Renowned 60s poster designer Nigel Waymouth creates psychedelic new work for Hong Kong gallery

Date
11 August 2017

A retrospective of Nigel Waymouth’s work is being held at Joyce Cabinet, Hong Kong, for The Golden Needle exhibition. Featuring the artist’s work from the 1960s, when he designed posters for musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, Nigel has also created a new commission for the gallery.  

To mark the opening of the exhibition, the renowned British artist produced a screen-printed poster of a limited 100 editions. The print takes inspiration from the Hong Kong skyline at dusk and will be on display as part of the installation from 18 July to mid-September.


Well-known for the 60s boutique Granny Takes a Trip and work as one half of design duo Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, Nigel has established a trademark psychedelic style that’s represented throughout the exhibition. The most famous works shown include abstract posters designed for the UFO Club in London and a Jimi Hendrix poster from 1967.


Speaking to Design Week, Nigel Waymouth commented, “We were basically celebrating that watershed time when things changed from post-austerity and post-war to something that was much less severe and hard-edged. There was a whole change of aesthetics, moving from austerity to an organic, free-flowing, even decadent style that was more rock ’n’ roll.”

The details on the poster feature Chinese symbols and significant meanings. ““All the elements: water, air fire, earth, they’re all there,” says Nigel. “I wanted the poster to be a good luck charm, so I incorporated Chinese good luck symbols like dragons and phoenixes into the poster, as well as the natural elements, which you can see with the air balloon floating upwards, the fish below and the mountains in the centre,” Nigel said.

The Golden Needle will run until mid-September at Joyce Cabinet, New World Tower, 16-18 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong.

Above

Nigel Waymouth: The Golden Needle

Above

Nigel Waymouth: The Golden Needle

Above

Nigel Waymouth: The Golden Needle

Above

Nigel Waymouth: The Golden Needle

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About the Author

Ayla Angelos

Ayla is a London-based freelance writer, editor and consultant specialising in art, photography, design and culture. After joining It’s Nice That in 2017 as editorial assistant, she was interim online editor in 2022/2023 and continues to work with us on a freelance basis. She has written for i-D, Dazed, AnOther, WePresent, Port, Elephant and more, and she is also the managing editor of design magazine Anima. 

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