Pic: Jasmina Vulic
You only need two things to write a limerick: a love of language, and an appreciation for the absurd. I’ve written them with everyone from university professors to primary school children, and I can assure you that what the younger generation might lack in vocabulary, they more than make up for with their aptitude for the downright ridiculous.
Unlike their short-form poetic rivals, most notably the lofty sonnet and the scrupulous haiku, limericks actively embrace new culture. As genuine articles of folklore, it’s the very act of sharing that keeps them alive. They take on new influences as they pass between people and through time, all the while being reworked, subverted, parodied, and plaigurused, free from the shackles that restrain classical literature.
Much has been said of what constitutes a good limerick, with many commentators decreeing that only the naughty ones are ever any good. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a naughty limerick. Indeed, there are many murky musings lurking in the depths of my Instagram. However, I do think a limerick can be much more than that. Within their five-line structure exists innumerable possibilities for the expression of emotion and the provocation of thought.
While their characteristically playful rhythm and rhyme might prompt whimsy, they also lend an air of serene charm to subjects of a more profound nature. This is because the primary function of rhyming is to make the disputable seem indisputable. The great English performance poet, John Cooper Clarke, put this best when he said, “...because it rhymes, that means it’s true”.
So, I try to write limericks about everything; from the personal, to the informative, to the entertaining. When they are ready, I illustrate them in bright, bold colours, and paint them as studio canvases and public murals.
PRESS
"...bright, bold...awesome"
TIME OUT
"...truly amazing"
SECRET LONDON
"...thoughtful, witty, and cleverly crafted"
THE NEW EUROPEAN
"...full of humour and life wisdom"
CREATIVE BOOM
"...striking"
BBC RADIO
"...dazzling murals"
LIVERPOOL ECHO
"...eye catching"
COVENTRY OBSERVER
"...full of vivid colours, it brings a pop of life"
CARLISLE NEWS AND STAR
EXHIBITED WORKS
London Borough of Limericks (Solo) - 1B Window Gallery - 1 August - 31 September 2020
The Mancunian Spray - Chapeltown Street, Manchester - 21 September 2019
Art The Arms Fair - Maverick Projects, Peckham - 3-13 September 2019
Urban Contemporary Art - Old Spitalfields Market - 26 June - 12 July 2019
Glastonbury Festival - Pilton, Somerset - 26-30 June 2019
Global Street Art x Pilot Pintor - Hallsville Quarter - 12 December 2018
The Other Art Fair - Bristol - Art On A Postcard - 19th July 2018
Swimming Pools Exhibition - Jealous Gallery - 7-24 September 2017
Green Creates Exhibition - Hoxton Arches - 19-24 October 2016
Glastonbury Festival - Pilton, Somerset - 22-26 June 2016