Now that Alan Aldridge has turned his attention away from illustrating lyric books for the Beatles and designing album covers for The Rolling Stones, The Who and Elton John, he’s gone back to a favorite old canvas of his: the MINI. In 1965, Aldridge marked the opening of his exhibition by recreating an iconic cover of the Sunday Times Magazine that featured a classic MINI by painting a MINI in his own inimitable style. This year, in preparation of the MINI’s 50-year anniversary in 2009, he is doing the same thing. The MINI Aldridge Special is currently an exhibit at the Design Museum in London in a retrospective display of Aldridge’s work, entitled ‘The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes’.
The MINI Aldridge Special is adorned with an array of images, shapes and patterns, each reflecting either a male or female theme, just as the 1965 car did. The design theme is split between each side of the car, the driver side being largely set on a blue background and masculine in appearance, while the passenger side is set in pink.
MINI UK General Manager Andy Hearn said: “The work of Alan Aldridge is synonymous with some of the most important names in the history of British culture, so MINI is delighted to support this exhibition by offering Alan a car to work on’’.
