Two things that never go out of fashion are cool band T-shirts and a good joke. No one knows this better than Bristol illustrator Christopher Wright. In a world where TeePublic floods the internet with copy-and-paste designs, his Turbo Island brand has been creating some of the most creative, unique and outright hilarious music/parody merch for a decade.
Just some of his incredible creations – described as “colourful and cocky t-shirts for the music geeks and cartoon freaks” – include the iconic Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures T-shirt on a T-shirt; A Nirvana homage to Narnia with the smiley face reworked into Aslan; and a mash-up of Sugababes and Bjork’s former band The Sugercubes.
It’s not just T-shirts though. There are posters, stickers, hats, scarves and even a Daniel Johnston-themed height chart. Every item is filled with Christopher’s unique sense of comedy and design. And with this year being Turbo Island’s 10th anniversary, it’s all being celebrated with a huge exhibition this April.
The Turbo Island music tee exhibition is launching on April 19 at KIT FORM (a new space under Jamaica Street Studios). The celebrations kick-off with a free opening party from 6 to 10pm, with “Arbor Ales, Top Cuvée and Buzz Sweets on refreshment duties. Minirig on sound.” If you can’t make it down, however, the exhibition will be open to the public every Wednesday to Saturday (until May 17).
Continuing the party atmosphere of this retrospective on April 19, Strange Brew will be hosting the afterparty celebrations. The Dirtytalkers, Charlie Satsumas, Nadoone and Dan Chandler will all be DJing at Dirty Island presents… TURBOTALK until the early hours. Tickets start at £8 and to get your one head here.
To learn more about Turbo Island’s iconic parody merch head here.