Absolutely Essex

The Artist Who Wowed Tom Hanks Goes On Show In Essex

Wonky Wheel Gallery and The Moot Hall will host a summer exhibition of work by Essex-based typewriter artist James Cook

Back in the summer, James Cook hit the headlines when a piece of his work created on a typewriter, a portrait of Tom Hanks, received a signed response from the Hollywood star. Up until May 2022, Cook had mostly typed London-based and Essex countryside subjects as a result of residing and working in these areas. Now he has a new series of ‘World Landmarks’ for his summer 2022 exhibition, which broadens the horizon and possibilities of the typewriter medium. Many of his latest drawings are based on old family photographs or fond memories of a particular holiday.

Tom Hanks In Typewriter — The signed Tom Hanks artwork

What is unique about the exhibition is that it spans two venues, Wonky Wheel Gallery in Finchingfield and The Moot Hall in Maldon. At The Moot Hall you will be able to see his largest work to date alongside a display of typewriters, whilst at Wonky Wheel Gallery there will be ten new original works on show. Both venues will be selling limited edition signed prints of all his work to date.

Cook has a slogan he uses for his work, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, because each drawing not only is a random assortment of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks puzzle-pieced together, but there are also hidden messages for the viewer to find when looking at the drawing up-close. His largest panoramic drawing to date could take a good 20-30 minutes for the visitor to fully appreciate the scale and content of the work.

Holly Willoughby In Typewriter — Holly Willoughby as you have never seen her before

Wonky Wheel owner Mary Turley says: “I’m so excited to have James open our Summer Exhibition again this year, it’s a fun and interactive exhibition for the visiting tourists to Finchingfield for our first post covid summer trading.”

The Summer Exhibition will until 7 August 2022, and you can catch James at the Moot Hall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and at Wonky Wheel on Wednesdays throughout the exhibition. Entry to both venues is free.

wonky-wheel.co.uk / themoothall.co.uk

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Mark Kebble

Mark's career in journalism started in 2001 when he landed a role on a small lifestyle magazine in Angel, North London. Soon enough, the magazine was purchased by a larger organisation and Mark found himself promoted to editor at the tender age of 23. He later became group editor, working on magazines for Angel, Crouch End, Muswell Hill and Highgate. He was also involved in a launch in Hadley Wood and a major new group website, later becoming Group Hub Editor. In 2021, Mark joined Zest Media Group and oversaw the launch of many Absolutely titles across the UK. To date, Mark has launched in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Sussex, Essex, Yorkshire and Cheshire. When he does have some free time, Mark is also the Chairman of an amateur football club in Surrey and is also a fully qualified FA football coach.