Punk Troubles: Northern Ireland
Toby Mott

Punk Troubles: Northern Ireland examines the subject of Northern Ireland punk in the context of sectarianism. The book offers a new and unique perspective on The Troubles and the NI punk scene by explicitly highlighting connections between the two. The crude immediacy of the NI punk aesthetic and message is shown in relation to the political propaganda of the same period. The striking images used give an idea of the power of punk in Northern Ireland, producing an uncompromising look at The Troubles and the younger, frustrated generation’s response to this conflicted period in Northern Irish history. A timeline of key NI events creates a dialogue between the history and the material represented. With an in-depth interview with Paul Burgess, principal songwriter of Ruefrex and a key figure in the NI punk scene, who says about NI at that time, ‘If you’re not confused you haven’t understood the situation’. ¹

Artist, collector and founder of Cultural Traffic, Toby Mott is something of an art world maverick. Kicked out of various schools for persistent misdemeanours he had to settle at Pimlico Comprehensive, a school that he would later describe as being the making of him. With a disinclination for conventional work he found himself living in a squat with a Dickensian like crowd of punks, drag queens, drug addicts and petty criminals, amongst whom he found friendship with Marilyn, Princess Julia and Boy George. ²

Dashwood Books is a bookshop and publisher in New York City. It has become a destination for artists, collectors and art directors from all over the world as well as a valued source for the fashion, advertising and film industries, and anyone interested in artist’s books and monographs.³