This is Trademark©’s first proper retrospective and apparently the first time he has been back to Liverpool for some years. If you lived ‘down South’ through the '80s you will be all too familiar with his stark, hyper-realistic graphic style... His work became the public face of Trade nightclub and, by default, almost the corporate image for gay life in the mid 80's through to the '90s.

The genius is that it works on so many levels. Stark and unashamed, it may have promoted the unattainable stereotype of what an encounter in young, male gay clubland might be like, but it also gave a visual language to the emerging scene: affluent, hungry and aspirational.

...it was good to see the
graphic image treated as art for
once, rather than just as a
commercial poor relation.

To be honest, I was surprised to see that the exhibited works were paint on canvas. I had assumed they were computer generated images, hand retouched. As someone who has worked in graphics and print for many years, it was good to see the graphic image treated as art for once, rather than just as a commercial poor relation.

It's very easy to argue the commercialisation of gay lifestyles as a negative thing. Most young gay men and women today seem encouraged to flaunt their independence, freedom and expendable income - but it hasn’t always been that way. Not so very long ago these iconic images of unashamed glossy perfection, perfect physical features, aggressive sexuality and blatant posturing were just about as political and daring as you could get.

Trade was never really my cup of tea but although I may not have identified myself with its image without Trade, and Trademark©, we just might not have the quality of lives and freedoms that we enjoy today!

If I haven't convinced you yet, try looking at some revolutionary posters from Russian at the turn of the century through to the Soviet Union - seems familiar?