George Hardie is a Royal Designer for Industry and a member of Alliance Graphique International. Best known for his album cover designs with Hipgnosis, he has been solving problems, making illustrations and teaching students internationally – in 17 countries to date. The exhibition spans five decades of work and explores Hardie’s practice in graphic design, illustration and education.

The exhibition graphics reflect George’s interest in visual puns and playful rebuses. Each letter of his name GEORGE HARDIE is replaced by an illustration of an item, starting with the respective letter: a Hand for H, an Alligator for A, a piece of Rope for R… Three variations of the invitation were printed, one with all letters replaced, two with certain letters revealed. During the exhibition, an animation ran on a screen, constantly revealing the letters and replacing them with icons again.