Comedian, artist and bin-enthusiast Joe Lycett is to release Bins, a limited-edition art book which he has designed, photographed and written, celebrating and exploring the beautiful British bin. 

The book will be on sale from 2nd March, with priority access to those on Joe’s mailing list (joelycett.com) from 9am and then on general sale from 10am.

Bins is Coptic bound with an exposed, printed spine neatly sandwiched between ‘gay bin bag covers’ – each created with multiple black and holographic foils. Within the 208 text pages lie 78 images of the artist’s favourite bins interspersed with six original paintings of bits of trash, printed across four premium papers (one of which is made from recycled coffee cups).

A riot of colour, texture and literal rubbish, this beautiful, limited-edition book reassesses bins, acknowledging them as beautiful, humble and horrible, able to see the absolute worst of us and carry on regardless. It’s truly wanky stuff!

Each bin comes with its own unique description written by the author when he was drunk.

Additional rubbish in Bins includes a foreword by Daisy May Cooper (who once went to the BAFTAs wearing a bin bag), a thought-provoking piece by Al Little of Biffa bins and an academic essay on the history of bins by Katrina Navickas, an historian of public space and landscape in the UK.

Joe Lycett said: “I am obsessed with bins and have thousands of pictures of them. I’m not well. I hope other people also enjoy my pictures of bins.”

Only 1,000 copies of this book have been made, each one numbered and signed by the artist.

Bins is published by Hurtwood Press and printed under the direction of the artist in Milan, Italy.

Available from: joelycett.com, plus retailers incl. V&A (London), Royal Academy (London), Hatchards (London), Midlands Arts Centre (Birmingham) ,kon Gallery (Birmingham, Voce Books (Birmingham), Heath Books (Birmingham), UNITOM (Manchester) & more

Picture: Jack Spicer Adams