Mutoid Waste Company
Encyclopedia
The Mutoid Waste Company was a performance art
s group founded in the United Kingdom
by Joe Rush
and Robin Cooke in the early 1980s which continued until the 1990s, when it was based in Italy
.
Influenced by the movie Mad Max
and the popular Judge Dredd
comics
, they specialised in organising illegal parties in London
throughout the 1980s, driven at first by eclectic assortments of fringe music such as psychedelic rock and dub reggae
, but then embracing the burgeoning acid house
music movement by the late 1980s. They were probably also influenced by the TV show Blake's 7
, which featured Mutoids, reconditioned humans who had had their personalities removed.
The group became famous for building giant welded sculptures from waste materials and for customising broken down cars, as well as making large scale murals in the disused buildings where they held their parties.
In 1989, after a number of police raids on their warehouse in King's Cross, they left the country and travelled to Germany where they became notorious for building giant sculptures out of old machinery and car parts, one of which was 'Kaferman', a giant human figure with a Volkswagen Beetle
for its chest, offering a Bird Of Peace sculpture that overlooked the Berlin Wall
towards the East Berliners & the DDR regime. They had a collection of scrap military vehicles including a Russian MiG 21
fighter aircraft
which 'followed' them around wherever they went.
Lady Emma Herbert
, daughter of the Earl of Pembroke
, met the Mutoids at about this time. They taught her acrobatic skills and she toured Europe with them, which was the beginning of her career as a circus trapeze artist.Jack Grimston and Julia Llewellyn Smith, Focus: Orf to the circus, The Sunday Times
, December 14, 2003
In the early 1990s the Mutoids moved to Santarcangelo di Romagna
, where they set up a scrap village called Mutonia and continued working, displaying and performing at squat
s and libertarian celebrations in the Bologna
region.
In recent years, the Mutoids have re-appeared at a number of British festivals and arts events, with displays of their distinctive vehicle sculptures.
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
s group founded in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Joe Rush
Joe Rush
Joe Rush influenced by the film 'Mad Max' and 'Judge Dredd' comics, was the co-originator of the travelling multi media art group Eat my face, an underground art collective who specialised in building large scale installations out of waste material...
and Robin Cooke in the early 1980s which continued until the 1990s, when it was based in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Influenced by the movie Mad Max
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
and the popular Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, they specialised in organising illegal parties in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
throughout the 1980s, driven at first by eclectic assortments of fringe music such as psychedelic rock and dub reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, but then embracing the burgeoning acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
music movement by the late 1980s. They were probably also influenced by the TV show Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
, which featured Mutoids, reconditioned humans who had had their personalities removed.
The group became famous for building giant welded sculptures from waste materials and for customising broken down cars, as well as making large scale murals in the disused buildings where they held their parties.
In 1989, after a number of police raids on their warehouse in King's Cross, they left the country and travelled to Germany where they became notorious for building giant sculptures out of old machinery and car parts, one of which was 'Kaferman', a giant human figure with a Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
for its chest, offering a Bird Of Peace sculpture that overlooked the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
towards the East Berliners & the DDR regime. They had a collection of scrap military vehicles including a Russian MiG 21
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
which 'followed' them around wherever they went.
Lady Emma Herbert
Lady Emma Herbert
Lady Emma Herbert , married name Lady Emma Vickers, is a British circus trapeze artist, stuntwoman, and teacher of circus arts.-Early life:...
, daughter of the Earl of Pembroke
Henry Herbert, 17th Earl of Pembroke
Henry George Charles Alexander Herbert, 17th Earl of Pembroke, 14th Earl of Montgomery , styled Lord Herbert between 1960 and 1969 and often known simply as Henry Herbert, was a British aristocrat, film director and producer.-Background and education:Herbert was the eldest son of the 16th Earl of...
, met the Mutoids at about this time. They taught her acrobatic skills and she toured Europe with them, which was the beginning of her career as a circus trapeze artist.Jack Grimston and Julia Llewellyn Smith, Focus: Orf to the circus, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, December 14, 2003
In the early 1990s the Mutoids moved to Santarcangelo di Romagna
Santarcangelo di Romagna
Santarcangelo di Romagna is a town and comune in the province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, on the Via Emilia. As of 2009, it had a population of some 21,300. It is crossed by two rivers, the Uso and the Marecchia.- Santarcangelo Festival :...
, where they set up a scrap village called Mutonia and continued working, displaying and performing at squat
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
s and libertarian celebrations in the Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
region.
In recent years, the Mutoids have re-appeared at a number of British festivals and arts events, with displays of their distinctive vehicle sculptures.