When British punk rock took over London’s cultural scene in the 1970s, the world turned up the volume and listened. Spearheaded by bands like The Clash, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sex Pistols and The Damned, this ear-splitting fusion of anarchy and expression defined a generation. Its working-class angst spoke to one rebellious teenager in particular: Mark Sloper, the artist behind Illuminati Neon.

Hand-painted in oils and acrylics at his studio in Shepherd’s Bush, his fluorescent creations are just as anarchic as their namesake. The handblown glass neon is formed using a centuries-old technique, echoing the exhilarating mixture of modern and classical that shaped the punk rock aesthetic.

To create the neon, Mark delicately bends the glass under a temperature of 500ºC and compresses gas within the tubes before using electric transformers to ignite it and create an organic glow. The true colour of neon is red, so Mark uses powder-coated neon tubes filled with argon (a chemical element) to produce a spectrum of colours. Jewels and gold leaf are added as finishing elements to create complexity and make each piece unique, while the ornate frames pay homage to the works of the Old Masters. He upscales his genuine vintage flags by mounting them to a modern board and sewing holes before preserving them with fabric conditioners and glazes. Mark says: “The art comes before the neon; I use the neon to express a statement and enhance the artwork beneath. I enjoy coming in, closing the door and creating beautiful artworks that are becoming increasingly complex. I keep supersizing pieces!”

After a chance encounter with the new wave musician Adam Ant at the age of just 11 led to him touring with the band, Mark became drawn to the punk subculture. His studies at art college in the 1980s were interspersed with frequent trips to London, where he became close friends with some of the movement’s pioneers and troubadours, including the Sex Pistols and the Stranglers.

A career in videography beckoned, and Mark went on to work as a cameraman and a director of photography for bands like the Police and Frankie Goes to Hollywood before joining the BBC. During his successful film career, Mark has directed and produced documentaries on Billy Fury, the Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie, Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols and more.

These legendary figures, along with his friend and fellow neon artist Chris Bracey, inspired Mark to create the Illuminati Neon brand. He adds: “It’s my homage to punk – not only the way we looked, but the way we thought and treated others. A little bit of Shepherd’s Bush punk ghetto is illuminating walls globally.”

In 2019, he was showcased at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery for their START Art Fair, which features some of the best emerging global talent.

In 2020, Mark was featured by the British press when his punk portrait of the Queen received the Royal approval from none other than Her Majesty. The matriarch “burst out laughing”, according to inside sources. He adds: "I love the ceremony and the old-fashioned English respect for our lovely Queen. Punk rockers such as the Sex Pistols have been misunderstood as anti-royalist, but I celebrate the monarchy and love the Queen. Rule Britannia! The Queen has seen herself reimagined by me, and I still have my head."