Mark James is a multi-disciplinary artist and graphic designer based in Cardiff, Wales, Europe.

Collaborating closely with artists and clients to create high quality visual work. Always keen to explore new and interesting projects, and work with good people who are passionate about what they do and the opportunities that can be created.

“One of Wales’ most talented and culturally significant creatives”

Working across many creative platforms from art direction, video direction, photography, illustration, animation and graphic design. Adapting his work to a variety of styles. His conceptual work is inspired by a mix of popular culture and social commentary and has gained a reputation for being humorous, challenging and controversial.

2024 saw James embark on one of his largest projects to date, ‘Under Neon Loneliness’, a monolithic audio/visual immersive experience. Contained inside a vertical matte black 20ft shipping container were a series of light box and neon signs, with the reflections bouncing off the black mirrored walls to create the illusion of the signs rising up infinitely. Inspired by many a lonely night in Tokyo, the concept was to recreate a feeling of being alone in a totally foreign environment. The sense of being surrounded by people, traffic and hundreds of neon signs in one of the busiest, most exciting cities in the world, whilst also experiencing the feeling of undeniable loneliness. The installation stood in the centre of Cardiff’s Central Square and attracted over 16,500 visitors over three weeks.

James’ career started after leaving school when he began making record covers, flyers, posters and t-shirts for various bands and clubs. Moving to London in 2000 to work as Art Director with Island Records, leaving in 2004 to become a consultant and focus on other projects. Designing over 100 record sleeves and making videos for record labels and artists such as U2, Queen, Maximo Park, Gilles Peterson, DJ Shadow, The Charlatans, Karl Hyde, Underworld, Jamie Cullum, Amy Winehouse, Whyte Horses, Howling Bells, Mala, Avicii, Joe Goddard, Luke UNA, You Me At Six and many more. He has worked with Super Furry Animals and Gruff Rhys for over 20 years; creating artwork, visuals and promo videos for the band and their various solo projects.  

He has worked with many clients ranging from Universal Music, Sony Music, BMG, Virgin/EMI Records, Abbey Road Studios, Stolen Picture, Zara Athleticz, Sky, BBC, Brownswood Recordings, Mr Bongo, Ace Records, Penguin Books, Wichita Records, Hat & Beard Press, Prolifica Management, Rough Trade, Welsh Government amongst others.  

In 2014 his controversial branding for a fried chicken stall went viral. The DirtyBird logo gained attention globally making headline news. The logo was designed with the intention that it could be seen as a pictogram of a cockerel or an ejaculating phallus. It was featured in The Drum’s ‘Most Controversial Logos Of All Time’.

In 2016, James’ work went viral again after he released phone footage of a fireball falling from the sky over Flat Holm Island in South Wales. The 15 second film quickly spread around the world with all major newspapers and TV channels showing the footage. The concept was created as part of a bigger project, and launched the Cardiff Contemporary Arts Festival. The meteor represented NASA’s Voyager 1977 ‘Golden Record’ being returned to sender, after 39 years of no response.

He also hit the headlines in 2002 with the release of his football hooligan parody vinyl figure. Which was condemned by the FA as “irresponsible”.

His ground-breaking creative art toy concept CardBoy was a huge success around the world. Selling in Colette/Paris, Maharishi/London, Kid Robot/New York and Hunting Lodge/Oslo, to name a few. It was designed utilising the packaging to make the head of the figure. In 2008 the CardBoy Cartridges series was selected by MoMA as part of their Colour Chart exhibition and sold in their stores in New York and Tokyo. In 2016 a selection of James’ vinyl figures were sold at auction, alongside Kaws and other international artists, at the HOCA Foundation in Hong Kong. His work has also featured in the Colette/LAMJC book ‘All Gone’.

James has also been involved in creating interior designs for Abbey Road Studios, Island Records and Universal Music. In 2019 he was invited to design a bar within Angelina Restaurant in Dalston, London. The bar, called ‘Golden Gai’, features a bespoke wallpaper with two giant foreboding Tanuki figures; created in his signature style using manipulated black bin bags to create new forms.

As the long term visual collaborator of Gruff Rhys, he was commissioned by Wales Arts International as part of the UNESCO Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019 to create a film to accompany Rhys’ sixth solo album ‘PANG!’. The film was premiered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, September 2019. In 2021 the film and album artwork was also selected to be included in the Museum of Design Atlanta’s exhibition ‘The Future Happened’.

2022 saw James hold his first solo exhibition in Tokyo, entitled ‘Culture Clash’. It featured work inspired by his visits to Japan over the last 20 years, taking Japanese cultural icons and reworking them in his own unique style. The show, which was supported by Wales Arts International, presented new and existing work; including a series of prints featuring a black garbage bag Tanuki, a carrier bag Hello Kitty and a samurai helmet made from pharmaceutical packaging. The sell out show ran from 20th to 27th October at the RFW Showroom in Shibuya. Special guest DJ for the evening was Mr. Kurino of United Arrows fame, who played a unique vinyl set for the show.

Entirely self-taught, James has had no formal training.