What’s in the Air?
SARAH MILNE talks to Jude Montague about her graphic novel-in-progress
Jude Montague’s talents are spread right across the local art and music scene. From musical performances with her partner, Matt Armstrong, to exhibitions of art prints, made in the couple’s shop and studio in King’s Road, Jude can almost always be found sharing her talents somewhere in town. One of her main projects this year is the publication of What’s in the Air?, a graphic novel about her grandparents, Marjorie and Sydney, pioneers of early radio. Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to catch up with her.
“Telling this story is a lifelong project. I have always wanted to do a graphic novel about my grandfather and have started it many times. With two other graphic novels – this will be my third – it finally seems to have happened after many false starts.
BROADCASTING PIONEERS
‘What’s in the Air?’ was the title of a column from the very first issue of the Radio Times, on the very first page. It sums up the sense of searching for something new, of listening out to a brave new world of connectivity through the magic of wireless transmission. It was published in September 1923.
‘My story dates from 1922, when the first nationally-linked radio broadcasts in the UK were made by the proto-BBC, then called 2LO in London and 2ZY in Manchester. My story is set in Manchester. The London-centric nature of our society sometimes overlooks regional stories. Perhaps that is changing, but I would like to contribute to a shift of the historical lens.
“I have worked in many different forms, but I do enjoy illustration – painting figures and scenes with pen and ink and building a story bit by bit. My first graphic novel was a mixture of drawing and written memoir. I am addicted to drawing, so it gives me an excuse to let the story unfold through doing something I really enjoy. The characters take on a life of their own and you want to see them express themselves in different situations, sometimes humorously. I love the personalities’ interaction.”
DRAWING THE FAMILY
Jude’s drawings are wonderfully expressive – stylised, simple and vibrant. She explains:
“There is a newspaper clipping saying that they met at the radio, at 2ZY. It says both were part of the story of radio right from the very beginning. My grandfather, a cellist, was one of a group of young performers and was a core member of the original music team, becoming Uncle Sydney on the children’s shows. My grandmother was a tailor – what she was doing at 2ZY I probably won’t ever know! I have reimagined her, though, commenting on future fashion, as there are accounts of experts predicting trends in colour, cloth, and shape for the forthcoming year. There were many pioneer women in early radio, so her story serves as a lens through which I can focus on their contribution to this emerging media.”
What’s In the Air? celebrates Jude’s family’s role in the beginnings of radio. Having earlier investigated the beginnings of electronic amplification here, Jude is also turning her attention this year to the invention of TV by John Logie Baird, here in Hastings.
“As a media historian and archivist I am fascinated by periods of change, where new technologies are developed and people use them to tell stories. In those early times there are often no codified rules in place: individuals can break loose, make a difference, jump in where angels fear to tread. I am fascinated by the impulse that leads people to work independently, chasing ideas and making them a practical reality. John Logie Baird loved the idea of being an ‘inventor’. He styled himself accordingly, unafraid to cut a figure as an outsider, with his wavy shock of hair and his sandal-clad feet, even in winter.”
Jude is promoting a ‘Spirit of Invention’ festival to celebrate John Logie Baird later this year, including an art exhibition at Electro Studios in St Leonards.
What’s In the Air? should be completed by autumn. It’s not her first, and she says it won’t be her last.
“I enjoy the process – I expect my next one will continue to dig into my interest in media history and I think it may be set back in London. My PhD was on the pioneers of the British film industry before and during World War One, and there are some fascinating, little-known stories to tell.”
What’s In the Air? is currently available for pre-order on Kickstarter at kickstarter.com/projects/isleofdogs/sydney-radio-pioneer-manchester-graphic-novel. Jude’s first graphic novel, Love on the Isle of Dogs, is distributed through Central Books. Her second, Breakfast in Shoreditch, is available from Montague Armstrong at 15 Kings Road, St Leonards. This third novel will also be distributed through Central Books.
Jude will be running workshops on telling life stories through drawing, at Bus Stop Studios, 53 London Road. Register your interest at busstopstudios.com/classes
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