(The satirical and surreal art of) Coldwar Steve
by Andy Lyon
Eagerly awaiting the next picture so you can find Cilla and Phil Mitchell amongst characters such as Nigel Farage, Michael Gove, Donald Trump and Mike Ashley may sound like some dystopian masochist fetish but that's exactly what me and about 220 thousand others look forward to in tweets from Coldwar Steve.
Coldwar Steve is the pseudonym of Christopher Spencer, an artist from Birmingham, UK, who produces surreal and satirical collages. Starting in 2016, his tweets have been followed by three solo exhibitions, two books with Thames & Hudson, commissions for the National Galleries of Scotland and the Whitworth in Manchester, a giant billboard installation at Glastonbury Festival and an international TIME magazine cover.
In September 2019 the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery approached Cold War Steve to work on a commission based around their amazing Digital Image Resource. The idea was to dig deep into the archives and give some of their fantastic pieces the Coldwar Steve treatment.
‘Benny’s Babbies’
A massive gilt-framed version was scheduled to be unveiled on 18th April 2020 at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Obviously this couldn't happen during the current Corona lockdown so instead it was unveiled via The Social as part of their ongoing online Social Gathering project.
The satire is sharp and comes thick and fast. The images started as Phil Mitchell in Cold War scenes but then Brexit happened. Christopher was devastated but channelled his desperation into images rather than ranting on Twitter. He makes his point with an acerbic wit. It's not just Brexit though, anyone in the news could be included. From crap British celebrities to anyone who needs bringing down a peg or two. Reaction to being collaged varies. Les Dennis tweeted his delight to be included, Nick Knowles blocked him.
Christopher's images often feature public figures in very British settings such as working men's clubs, seaside towns and run down high streets. Quintessential Britishness is maintained by Cilla Black, Noel Edmunds and most notably Phil Mitchell, the Eastenders character played by Steve McFadden who has been described by Christopher in a recent Guardian interview as "an everyman, an observer, the hero of the pieces, the anchor to the real world. He's me looking on in disbelief, really".
There are subplots galore, from the bromance between Phil Mitchell and Kim Jong-Un; Danny Dyer chasing David Cameron (because he was the only one to call him out at the time) and Sam Allerdyce at the head of the Fray Bentos pie queue.
It's incredible to think it nearly didn't happen. In 2016, Christopher had what he describes as a 'Complete Breakdown' and attempted suicide. After a period in hospital he started creating those collages of Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) in Cold War scenes as a coping mechanism.
His success has enabled him to raise in excess of £10k for the mental health charity Mind, promoting discussion of mental health issues.
Christopher sums it up perfectly in another recent article in The Big Issue - "The feedback I get I love, a lot of the people that comment feel the same. They say yes, it’s horrible, it’s scary and everything, but it’s quite a nice relief to laugh at these idiots even though it’s awful. It highlights how absurd it is, by making them more ridiculous."
And his latest image is no different.
