Mark Hampson

A few years ago, I bought some brushes to paint the house. Instead, using basic manipulations with studio scraps and props, I made several ‘brush bands’, visually echoing the look of classic 60s groups. Recently, contemplating Stuart Sutcliffe and his combined legacies as artistic bohemian, image-maker and one of the fifth Beatles accredited with helping to define the band’s early image, I decided to reform the brush bands. Whilst remaking and rehearsing them, I spotted a lone brush in a corner of my studio; slightly worn and well-used, his bristled mane was sculpted into a permanent rocker’s quiff by old paint, dust and varnish. It instantly triggered a memory of grainy black and white Artschool photographs of Stuart that I had absorbed as a young fan. With the help of all my props, Stuart was back. When I came to google Stuart, I realised that, as always, my memory was corrupted and I had constructed a figure from flawed interpretations, merging creative inventions.

My daughter described this brush as ‘the cool one’; the details of my invention may have been wrong but the spirit was there. She picked him up and played with him. I dug out my copy of Stuart singing ‘Love Me Tender’. We all had a dance and, for a dreamy minute, the studio was transformed into the Cavern.