Stephen Hobbs | Camouflage Pop-Up Book

 Pop-up book (2013) © Stephen Hobbs

In recent years, we've been following the work of a South African visual artist (based in Johannesburg) named Stephen Hobbs (find detailed information here). Our interest began when we found out about his use of dazzle-painting motifs on buildings, inside and out, a direction he is continuing at an even grander scale. 

In the meantime, he's been branching out, turning most recently to innovative uses of woodblock and linocut methods (some of which also use dazzle-related surfaces), the assemblage of parts of printed proofs into three-dimensional forms, including (see sample page spreads below) the construction of a limited edition pop-up book. 

©Stephen Hobbs (2013)

Hobbs' pop-up book and other related components in the larger project were produced and exhibited in collaboration with the David Krut Print Workshop (DKW). Concurrent with the exhibition, titled Be Careful in the Working Radius, David Krut Publishing also produced a full-color catalog (2013), with a rich selection of on-site photographs, artworks, and helpful commentaries by Jacqueline Nurse, Kate Arthur and the artist himself.         

©Stephen Hobbs (2013)

Stephen Hobbs, surface design for the Craftsman's Ship (2013)

In a related but separate commission, Hobbs is also working with Propertuity, Developers of the Maboneng Precinct, on the application of dazzle-painting to an actual urban building site. This ambitious in-process project is for a building to be known as the Craftsman's Ship, located at the corner of Main and Kruger Streets, City and Suburban, Johannesburg.

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