The Space Between - All Type No Face Article.

This was an article for BabMag in Birmingham on All Type No Face, due to various complications it unfortunately went unpublished.

The Space Between 

‘We stand by living a life from a path you create, rather than what is dictated to you by others’ is the solitary phrase which graces the ‘About’ section on alltypenoface.co.uk, the website for the secretive collective of individuals whose (predominantly) illegal type work has found wide cross-cultural appeal. In amongst the breaking & entering, concern with kerning and beautiful analog photography I managed to steal a few words with them on their many faceted and popular practice.

For those unaware, All Type No Face exist in the style of universe associated with graffiti but whose work is executed with the style and precision of a typographer. Taking influence from a mixture of dreamy phrases and decidedly English cultural references which contain the inherent sarcasm that comes naturally to our country, their bold work has graced rooftops (‘Sorry I Was Miles Away’), barns in fields (‘As Greedy As A Pig’), entire buildings in Newcastle (‘All Type No Face’), Norwich art gallery (‘Five Finger Discount’) and exhibitions across the UK. Loathe to categorize themselves as 'graffiti writers' though, for ATNF it is simply the best medium by which they can best explore their ideas, seeing it as a young and exciting genre full of unexplored territory. Why limit yourself to a 3 colour fade, misplaced drop shadow and derivative letters when there is such cultural emphasis placed on the originators of the movement who themselves (by necessity) took influence from anything but graffiti. 

Stated in the most blasé of fashions the group “paint type and illustrate in places we don’t have permission to and document it in the process” and it’s this grandly understated attitude to what they do that underpins the true attitude behind their work – action first, talk second...if at all as I’ve found out. 

Far from the desperation of any ‘bout that life’ hashtag chasing and showboating All Type No Face (or ATNF for short) are a subtle bunch; their Instagram / social media is minimal in execution but deliberate in tone, pictures prone to showcasing the exact moments where the all seeing eye of the law suddenly becomes fixed on you. Get on's, squeezing through's and climbing overs are contrasted against completed typographical work, allowing only the important parts of the act to resonate - less is more with ATNF. 

Whilst all work is entirely dependent on “the social environment, be it location or attitude” one word that continually reoccurs throughout is ‘Déjà Vu’, that most elusive but immediate of sensations where what one is experiencing it felt to have happened before.This particular turn of phrase, ephemeral and escaping by nature only adds further to the ghostlike and implicit comedy of their work, graffiti takes itself seriously – awfully seriously at times but Déjà vu (however serious its psychological implications can be) is a lighthearted poke, an objective viewpoint on the annoying itch that writers want you to associate them with. As a static medium, pieces are often encountered in the same fashion whether that be the same dubs on the line of the morning commute or the same belligerent tag that has graced/defaced the wall of your corner shop – graffiti adds to the often cyclical nature of the daily grind, same place, same time, same mark and ATNFs focus on this whilst at the same time adding into it is a brilliantly sardonic joke.

Upon questioning ATNF about their opinions on graffiti as a whole the answer then comes rather unsurprisingly that it is “a selfish act, created only for members of this exclusive society”, mirroring the legendary NYC Mayor Koch and his sentiments that graffiti is more a quality of life offence wherein a subversion of ‘traditional values’ (read; laws) is undermined through the individuals priority over the collective. It is this ability to partake actively in this illegal lifestyle with precision typography whilst contrasting and critiquing it, adding in fashion and scantily clad women that ensures their accessibility to a wider audience. They conjure a world so alluring and intangible from a gap in a fence that you cannot help but wonder about what lies beyond.

To a public so disenfranchised with Westminster and career politicicans ATNFs work is the understandable cry of an overtly political generation finding release through active participation in boundary breaking and exploration. Their choice phrases gracing anywhere and everywhere – not screaming for change, just reminding us that those who don’t listen to history’s mistake are doomed to repeat them, doomed to experience a sort of Déjà vu if you will.

You can find out more about the group at alltypenoface.co.uk