GO OR GO AHEAD. Four words from one of Rufus Wainwright's most expansive songs become a brilliantly simple piece of graphic art in this limited-edition screen print by Adam Bridgland.
Go or Go Ahead originally appeared on Wainwright's third album, Want One, in 2003. Produced by Marius de Vries, the album found Wainwright pushing the scale and ambition of his songwriting considerably further, bringing together piano-led pop, rock and elaborate orchestral arrangements. Go or Go Ahead sits at the centre of the record, beginning relatively sparsely before building into something much bigger over its six-and-a-half minutes.
Bridgland strips all of that musical scale away and concentrates on the title. His loose, hand-painted lettering gives the words an immediacy that a more formal typeface would lose, while the stark simplicity of the phrase leaves plenty of room for the materials to do their work.
And those materials make a real difference here. Rather than printing onto conventional white paper, the design uses 270gsm Holographic Rainbow Foil as its base. The central block of pink or orange provides the solid hit of colour, while the exposed foil forms a reflective border around it, changing appearance as the print catches the light. It's difficult to capture fully in a static photograph and gives each version much more physical presence in person.
That combination of direct language and printmaking is characteristic of Bridgland's wider practice. Text and image regularly overlap in his work, alongside influences drawn from vintage British travel posters, advertising, postcards and other familiar pieces of graphic culture.
Here, the approach works particularly well with a songwriter whose music can be lavish and theatrical: the artwork takes a sprawling Rufus Wainwright song and reduces it to its most immediate instruction.
The edition comprises just 100 A3 prints in total, divided equally between 50 pink and 50 orange copies. Each is individually hand signed by both Rufus Wainwright and Adam Bridgland, and was commissioned and published by Teenage Cancer Trust.
Product details
- Limited edition of 100: 50 pink and 50 orange
- Hand signed by Rufus Wainwright and Adam Bridgland
- Inspired by Rufus Wainwright's Go or Go Ahead
- Artwork by Adam Bridgland
- One-colour screen print on 270gsm Holographic Rainbow Foil
- A3, measuring 420 × 270mm
- Commissioned and published by Teenage Cancer Trust
- Printed by White Duck Editions in Bath, UK
- Unframed
Every purchase supports Teenage Cancer Trust, helping provide specialist care and support to young people with cancer.
Please note:
The holographic foil changes in appearance depending on the light and viewing angle, so colours and reflections may differ from those shown in the product photography.
As each print is individually hand signed, the position and size of the signatures may vary slightly from the product image.
International customers are responsible for any import fees or duties payable on delivery.
