantly with digital vector artwork, and loves to use bold, colourful, and timeless imagery that speaks of the state of the world we live in. “This kind of socio-political commentary is important in my work. I’m one of these people that doesn’t feel like they have truly found their style yet. If I have a ’style’ it’s a very reactive one that uses a broad palette of mediums depending on the subject.” Sometimes a stencil vibe is appropriate, and other times it’s photo-manipulation, typography, or vibrant colour and pattern that seems the right way to tell that story. He starts all projects with sketching, usually “awful ones” in a Pukka Pad, then goes digital, fleshing out the initial drawings on his Wacom tablet or iPad using Procreate, Photoshop or Illustrator. He states; “Digital painting and photo-manipulation still has a decent part to play in my work”.

His influences are broad, but Carl’s main concentrations in recent years have been concept, storytelling, vibrant colour, and pattern. He describes; “I’m very inspired by what goes on around me whether it’s the BLM movement, the US elections, Climate emergency, fake news, enforced Isolation, or mental health”. The influence of street art is also a constant in his artwork; “I love thought-provoking pieces where a single image can act as a metaphor for so much more and evoke emotions and more complex feelings. Agitprop is a massive inspiration because of its effectiveness in being able to communicate simply and often in a powerful way, Shepard fairey has of course popularised this style and is the master of it in many ways and therefore his work is always inspiring”. Carl also has a huge love for  the colours, energy, and humour of anime, Studio Ghibli, Vinyl art toys, and old Japanese prints. His works also look to the likes of James Jean, who’s “blend of East and West” he loves, Pete Fowler’s Monsterism days, and Jeff Soto’s surreal paintings. “I think I get a lot of my drive to make strange surreal characters from these guys,” says Carl.

Carl is currently working on some exciting and “top secret” projects that we can’t wait to see, a vaccination project in collaboration with the United nations, and even some sculpture work. He has an exciting alcohol based rebrand that has yet to be released, as well as some plans for a few limited edition prints that will explore some new printing techniques and finishes. These will include Love is Love, Taking the Peace, and the new National Hero Service print, to name a few. Carl has also been beavering away in the background creating weird and wonderfully surreal characters for a series of prints + NFTs that will be released in early 2021, all inspired by his love for anime and vinyl art toys.

www.holymolycreative.co.uk
@holymolyuk

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