Coelacanth Poster Series
Grounded in research and guided by intuition, I recreated the raw and urgent nature of the 1980s punk scene through process and materials. I stuck to using only what would’ve been available at the time- my hands, pen, paper, tape, and a printer/scanner. As for my process, I used various techniques such as photocopy, collage, drawing, and layering. I worked to capture the 1980s Austin punk scene, creating artifacts that might’ve existed- but didn't.
The task: create four show posters channeling the 1980s punk rock aesthetic for a fictitious Austin-based band called Coelacanth.
Texas Union - Collage
Pulled from my National Geographic magazine collection, the photo in the background served as the basis for the rest of the composition. Immediately imagined the group in a moment of conversation and counterculture. Haphazardly ripping this page out with the haste of inspiration, I turned the cover over to find that this was a magazine from September 1980, one month before the fictitious show date. In theory someone 40 years ago could’ve had this exact magazine in their hands, seen the same image, and pulled it out for the same purpose. I assembled some dialogue and slapped them onto the collage, creating a faux Daily Texan page, echoing the ironic and self-referential wit of the punk scene.
Liberty Lunch - Pettibon Method
Inspired by Raymond Pettibon’s process, I sifted through hundreds of my own sketches- similar to how bands like Black Flag would chose from Pettibon’s archive. I stumbled upon a drawing I had done two years prior while living in Italy. The fish -themed dialogue was perfectly inline with the band's name. I added a smoking Coelacanth and hand wrote the text to keep a sketchbook immediacy.
Waterloo - Photocopy Experiment
For this poster I experimented with my scanner and the popular xerox technique of the time. At first I was scanning my hands and then decided, admittedly as a joke, to scan my face. When I opened the scan on my computer I quickly realized this image captured the obscurity the punk scene used to grab your attention. A printer jam left me with a streaky image that I incorporated in order to embrace the accidents and imperfections that characterized punk posters. I relied more heavily on printed images and text for this poster, leaning into the more curated organization of a record release party.
Austin Aqua Festival - Hand Drawn
Having never been to Austin Aqua Festival, I played on the logo and water themes of the event. I adapted the logo to include two tattooed hands gripping the wheel to insinuate a subversive reclaiming of the event, giving it an underground punk edge. Drawn on old, water-stained construction paper, the poster appears weathered from its time on a West Campus telephone pole.
See the posters in person through December at Austin Camera & Imaging as part of David Carrales’ Coelacanth 2025 Austin Stuido Tour show.
