Secret 7″ & War Child

Secret 7″ is a charity exhibition and auction where leading artists and designers create their own record sleeves for one of seven iconic tracks. The 2024 edition was presented by War Child, a UK charity that provides vital support to children affected by conflict (all auction funds went to War Child). 700 unique sleeves were exhibited at NOW Gallery in London, UK.

Artists and designers could choose one (or more) of seven tracks: ‘A Different Kind of Human’ by Aurora, ‘Stop This Flame’ by Celeste, ‘Swan Upon Leda’ by Hozier, ‘Pipes of Peace’ by Paul McCartney, ‘Lullaby’ by Siouxsie & The Banshees, ‘Skipping Like A Stone’ by The Chemical Brothers (feat Beck) and ‘We Sell Hope’ by The Specials.

The only rules were not to mention the musician or the song title on the cover, and to keep the work anonymous until after the auction. Anything else was allowed, including the use of unusual materials or formats.

My cover artwork was a response to Paul McCartney’s ‘Pipes of Peace’ song. Referencing the lyrics “Help them to learn, Songs of joy instead of ‘Burn, baby, burn’” and “I light a candle to our love, In love our problems disappear”, I drew a match that burns with love, instead of fire.

It was a real pleasure to be included in this year’s exhibition besides artists such as Jean Jullien, Anthony Burrill, Sir Paul Smith, Studio Lenca, Kate Gibb, Tacita Dean, Rankin, Morag Myerscough, Jamie Hewlett, Ragnar Kjartansson, Humphrey Ocean, Pure Evil, Stanley Donwood, Tom Dixon, Rachel Whiteread, Supermundane, Bob and Roberta Smith and many more.

The records were auctioned online on the Peggy platform at the end of the exhibition. All the money raised went in support of the War Child charity. My cover was bought by a very generous unknown donor, who I’d like to thank very much!

You can see all the covers and artists in the exhibition on the Secret 7″ website. Find out more about War Child on their website.

You might also enjoy reading about my previous Secret 7″ cover for their 2020 exhibition.