“Suddenly a poem popped into my head. It started out: “I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe. I will tell you things at random”. He saw the Penguin Cafe as in an imaginary landscape of idyllic of waterfalls, mountains, woodland, blue skies and open grassy hillsides. The air is crisp and clear. In this painting, a man sings his thoughts to the large and benign Proprietor of the Penguin Cafe. The Proprietor loves it. Friends are there, Penguin people. Time is suspended, the moment lasts as is long as necessary.” Emily Young

This work was made for the Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s first studio album. The lush colours, relaxed gestures and playfully surreal scene touches on the manifesto of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. In this first work Young drew on Jeffes’ vision. The scene depicted in this painting feels as if it is suspended in time. There is a warmth and intimacy between the the Proprietor and the man who ‘sings to him’. 

Familiar daily objects such as an umbrella and the glass of wine are brought into a lush green mountain scene. The viewer is confronted with a man in a penguin mask interacting with an almost human-sized penguin. The work is as bold as the statement Simon Jeffes said he heard when he first envisioned the Proprietor of the Penguin Cafe. 

“I am the Proprietor of the Penguin Cafe.  I will tell you things at random”  

This work celebrates the spirit of that randomness Jeffes’ described. Young displays not only the origins and manifesto of the Penguin Cafe but also the humour and joy that is rooted in their philosophy.

Original painting - Oil on board, 1976

Image print Dimensions 480mm x480mm

This print is colour matched to the original painting and approved by the Artist, Emily Young.

This official special edition print is produced on HAHNEUMUHLE PHOTO RAG paper. Published in a strictly limited print run of 200.