Random Spectacular is the publishing imprint of design collective and print gallery St Jude’s.
The imprint was launched in 2011, providing the opportunity for St Jude’s to explore further collaborations in printed and now audio form.
The first two publications, Random Spectacular No. 1 and No. 2, featured contributions from Mark Hearld, Angie Lewin, Rob St. John & Tommy Perman, Jake Tilson, Rob Ryan, Bow Gamelan Ensemble, Emily Sutton, Jonny Hannah, Ralph Steadman, Ultramarine and many more.
In addition to our multi-contributor printed journals, we create a number of single-subject publications and projects in a variety of formats and extending our activities to include the staging of audio/visual events and exhibitions, building on the success of the various St Jude's exhibitions at venues such at The Bankside Gallery (next to Tate Modern).
Simon Lewin explains how Random Spectacular came about...
"As a result of working with a number of artists we admired, Angie and I had been toying with the idea of some sort of printed journal. We had a shared passion for publications such as Jake Tilson's Atlas series, The Saturday Books and the Motif series (published by Shenval Press from the late 1950s to the late 1960s) and wanted to produce something that replicated much of their spirit.
In 2010 Mark Hearld and Emily Sutton joined Angie and me to work at our studio in the Highlands and in the course of a walk round Loch an Eilein we had come up with the name and a commitment to publish.
We approached a number of contributors, some who would produce self-contained submissions, others who we would pair up to collaborate. We were delighted that everybody we contacted agreed to contribute to the first issue - and to donate their time which allowed us to make our first two issues of Random Spectacular fundraisers for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres.
But in addition to these multi-contributor fund-raising journals which we’ll continue to sporadically publish, we’ll be creating a number of single-subject publications and projects in a variety of formats.”
For further information about any aspect of Random Spectacular, please e-mail info@randomspectacular.co.uk or subscribe to our e-mail newsletter.