Monday-Sunday 11.00-18.30 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ, UK

AoS of London (Psychogeographia Zosiana) by Alan Moore & Gavin Semple




Clothbound, 156x232mm, pp.48. Litho, sewn, colour-plates and gatefold section, frontispiece, hand-numbered on colophon. Tailbands, foil-blocked on spine and front. Illustrated dustjacket. Over 70 black & white images, 6 colour images by Spare. Small-format (A3) fold-out map.

Presented here is the full interview transcript (7,600 words) with Alan Moore conducted by Steve Crabtree for the BBC Culture Show on the occasion of the 2010 ‘Fallen Visionary’ exhibition, Cuming Museum, Walworth, London.

Moore discusses his enduring fascination for Spare in relation to mystical and quotidian London history. During a taxi cab tour around Southwark, he investigates the Cockney milieu of Spare. And he examines works in the exhibition, discussing the magical implications of Spare’s art and how it nourishes him as a writer and magician.

Contextual History by Gavin W. Semple – Pin-pointing the domiciles and haunts of Spare’s South London, along with the taverns that the artist frequented and exhibited in. This is revised from the Cockney Visionary publication.

Among images of Spare’s art is a previously unpublished nude study belonging to Moore. There are 23 exquisite line illustrations by Ben Thompson (Master of the Art), evoking characters of Spare’s canon; from Paterson to Crowley, Blake to Blavatsky, that underpin Spare’s art and ethos.

Thompson has also produced a stunning cartographical puzzle with graphic inter-dimensional implications, revealing alternate hidden designs when partially unfolded. This is with the deluxe edition only, and a folio edition of signed prints will also be released.

A new concept in Spare studies? A unique guide for exploring sub-rosa London?
You decide, but do keep to the left-hand path…



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