Gram Hilleard’s Postcards From London
February 5, 2020
It is my delight to publish these postcards designed and conceived by comic genius Gram Hilleard
“The idea behind these postcard provocations is simple. London loves to sell the world its history while at the same time destroying it by selling out to asset-stripping developers and big business. If you visit a souvenir shop the nostalgic postcards you find there show London many years ago, whereas my postcards highlight the awful changes of contemporary London. Unfortunately my research brings up some ugly truths, especially when you join the dots to consider the bigger picture!” – Gram Hilleard
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Postcards copyright Gram Hilleard
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I shared this. Great cards, can’t miss their point. Sad to lose all the great spaces and buildings.
Ugly, soul-less, godless.
These are brilliant and the familiar postcard format really gets message across… great work Gram!
Could he do one of the horrific new development proposed for the Bishopsgate Goodsyard?
We could then get them mass produced to help the campaign to try to stop yet another bit of crass and greedy development by the international asset strippers.
Brilliant – love his idea!
Of course there is an underlying sadness to it.
These cards confirm the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s depressing. So much damage to London’s heritage all in the pursuit of money. Perhaps a recession induced by Brexit will stall it? I won’t hold my breath.
By the way – brilliant concept, well executed.
Thank you for introducing me to the work of Gram Hilleard. Very poignant, insightful & dark but a true reflection of corporate greed. Long live the outsider artist.
Keep up the great work Gentle Author ?
Brilliant! And devastatingly sad.
Brilliant idea! I think these postcards are a truly excoriating critique of what has happened and is happening to London.
Painfully funny, painfully true unfortunately.
Thank you, good people, for your kind words.
The Bishopsgate Goods yard is subtly touched on here in the’ Rampant City Dragon’ depicting the City of London moving out of its old boundaries for a new round of asset-stripping.
By the way, these are actual postcards so many go straight to the audience, through the letter box with the final validation of the postal service!
Absolutely nailed it. Looking forward to seeing these on sale in the Guildhall Bookshop. Not holding my breath though.
I agree with Jill Wilson. These postcards are so startling and should be used to grab the attention of anyone who knew central London before all this destruction became fashionable, and apparently acceptable. When I began working in Carter Lane in the late 60s there was still a bomb site between there and the railway line. It was ugly, but it let in some light! These are much uglier than any bomb site or smoke damaged building I remember, but were made deliberately….!
I have been receiving these blogs fro The Gentle Author for ages now, but possibly many people who do not go there now but used to know inner London do not realise how bad it has become. The postcard idea could perhaps be shared with a wider audience?
Great idea but I have to say I have seen similar before. During the Thatcher era where I used to work there was a hobbyist photographer Mike Hinton very talented and clever guy, unfortunately, no longer around, who had a series of postcards printed exactly like these. One of which was pinned on on the staff notice board of the Royal Free Hospital up for sale.
Very depressing. Thanks for sharing Gram’s postcards, Gentle Author…I think. Need another strong cuppa.
Marnie
Ohio, USA
Funny. Bulls eye.
Sad to see. I have not been to London in twenty years.
What is happening is devastatingly ugly. Wiping away the closeness of communities and personality of a great city. The history does not seem to matter when it comes to the money to be made in ugly buildings.
I think I will skip the city this coming visit. I don’t need the heartbreak.
These statements need no spoken word. Excellent. Thank you.
I’m also quite intrigued by Gram’s artwork on his site. VERY inspiring to me and may just nudge me out of my artist’s block…I love the way he sees and conveys things.
Su C
Fantastic creative work, Gram!
Heartbreaking. So glad I spent 3 weeks in London when I did. But even then signs of commercial greed were everywhere. Harrod’s was Arab-owned and apt. rentals escalating at lightning speed. The historical downward spiral had begun….and that was 35 years ago.
Great idea brilliantly executed. We need more inspired agitprop to raise the spirits and hold to account those who treat out history so lightly in the quest for fat cheques.
Very insightful and incisive.
Brilliant! Although I doubt if the tourist board will adopt them.
Gram’s dazzling work ranks is at once bitterly hilarious & acutely dismaying.
Thanks to the omni-attentional Gentle Author for bringing this to a wider audience.