ZOSHOUSE was recently commissioned to create the artwork for Gothick‘s new album Zodios. This was an exciting opportunity to work together with a creative client to realise their own vision and create striking design.
The artwork required photo shoots in London, Prague and New York. Prague’s history of alchemy and magic were the perfect backdrop and the famous astronomical clock exactly what the interior CD background required. A shot of Manhattan was taken from the Top of the Rock Observation Deck at the historic Rockefeller Center and compliments the shot of the Great Court of the British Museum. The first is a reference to the song All Ov These Cities and the second to the song Walworth Road Surrealist. The album features these together with 10 other original songs including Poh Teck Tung, in memory of Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson, founding member of Industrial bands Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and Coil.
Finding the right location in New York was difficult, a few shots were taken at Times Square and outside The Dakota but the sweeping skyline panorama and obelisk of the Empire State building were chosen. A number of locations in London were considered, including the famous time-machine of Brompton cemetery, the interior of the Templar church on the Embankment and some of the previous abodes of Aleister Crowley. In the end the Great Court was chosen for its proximity to the artifacts of John Dee, Sumeria and to Museum Street where the original painting of Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers can be found. The initial location scouting in Prague began with the Golden Lane, the legendary home of alchemists and haunt of John Dee and the Old New Synagogue, legendary home of the Golem. As the album concept initially dealt with an exploration of the 12 signs of the zodiac, the clockface from the astronomical clock tower was finally selected.
The cover itself is a painting by Sean Woodward entitled Eye Ov Nuit commissioned for the album and 3D graphics were used to tie together the front and back designs. The artist explained some of the symbolism behind the central lamen eye as incorporating the ten Sephirah of the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life and the outer circles representing the four elements of the quarters. Between the Sephirah lie the paths of the zodiac which are represented in the outer spaces. Whilst the painting is called the Eye Ov Nuit, named after the Egyptian goddess of infinite space it is also a fitting talisman of Zodios, which Gothick have called a personification of the Holy Guardian Angel, a concept attributed to Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers.
Released by Quartier23 in Berlin on May 23rd 2011, the album can be purchased here.
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Zos House in conjunction with Dragonheart Press is proud to present
The Janus Machine, New Secrets of Time Management
Working closely with the author, a motivational speaker, time management visionary, tantric master and nlp sorcerer, the brief was to design imagery to be used for an expanded audio and ebook presentation of his 2010 talk at Second Wednesday. This required bold imagery which captured the essence of the talk and gives a hint of what is contained together with new instrumental music.
Here’s what’s been said about the author of The Janus Machine:
“His knowledge of ‘digital’ is encyclopedic. He is also highly creative. This is a potent force when mixed. Hire him.”
- Richard Adams, Digital Strategy Director
“Great turnout last night for Sean Woodward’s talk on The Janus Machine aka present moment mindfulness in a business context”
- Nick Hayward, Second Wednesday organiser
“His work is remarkable. Old gods, ancient mysteries, new media. His work are initiations by themselves. He brings a forgotten past to our modern consciousness.”
- Visions & Dreams magazine
The author is available to give The Janus Machine presentations and workshops.
If you’d like to hire him to share the exciting secrets of The Janus Machine with your company or group, or to work with you one-to-one, please contact us at info @ zoshouse. com.
The Janus Machine CD | MP3 | eBook available now from Dragonheart Press
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Produced for Bouncin Management’s Breakin The Mould night in Newark, the print-resolution poster combined advanced 3D rendering and typography.
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In 2002 we created the first website for Canadian author Paul Breau. This incorporated sophisticated graphic design with extensive text excerpts from his book, Your Enlightened Soul. Utilising layers and image-rollovers, the site complimented the design of the book itself.
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Working closely with the author, Stephen Bailey, we produced a site to showcase his new book and offer a way for his readers to interact via comments, competitions and photography. WordPress was the ideal choice as it allowed the author to add additional news items, an order form and stories whenever he wanted.
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For the 2009 Wirksworth Festival, a new poster was needed to highlight an evening event. To be seen across the town and to compete with all the other events it had to be bold and utilitarian, whilst maintaining a creative flair. We chose the symbol of the pub the event was being held at, created a 3D version of the lion and incorporated it in the design.
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We’d previously done some print design for the client and so were aware of their business, its focus and where the web could add value. We’d also created their first website back in the Web 1.0 world.
We suggested to the client a new way forward, by using Joomla as a content management system. It would allow us to incorporate an extensive portfolio of their products and with documentation and training, the business could update the site themselves at kedlestonheating.co.uk
