30: AD NAUSEA ft. DARREN CULLEN
For our landmark 30th episode we talked to artist Darren Cullen a.k.a. Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives. Here in the UK, lots of people have seen his art at bus stops, on the Tube and on billboards, occupying the space normally reserved for advertisements. And that’s because much of his work takes the form of commercial images, messaging and design—but turned against the giant corporations and political actors who usually have a monopoly on our attention through these channels. Darren has made short films with Veterans For Peace, produced installations for Banksy's Dismaland, co-curated The Museum of Neoliberalism in London as well as authoring countless other acts of artistic sabotage. The tone of Darren’s work is comical: he makes satire. It’s faithful to the format that it parodies, which often makes for nauseating viewing because the subject matter couldn’t be more serious.
We talk about growing up (and out of) being right-wing, how the military preys on working-class children, the porous line between politics and PR, satire and bullshit in a post-Trump world, PFI and privatisation in the NHS, why neoliberalism needed a museum, and finally about Comrade Ant'ny converting to catholicism.
Check out Darren's work at Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives: https://www.spellingmistakescostlives.com
The Museum of Neoliberalism: https://www.spellingmistakescostlives.com/museumofneoliberalism
Works under discussion:
https://www.spellingmistakescostlives.com/bethemeat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KtyMcb86go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBAHuJbP_EA
Closing music from Darren's video 'The PFI Game' [link above]
Read Spaghetti For Brains propaganda and subscribe to our newsletter at https://spaghettiforbrains.substack.com
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spaghetti-for-brains/message