Alex May Hughes, an outstanding sign painter and glass gilder, reimagined art for songs ‘I Fought The Law’ by The Clash, ‘Our House’ by Madness, and ‘Son of Preacher Man’ by Dusty Springfield for a collaboration with Sony/ATV Publishing on the limited edition silkscreen collection It’s Pop, It’s Art.
Where are you from and where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Ealing, west London.
Where are you based now?
I’ve lived in a few different parts of London at uni and over the years but I’m back in west London for the moment.
What are your connections with the songs you produced designs for? Are there any special memories attached to them?
One of my earliest memories is watching old episodes of The Young Ones that my dad had recorded onto VHS at home. That was the first time I remember seeing Madness on TV, performing ‘House of Fun’—I loved the chaos of it all, so it was truly an honour to create the ‘Our House’ design.
When and how did you discover these songs?
The first time I heard ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ was in Pulp Fiction—the scene where Vincent is about to meet Mia, he walks into her house and it plays over a really seductive cat-and-mouse scene and sets the tone perfectly. I had Mia’s red lipstick in mind when I was creating the design for the poster.
Did you grow up listening to these artists at home? Did you own any of the records?
I did have a copy of The Clash’s London Calling (handed down to me from my older brother). It’s a faultless record and I would’ve been happy making a design for any of the songs from it.
Have you got any projects or exhibitions on at the moment or any coming up?
I’m about to travel to Chicago to take part in the ‘Pre-Vinylette International Showcase’ with over 60 female sign painters from around the world, it’s going to be incredible!
What were your reference points for creating your designs?
I tried to explore the look and feel of the artists and bands that recorded the songs and wrote the lyrics, as well as the time period and aesthetic of the music.
When you have a new commission, how do you go about your creative process?
I try to keep new commissions as open as possible in terms of collaboration—it really depends on the specific job; as all of my work is text-content-led, the association of words or their origin is often what I’ll start looking at. I like to use a lot of colour and texture in my work also.
