posters | Marc Bessant

INVADA present ‘APOCATASTASIS’

Posted on November 1st, 2012

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With the supposed Mayan apocalypse prophecy due only 48 hrs later, this sequence of posters for the forthcoming INVADA records super-gig - ’APOCATASTASIS’ (meaning ‘restoration to the original or primordial condition’) will be doing the rounds online/in print over the coming weeks. Dramatic NASA shots of a solar eclipse and some tight type would look smart on the wall of any underground bunker. Should be a great night as there are some fantastic bands/players in attendance, and according to some, it may be one of the last gigs on this rock, further info over at invada.co.uk

The Birthday Party

Posted on March 7th, 2012

Artwork, design, posters

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Heres a recently finished poster for a local Dramatic Society production of Harold Pinters The Birthday Party; A powerful play about Stanley Webber, an erstwhile (and bespectacled) piano player, who lives in a rundown, English seaside-town boarding house, run by Meg and Petey Boles. Two sinister strangers, Goldberg and McCann, who arrive supposedly on his birthday and who appear to have come looking for him, turn Stanley’s apparently innocuous birthday party organized by Meg into a living nightmare. A mindbender of a play that’s well worth a read.

Much Ado About Nothing

Posted on February 15th, 2012

Artwork, design, posters

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Sorry I’ve neglected this blog for a while, got a lot on, but fear not i’ll be adding quite a bit of new stuff soon. In the meantime here’s a poster I’ve just put together for The Bradfordians Theatrical group for the their forthcoming production of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. Shakespeare’s seventeenth play is a deceptive comedy centred around two pairs of lovers; its themes and motifs (and ultimately the brief) being masks, rumour and infidelity, those of you that know sign-language will recognise the shape of the hands mean ‘to whisper’.

‘The Crucible’ Theatre Poster

Posted on May 23rd, 2011

Artwork, paintings, posters

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Recently finished poster for a local dramatic society production of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’.

Alas not the official poster, still, its a brilliantly written play, full to the brim with dark imagery, which i just couldn’t help putting pen to paper over..

Death of a Cemetery

Posted on March 24th, 2011

Artwork, design, film, posters

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Manila North Cemetery in Manila, Philippines is a place of rest for 3000 people, all of whom are alive. When rich families first erected mausoleums for their dead in the late 1800s, they needed caretakers to maintain them and guard any valuables buried within. In exchange for their work, the caretakers were allowed to live inside the mausoleums, and a cemetery community was born. Gravekeepers grow gardens around tombs; chefs cook up hearty fare in restaurants alongside crypts; and children play basketball in between school and funerals. Some residents are part of a long legacy of caretaking families; others are new transplants and find they must share their bed with an additional body.

‘Death Of A Cemetery’ is an inspiring independent documentary made by Phil Britton and Jeanie Duque-Dizon, I was asked to work on the titles which in turn led to me doing a poster (above). Paint, pens and mac.

Official site here

‘WOMAD at Bristol Zoo’ poster

Posted on March 22nd, 2011

Artwork, design, posters, Uncategorized

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Exactly as it says on the tin – A poster for ‘WOMAD at Bristol Zoo’.

Started a while ago, passed from cage to cage and completed today.

Peter Gabriel ‘New Blood’ USA Tour

Posted on March 18th, 2011

Artwork, design, Music, posters

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Peter Gabriel has announced a number of dates in North America, further details here

Above is the poster, once again utilising one of Steve Gschmeissner’s micrographs, showing a single white blood cell nestled among many red neighbours.

Name that Rune

Posted on January 28th, 2011

design, Music, posters

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Over the past couple of months i have been fortunate enough to be working with ‘The Mountain Goats’, providing artwork for their forthcoming album ‘All Eternals Deck.’

I’ll post more info on the entire project and also show pics of cd/vinyl packaging when I get/photograph them in the next couple of weeks, but in the meantime heres one of the point-of-sale posters which’ll be gracing stores shortly…

New Blood on the road

Posted on January 21st, 2011

design, posters

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For a couple of nights this March PG is taking his ‘New Blood’ show to the Hammersmith Apollo, these dates have been added to allow for the possibility of filming the concert in 3D for a forthcoming release. It all happened a bit quick therefore I had to pull something together for print in just a couple of hours to make the promoters schedule. I would love to have done a run of these showing the embryo in various stages of development, ah well maybe next time..

You don’t have to be WOMAD to work here but it helps

Posted on August 4th, 2010

design, posters

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Suffice to say, the ID for this years WOMAD festival was a bit of a rush. I farmed the job out this year due to other commitments but unfortunately what came back didn’t quite cut the mustard so i had to act pretty quick. Simple really, photograph of a field with some poster paint splashed on top (albeit loosely tree shaped) leave to dry, scan, add a dash of Inkymoles wonderful calligraphy and hey presto! – WOMAD 2010 Festival poster. Serves thousands.