Phil Illingworth

I had searched - for a long, long time - for the perfect means of making the smallest possible gesture to create a drawing with greater significance than the mark itself.

Many years ago, during my previous incarnation as a graphic designer, I worked in Leeds. The Yorkshire Ripper was still at large at the time, and an extensive media campaign was being conducted, centred around the 'Ripper Tapes' and letters.

This is an original cassette tape of the radio ad for the campaign. Its sinister contents and the damage and delay caused by the false trail are now part of recent history. The work gives clues: the typewritten label naming the client and date, the astonishing incongruity of the studio logo.