Collected by celebrities including Sir Elton John, Sting and Boy George, Mark Sloper - known as Illuminati Neon - moves in the same circles as some of showbiz’s best-known names. His latest release, Elizabeth, celebrates Queen Elizabeth II's strength, beauty and 70 years of dedicated duty to our nation through his incredible hand-embellished portrait, using signature punky Illuminati Neon features.
When British punk rock took over London’s cultural scene in the 1970s, the world turned up the volume and listened. Spearheaded by bands like The Clash, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sex Pistols and The Damned, this ear-splitting fusion of anarchy and expression defined a generation. Its working-class angst spoke to one rebellious teenager in particular: Mark Sloper, the artist behind Illuminati Neon.
Hand-painted in oils and acrylics at his studio in Shepherd’s Bush, his fluorescent creations are just as anarchic as their namesake. The handblown glass neon is formed using a centuries-old technique, echoing the exhilarating mixture of modern and classical that shaped the punk rock aesthetic.
To create the neon, Mark delicately bends the glass under a temperature of 500ºC and compresses gas within the tubes before using electric transformers to ignite it and create an organic glow. The true colour of neon is red, so Mark uses powder-coated neon tubes filled with argon (a chemical element) to produce a spectrum of colours. Jewels and gold leaf are added as finishing elements to create complexity and make each piece unique, while the ornate frames pay homage to the works of the Old Masters. He upscales his genuine vintage flags by mounting them to a modern board and sewing holes before preserving them with fabric conditioners and glazes. Mark says: “The art comes before the neon; I use the neon to express a statement and enhance the artwork beneath. I enjoy coming in, closing the door and creating beautiful artworks that are becoming increasingly complex. I keep supersizing pieces!”
After a chance encounter with the new wave musician Adam Ant at the age of just 11 led to him touring with the band, Mark became drawn to the punk subculture. His studies at art college in the 1980s were interspersed with frequent trips to London, where he became close friends with some of the movement’s pioneers and troubadours, including the Sex Pistols and the Stranglers.
A career in videography beckoned, and Mark went on to work as a cameraman and a director of photography for bands like the Police and Frankie Goes to Hollywood before joining the BBC. During his successful film career, Mark has directed and produced documentaries on Billy Fury, the Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie, Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols and more.
These legendary figures, along with his friend and fellow neon artist Chris Bracey, inspired Mark to create the Illuminati Neon brand. He adds: “It’s my homage to punk – not only the way we looked, but the way we thought and treated others. A little bit of Shepherd’s Bush punk ghetto is illuminating walls globally.”
In 2019, he was showcased at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery for their START Art Fair, which features some of the best emerging global talent.
In 2020, Mark was featured by the British press when his punk portrait of the Queen received the Royal approval from none other than Her Majesty. The matriarch “burst out laughing”, according to inside sources. He adds: "I love the ceremony and the old-fashioned English respect for our lovely Queen. Punk rockers such as the Sex Pistols have been misunderstood as anti-royalist, but I celebrate the monarchy and love the Queen. Rule Britannia! The Queen has seen herself reimagined by me, and I still have my head."
Illuminati Neon - artist Mark Sloper - has created a new piece in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, celebrating her life's achievements within its collaged background. Simply titled 'Elizabeth', the piece is bright and colourful, which, as Mark says, "remembers the Queen’s beautiful smile and garners memories of happy times”.
The limited edition piece naturally features his unique touches of bejewelled nose ring, necklace and tattoo, mixing Mark's punk roots with the image of an eternal icon. 'Elizabeth' is hand-embellished with gems and printed onto aluminium, giving the piece a whole new level of depth, colour, and texture. It is framed in a suitably majestic gold baroque style.
The late monarch has been a regular feature in Illuminati Neon work, with Mark's previous hand-embellished canvasses influenced by the English artist and anarchist Jamie Reid, whose controversial ‘God Save the Queen’ album artwork for the Sex Pistols was based on Cecil Beaton’s Silver Jubilee portrait. Says Mark: “My art punk Queens are beautifully constructed with sparkling jewels, newspaper headlines and the fabulous Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II looking splendid and regal, but of course retaining a little punky attitude.”
Queen Elizabeth has been a patron of the British Red Cross since 1949, when she became Patron of the British Junior Red Cross when she was still Princess Elizabeth. More recently, she praised the charity's work during the Covid pandemic, saying that British Red Cross staff and volunteers were "valued and greatly appreciated".
This is why Castle Fine Art is proud to make a donation of £100 to the charity with every purchase of 'Elizabeth'.
His stunning collection, The Art of Chaos, is a homage to the punk rock genre, featuring a selection of large-scale, mixed media artworks and two now sold-out rock 'n' roll limited edition prints with a graphic that reportedly had the approval of the late Queen herself.
Unveiled at a star-studded event at our St Christopher's Place gallery in London, these maximalist artworks were adorned with gems by a specialist artisan, and feature a bespoke one-of-a-kind frame that was created especially for this release. Crafted in the Rococo style - which originated in 18th century Paris and celebrates theatrical ornamental details - the frames boast a metallic finish that appears more silver or gold depending on the warmth of a room's lights
For his original pieces, Mark works with genuine vintage flags, which he sources from a dealer on Portobello Road in London and upscales by mounting them to a modern board and sewing holes before preserving them with fabric conditioners and glazes. He says: "I’m saving them for the future by restoring them to their former glory. What I wanted to do was take things from the past and make them look very modern, so you’re sort of confusing time parallels.”
To create the neon, Mark delicately bends the glass under a temperature of 500ºC and compresses gas within the tubes before using electric transformers to ignite it and create an organic glow. The true colour of neon is red, so Mark uses powder-coated neon tubes filled with argon (a chemical element) to produce a spectrum of colours. Jewels and gold leaf are added as finishing elements to create complexity and make each piece unique, while the ornate frames pay homage to the works of the Old Masters.
Mark says: "Every piece tells a story about that transformative era: my experience of it, the people who made it and became my friends, and the honorary punks who personified its anarchy, chaos and rock ‘n’ roll long before the movement had a name. It’s a constant state of rebelliousness: you wake up, live and dream punk. I’m proud of every single piece. I wouldn’t make an artwork that I wouldn’t hang on my own walls at home."
May's Original Art of the Month features stunning pieces by Illuminati Neon, whose thrilling neon works feature a streetwise, punky take on popular culture.
A homage to the punk rock genre, Illuminati Neon's debut collection with Castle Fine Art features a selection of large-scale, mixed media artworks and two limited edition prints.
A homage to the punk rock genre, this release includes a selection of large-scale, mixed media artworks and two unapologetically rock 'n' roll limited edition prints with a graphic that reportedly had the approval of the late Queen herself!
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