A new exhibition by artist David Mabb exploring the revolutionary politics of William Morris and Russian designer El Lissitzky, will come to the William Morris gallery next month.

In Announcer, Mabb combines and contrasts the Utopian ideas of these two men through their seminal book designs: Morris’s Kelmscott Chaucer and Lissitsky’s For the Voice, a revolutionary book of poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky that is now considered one of the finest achievements in Russian avant-garde bookmaking.

Comprising 30 canvasses, Announcer takes over the special exhibition space in the William Morris Gallery, which is owned and run by Waltham Forest council.

David Mabb, who is currently reader in art at Goldsmiths, University of London, commented: “What I hope to achieve with Announcer is to suggest a new way of doing things, drawing on both Morris’s and Lissitzky’s ideas whilst acknowledging their contradictory nature. I don’t want to tell viewers what to think, the work isn’t didactic like that – they’re being asked to be active readers.

“Given that Morris plays such a central role in all my work, the William Morris Gallery is an ideal place to show anything I do. But I also want the work to project Morris out of ‘heritage’ as a concrete example of how he is useful today. This is very Morrisian, looking to the past for ideas for the future.”

Leader of Waltham Forest Council, Chris Robbins, said: “Running alongside this great new exhibition is an exciting programme of events for visitors to the Gallery. Whether it’s a family day making imaginary machines of the future, a workshop exploring Russian book design or a talk with the artist David Mabb himself, there’s something to suit everyone.”

Admission is free to David Mabb's Announcer which will run from June  27 to  September 27 at the William Morris Gallery in Forest Road.