BOB OSBORNE

Born 1953. Studied Literature and Art at the University of East Anglia. Exhibited widely as an artist over the last ten years.

I work in a variety of media, moving freely between surrealistic and constructivist modes of expression. The mood is gestural and imbued with random sensuality. Paint is thrown and dripped rather than applied by brush. Paper is torn and collaged. Found objects, such as driftwood and sacking are integrated into the surface, which may be naturally eroded or intuitively attacked.

The tactile use of weathered materials continues in the recent Street Art project. The visual language of graffiti and fly-posting is employed in Dadaistic dreamscapes. Subversion and subconscious imagery become part of the process.

One of my forebears, Alexander Osborne was listed in the Assizes of The Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 as a “rebel and not taken”. He escaped capture, avoiding being sentenced to death and hung by Judge Jeffreys or sold as a slave to the colonies; hence rebelnottaken.

ROSA OSBORNE

Studied a Three-Dimensional Design and Sculpture degree at Hornsey College of Art.

Recently working in graphics as a stencil artist creating portraits and pop art, both individually and in collaboration with her husband, Bob Osborne. Also operates under the street name DIVA.

Mainly interested in portraiture; her subjects are heroes, martyres, villains, icons, the forgotten counter-culture, and anyone she finds inspirational. She uses precision scalpels, vinyl and card to make stencils. Single layer stencils can be just as effective as more complex ones; some stencils can be 6 or more layers. The images are painted in vibrant colours using spray cans and brushes.