Nick Blinko

Nick Blinko (born 4 September 1961) is a British musician, lyricist, and artist best known as the lead singer, lyricist and guitar player for the British band Rudimentary Peni.^[1] He is also known for being an "outsider" artist, whose pen and ink drawings and paintings have been shown in galleries worldwide.^[2] Blinko also creates all the drawings used by the band for its artwork.^{[3] [4]}

Life and work

Blinko began his musical career in 1976 with the band S-Haters,^[5] although he never appeared on their recorded material. His first recorded musical project was The Magits, which formed before Rudimentary Peni in 1977 and was primarily electronic. This band released one 7" titled "Fully Coherent" in 1979, which received occasional airplay by John Peel on Radio 1.^[6]

His most well-known and longest running band, Rudimentary Peni, formed in 1980 and would go on to release three full length albums and seven E.P.'s and singles spanning 1981 - 2009. A full length collection of earlier E.P.'s was also released in 1987.^[7][8]

Blinko has written and illustrated three books. The first, entitled The Primal Screamer was a fictionalized semi-autobiographical novel with horror elements. It was first published in 1995 by Spare Change Books, and received a second printing in 2002. The book is written as a series of journal entries made by the therapist of one Nathaniel Snoxell (who starts a band which is never named but is similar to Rudimentary Peni in many ways).^[9] This book was reprinted in 2011 by PM Press, and collected artwork used for several previous editions under one cover for the first time.^[10] The 2011 edition is distributed by the Alternative Tentacles label.^[11]

Blinko's second book, Haunted Head was published in 2009 by David Tibet via Coptic Cat, in a limited edition of approximately 350 copies. There was also an exclusive micro edition of 60 copies featuring an original piece of art, while all copies of the book contained a postcard with a handwritten excerpt from the book. The edition size reflected the number of Blinko's handwritten postcards, from which the text of the book was transcribed, and which were included in the book. The book also included a one-track compact disc of a song by Rudimentary Peni called "Wilfred Owen The Chances" ^[12][13]

His third and most recent book was titled Visions of Pope Adrian 37th. It was published in 2011, again by Coptic Cat, in two extremely limited editions which both included a small piece of original art by Blinko, drawn directly onto a page of the book. The "standard edition" was limited to 370 copies, while the "special edition" was limited to 37. The book includes 87 drawings, an introduction by outsider art specialist Colin Rhodes, and a brief introduction by Nick Blinko. The artwork in this book was reproduced in its original A5 size.^[14][15]

Blinko also contributed to a collection of punk fiction short stories, entitled Gobbing Pogoing And Gratuitous Bad Language. It was published in 1996 by Spare Change Books. The story is titled "Punk Alice", a reference to Rudimentary Peni's song Alice Crucifies the Paedophiles. The story is written in a sketchbook style of doodles and scribbled phrases referencing the death of punk, chess, Catholicism, depression, goth, Rudimentary Peni lyrics, and drug chemicals.^[16]

Blinko has contributed album artwork to several musical projects aside from his own. Among these are Part 1's 1985 release Pictures of Pain, released on Pushead's label Pusmort,^[17]Coil's 1997 release, Unnatural History III released on Threshold House,^[18] Iron Lung (band)'s 2007 Prank Records release Sexless//No Sex,^[19] Fire in the Head's 2010 release Confessions of a Narcissist,^[20] and others. He has also contributed musically to two releases by Fire in the Head.

Blinko's artwork has been shown internationally and featured in books and magazines related to the field of Outsider Art. An exhibition at the National Schizophrenia Fellowship in 1994 first brought his art to public attention; he is now represented in the Collection de l'art brut in Lausanne.^[21] He had a show at Kinz + Tillou Gallery in New York City in 2006.^[22] Some of Blinko's artwork was featured at the Portland, Oregon art exhibit 'Entartete Kunts' in June 2009.^[23] In 2011 he had a solo exhibit titled 'Visions of Pope Adrian 37th.' at Pallant House Gallery in the U.K.^[24]

Colin Rhode's Outsider Art: Spontaneous Alternatives, published by Thames & Hudson in 2000^[25] features Blinko's art and a description of his working process.^[26]

Blinko draws intensely dense and detailed compositions of faces, figures and obsessive patterns, which at times also incorporate fragmented phrases. Diagnosed as suffering from Schizoaffective disorder, and in the past hospitalised, Blinko creates his pictures when not taking therapeutic medication that adversely affects his ability to work. His art conjures a nightmarish, anxiety-ridden world where inner demons might be exorcised through repetitive graphic marks. Out of thousands of tiny flecks and dashes emerge elaborate visions of skeletons, mysterious symbols and religious figures. Reminiscent of the macabre images of Goya or James Ensor, Blinko creates a personal iconography that evokes the magic and menace of a rich imagination.^[27][28]

An exemplary work could be the Rudimentary Peni concept album Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric. It is rumored that the album was written while Blinko was being detained in a psychiatric hospital under Section 3 of the UK Mental Health Act 1983. The subject matter of the album is purported to be based on the delusions Blinko was experiencing at this time.^[29]

Nick Blinko currently resides on the "outskirts of London" in Abbots Langley.^[30]

References

External links

• Nick Blinko's Artwork from the Henry Boxer Gallery
• Amazon.com Primal Screamer info
• Rudimentary Peni