About interStella
For the longest time now, I’ve been meaning to try out an edition printed on fabric. Digital tools have clearly created some kind of hybridity between the disciplines of fine art and design, and in so doing have opened up a host of new spaces and mediums to explore.
In part the desire to make a fabric edition comes from memories of two shows I’ve greatly enjoyed in recent years, Sonia Delaunay and Anni Albers, both at Tate Modern. Their work seems to exemplify the use of colour and geometry in C20th textile work, and the sheer joy that can manifest.
Back in my Soho studio days I worked for Prada, Yohji Yamamoto and Nike, to name just three of the fashion and textile brands I made images for, but those were promo images, not fabric designs. So for this edition I decided to make a 90cm SQ headscarf, digitally printed by Citrus Rain in Manchester, a first foray into the world of short run digital textile printing, almost certainly not my last.
Citrus Rain seems to me to be an exemplar of the Maker movement, utilising contemporary production techniques to facilitate a move away from mass production. Favouring bespoke and short run production, the movement has opened the door for a new generation of designers and makers to enter the market, often with amazing, inspiring and beautiful results. Effectively the movement continues the punk and indie ethos of placing the means of production into the hands of the maker, a philosophy that can be traced right back to Marx of course.
interStella, in the studio & in situ
Print Club blog, June 3rd, 2020
…I’ve pasted a link here to an interesting short piece about Sonia Delaunay, who remains an inspiration both for her colour work, and her textiles. https://girlsdofilm.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/sonia-delaunay-craft-costume-collaboration/
…Tate also published a book of her work https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/sonia-delaunay to sit along side a great solo show there in 2015…
…This is an image from the Anni Albers retrospective, in which Tate explored the idea of fabric and art, and the hybridity between those two disciplines, allowing them into the gallery space, and in so doing celebrated, and made concrete, the potential of fabric as artwork. The crossover between this work, minimalism, and artists including people like Agnes Martin are worth exploring further…
…I’ll look forward to sending this next edition out shortly and I’ll also blog with images of the actual prints soon too…
Text from the Print Club blog, June 3rd, 2020
About the Print Club
If you’d like to receive three or four exclusive new editions in the post each year, alongside personal news and views from the studio, and invitations to shows and fairs, please do consider becoming a member of my Experimental Print Club. You can join or leave the club at any time, with absolutely no obligation to stay any longer than you want to.
New works are sent out somewhat sporadically throughout the year, often in line with the changing seasons. Each piece is unique, exclusive, and only available on the day it’s editioned, the size of the edition being determined by the number of members on the day.
I hope the club presents a more personal and intriguing way to connect with the studio, by creating a platform for collecting engaging new works for your home. The club is hosted online here, and I send out fairly regular blog posts and emails about the work too. I’d like to think that it’s an interesting proposition!
Membership is currently priced at £36 per month inc. UK delivery, or £42 for an international address.
Associated works
