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Woman With A Cathode Ray Tube & Camera

March 16, 2024
‘Woman with a cathode ray tube and camera’ – mixed media on paper 2024.

In the 1960s, when public libraries were plentiful, I would spend hours at the central reference library in Coventry looking through service manuals for electrical appliances. I was fascinated by how Radios, TVs and tape recorders worked and I would bury my head into manuals containing circuit diagrams. On reflection I don’t think I was any the wiser regarding the science behind the appliances we all took for granted but I was drawn to the circuit diagrams and illustrations that were a guide to engineers who used to repair equipment before the era where everything was just thrown away and replaced with an ‘improved’ model. Probably the diagrams resonated with the technical drawing I was studying and attempting to do at school at the time.

I recently discovered a book – ‘Radio and TV Servicing 1970-71 Models’ at a nearby charity shop. It immediately pulled me back to my youth and my attraction to circuit diagrams. The 50p I paid for the book was the cheapest nostalgia trip I’ve experienced. Now I understand I was drawn to the strange beauty of the diagrams because they also reminded me of road maps and the mysterious inscriptions on ancient Egyptian monuments, tombs and buildings. I immediately went to work in incorporating the diagrams into some artwork.

The woman with the trolley bag is embellished with a major invention during her life time: the cathode ray tube to which which I’ve added the lens of an early 20th century camera (which preceded television). The short time, in historic terms, of the existence of beguiling electrical diagrams with valves and other pre miniaturised cicuitry hardly competes with the power of ancient Egyptian iconagraphy but it still has a visual allure which deserves the interest of artists.

A page from my 50p charity shop book find.
Hieroglyphic writing, photographed in the Liverpool World Museum. 747 BC – 656 BC (Dynasty 25).

To book a free studio and gallery visit to see Phil Maxwell’s work leave your contact details on the comment section below and we will be in touch.

World Streets (39)

March 13, 2024
Two boys on a bridge in Sylhet. Bangladesh 1990s.
Walking under a bridge in Spitalfields. East London, 2002.
Man next to a car. Prague 2024.
Woman with a wheelbarrow in Dhaka. Bangladesh 2009.
On the phone. Prague 2024.
Workers in a tea garden in Sylhet. Bangladesh 1990s.
Tea
Having a cup of tea in Cheshire Street. East London, 1984.
Passing a supermarket. Prague 2024.
Young girl in Sylhet. Bangladesh 1990s.
Crossing the street. Prague 2024.
Man in a boat in Sylhet. Bangladesh 1990s.
Outside a shop window. Prague 2024.
Man next to a shop window. Rome, 2018.
On the phone. Prague 2024.
Walking the dog on Picton Road. Liverpool, May 2018.
Man with a dog. Prague 2024.
To book a free studio and gallery visit to see Phil Maxwell’s work leave your contact details on the comment section below and we will be in touch.

International Women’s Day 2024

March 8, 2024

Today is International Women’s day. These photographs celebrate women the world over. I hope they challenge the idea that progress is largely brought about by men. We still have a long way to go before injustice based purely on a persons sex is eradicated. This year’s global theme, ‘Women in the Changing World of Work’, celebrates the achievements of women in the workforce and draws attention to the impact of changes in the world of work on women, both in terms of opportunities, as well as growing concerns such as the informality of labour and instability of livelihoods and income. By unlocking the full potential of women in the world of work, we can strive towards ending poverty, promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, reducing inequalities within and between countries, and achievement gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. “Women’s freedom is the sign of social freedom.” – Rosa Luxemburg.

Free Palestine demonstration, Liverpool May 15th 2021.
Pensioners campaigning to save Liverpool Women's Hospital
Pensioners campaigning to save Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2016.
Campaigner supporting refugees, February 2023.
Bangladesh c.1994
Grinding herbs. Bangladesh, 1994.
'Cut war not welfare.' NHS London demonstration 2017.
‘Cut war not welfare.’ NHS London demonstration 2017.
Tea workers. Photomontage 2012
Tea workers in Bangladesh with London as a backdrop. Photomontage 2012
NHS Not Trident. Manchester, October 2017.
NHS Not Trident. Manchester, October 2017.
Tea worker. Bangladesh 1996
Tea worker. Bangladesh 1996.
NHS demonstration. London 2017.
Demonstrating against the privatisation of the NHS. London 2017.
‘We Can’t Pay Our Bills’, Mixed media collage used in the campaign against the cost of living crisis. 2022.
Save Charing Cross. NHS demonstration. March 2017.
Save Charing Cross. NHS demonstration. March 2017.
Dhaka Bangladesh 1994
Woman in a Dhaka market. Bangladesh 1994.
NHS is not for sale. Manchester, October 2017.
NHS is not for sale. Manchester, October 2017.
‘Porto’, Mixed Media photomonage. Portugal 2022.
Sewing. Chaing Mai, Thailand 2017.
Chaing Mai, Thailand 2017.
Free Palestine, Liverpool May 15th 2021.
Anti BNP demo outside John Scurr school c. 1984
Anti BNP demo outside John Scurr school, East London 1984.
Protest, Whitechapel 2008
Protest against education cuts in Whitechapel. East London 2008.
Demonstration against NHS cuts. London 1987
Demonstration against NHS cuts. London 1987.
Nurse demonstrating outside the London Hospital
Nurse demonstrating outside the London Hospital against NHS cuts. East London 2011.
East London women in support of the miners, Kent c. 1984
East London women in support of the miners, Kent 1984.
Trump protest, Liverpool 2017
Anti Trump protest, Liverpool 2017
Trump protest, Liverpool 2017
Anti Trump protest, Liverpool 2017.
Street seller in Hanoi. Vietnam 2019.
Speaking up on behalf of women’s rights. Liverpool, March 2019.
NHS
Campaigner Lesley Mahmood talks to the Merseyside Pensioners Association about the campaign to save the Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Liverpool, January 2018.
Health campaigner Felicity Dowling
Health campaigner Felicity Dowling. Liverpool 2016.
East village. New York 2005.
East village. New York 2005.
Trump protest, Liverpool 2017
Anti Trump protest, Liverpool 2017.
Deep in thought. Hanoi, Vietnam 2019.
Inspirational banner for International Women’s Day. Liverpool, March 2019.
My mother, Mary, smiling on the underground. London 2004.
My mother, Mary, smiling on the underground. London 2004.
Protester in Clayton Square, Liverpool 2017.
Protester in Clayton Square, Liverpool 2017.
Demonstration agaonst racism, Newham 1980s
Demonstration agaonst racism, Newham 1980s
Women in support of the miners, London c. 1984
Women in support of the miners, London 1984.
Liverpool Pride March, 2016.
Liverpool Pride 2016.
Women Construction Workers in Bangladesh, 1990s.
Women Construction Workers. Bangladesh 1992.
A member of the travelling public who supported the strike. Lime Street station, Liverpool.
A member of the travelling public who supported the RMT strike. Lime Street station, Liverpool.
Street conversation. Hanoi, Vietnam 2019.
Black Lives Matter, Liverpool 2016
Black Lives Matter, Liverpool 2016.
Discussing the strike. Liverpool, March 7th 2018.
Discussing the UCU strike. Liverpool, March 7th 2018.
Liverpool 2016
Junior Doctors on strike. Liverpool 2016.
Street trader, Jogjakarta 2020.
UCU picket fighting for a fair pension. Liverpool, March 7th 2018.
UCU picket fighting for a fair pension. Liverpool, March 7th 2018.

To book a free studio and gallery visit to see Phil Maxwell’s work leave your contact details on the comment section below and we will be in touch.

Happy On Brick Lane

March 6, 2024
‘Happy on Brick Lane’ – mixed media on paper 2024.

The woman depicted in this piece was a frequent visitor on Brick Lane in the early 1980s. She fascinated me because she always seemed to be in a world of her own and was very generous with her smiles. If she spoke it was usually to herself. I’ve attempted to show her in the alternative universe she seemed to inhabit.

To book a free studio and gallery visit to see Phil Maxwell’s work leave your contact details on the comment section below and we will be in touch.

World Streets (38)

March 5, 2024
Street scene with a boy on a bike. Paris 2010.
Motorcyclists in Hanoi. Vietnam 2018.
Waiting for the bus. Paris 2010.
Bus stop read on Whitechapel Road. East London, June 2007.
Bus stop read on Whitechapel Road. East London, June 2007.
Shop window. Paris 2010.
Passing a window display. Liverpool, October 2017.
Passing a window display. Liverpool, October 2017.
Worker pulling some pallets. Paris 2010.
Pulling goods in Hanoi. Vietnam 2018.

To book a free studio and gallery visit to see Phil Maxwell’s work leave your contact details on the comment section below and we will be in touch.

Around Liverpool (49)

March 1, 2024
Woman with a trolley bag on Wavertree High Street. Liverpool January
2024.
Wavertree High Street. Liverpool January 2024.
On the phone. Liverpool January 2024.
On the 79 bus. Liverpool January 2024.
London Road. Liverpool 2017.
Brushing the street. Liverpool 2017.
London Road. Liverpool 2022.
London Road. Liverpool 2022.
Passing the launderette on Wavertree High Street. Liverpool January 2024.

To book a free studio and gallery visit to see Phil Maxwell’s work leave your contact details on the comment section below and we will be in touch.

World Streets (37)

February 28, 2024
Woman on an early morning bike journey in Melaka. Malaysia 2018.
Delivery man on a bike. Berlin 2023.
Selling goods at the night market in Melaka. Malaysia 2018.
Three heads on an advertisement. Berlin 2004.
Night market in Melaka. Malaysia 2018.
Painting on the side of a building. Berlin 2004.
Early morning stroll in Melaka. Malaysia 2018.
Walking past a wall with graffiti. Berlin 2004.
Small shop in Melaka. Malaysia 2018.
Taking a break. Berlin 2004.

To book a free studio and gallery visit to see Phil Maxwell’s work leave your contact details on the comment section below and we will be in touch.