Second Thoughts/Doutes uses exchanges between Lawrence and various designers to tell the story of a never ending battle for beauty, and inevitable clashes with reality.
It captures the visual side to the man’s various musical projects (Felt, Denim & Go-Kart Mozart), all handled with meticulous attention to detail; a career and life as a constant work in progress, striving for perfection, if nothing else.
Compiled from various archives – first and foremost Lawrence’s own personal collection – it includes corrected proofs, original artworks used and unused, love letters, pasquilles, ephemera and a belt.
This exhibition draws together his musical, lyrical and aesthetic vision through a multi-layered narration, from early school days in Birmingham right up to the present day.
Next door to Dépendance Gallery, a pop up shop is selling a few of Lawrence’s own personally selected books and records.
The exhibition comes with a Din A2 poster, especially created for the occasion by Lawrence, Paul Kelly and Christian Flamm.
“Lawrence’s powers of persuasion are second to none. I don’t think anyone else could have talked me into typing up the entire lyrics of the Denim album from barely legible scrawls on scrappy bits of paper. But Lawrence’s inclusive enthusiasm is catching. Although it did result in some difficult moments like the time he made me change the typeface of the barcode on the Go-Kart Mozart album sleeve. I duly did so, thus unintentionally rendering the barcode completely useless. Shops could not scan them and the entire production run required stickers to be placed over every bar code. I think Lawrence was still happy; you could peel the sticker off and see the barcode with its nicer typeface underneath. I was less happy – the cost of stickering was more than my fee for the job.
Still, working with Lawrence is inspiring, entertaining and certainly never boring. We are still designing the reissue of Bubblegum Perfume – four years after commencing it. But when we do finish it, it will be perfect.”
Lora Findlay
Excerpt from Foxtrot Echo Lima Tango (2011)