Little Book Transfers is the artistic collaboration between visual artists Nikki McGuigan (24), Hollie Russell (22) and Mairi Hutchinson (25). They met whilst studying for their undergrad degrees in Visual Art in Glasgow.

After graduating we got involved in the summer project Somewhereto_ Re:store which was set up to regenerate unused space within Glasgow city centre by creating a creative pop-up venue. We documented the ongoing of the space for the duration of the pop up (one month). This was our first mural together and where we realised we could possibly take it further and start a collective. The name came about as the newspapers were coming and we had to think of something quick – Mairi and her partner had the name Little Book Transfers kept aside for the day they started a band together, but as it had been a few years and they hadn’t gotten round to it, we thought we had to put the name to good use as it just suited what we wanted to do perfectly! (We are still going to have a band one day!)

We work doing illustrations used to create private commissions, illustrated objects, live art and wall and window murals, ranging from small to large (around 25ft!). Our work is often feminine and is inspired by nature and form. It has a surreal undertone and can often be described as humorous and whimsical. We also work with blocks of colour, which we illustrate on and around.

We work together in our office/studio space smack bang in the centre of Glasgow. We normally come up with small, basic sketches, together or apart and verbalise our ideas to each other whilst using Illustrator for mockups. There isn’t much in-between from initial sketch to finished product as we do a lot of our work on the spot and change things as we go when creating mural work. We work in a spontaneous way, making the process more exciting, where we have loose sketches at hand, but it is all very much freehand! We go with what feels right for the space when we turn up to different sites and locations.

The highlight of our career so far would be last year (as we have only been working as a collective for roughly a year) when we had a 5 month long feature in the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow in correspondence with Generation: 25 Years of Contemporary Art. We created a 25 year long timeline which consisted of 25 individual illustrations which we free-handed onto the walls of the GoMA balcony. We montaged and illustrated a selection of world history and art events that took place to create humorous yet informative work for each year.

Our first solo show at The Good Spirits Co. on Bath Street will showcase a selection of large illustrated boards and screen prints inspired by exotic botanicals and the female form. The show will run from 12 March until 19 April.

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