Merchandise Me

In the land of creativity, and as artists and designers alike, we bravely execute our ideas and thoughts in a visual manner, sometimes we are not prepared, or even realise that others might not see the beauty and love that we see or have for our creations.

This, I guess could be classified as an 'occupational hazard' it simply comes with the territory.  Now that in itself could ignite a debate about using the right tools in our toolkit to communicate effectively, or is it that we simply might not see what others see?

But once that creation has materialised it has a sense of immortality. This is a concept that intruigues me immensely. 

Memory, nostalgia, self awareness and a sense of being {each in their own right enormous areas} drive my own creativity. In this work I have explored the milage of my mono printing series; Sole searching, already enriched in a deep concept of capturing and holding onto faded memories, I scanned in and reprinted the images using a heat press, translating them into another wearble accessory...a silk scarf, laden with visual triggers of the past, but in a more diluted and subtle way. 

 

This is only the starting point, and I can't tell you how excited I am to take this further and further. This piece I intent to mass produce and the thought of others wearing a little bit of my memories has a powerful impact on me. 
Talking of triggers and nostalgia, one of the most inspiring and thought provoking shows I first visited, was at the Serpentine Gallery in London, it was title 'Take Me, I'm Yours' {1995 curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist} it was a show with a twist a show, a show that invited the audience to become physical participants in a more obvious way. Gilbert and George gave away badges and Christian Boltanski's piece invited people to fill up a carrier bag with second-hand clothes for a pound... one hell of a thought provoking show, that helped to nurture my perspective on art. 

One related piece of art I created whilst studying part of my degree in Spain, was based upon dreams, re-occuring dreams that began when I first moved to Spain. In my concept, the dreams had manifested from new experiences and adventures, some I guess in hindsight were anxiety dreams, so I printed them onto napkins, and replaced them back into the 'servilleta' holders in cafes, to be taken away at random by a random stranger, theirs to have by chance unknowingly.

{Photo courtesy of Georgina Hooper. All work Copyright of Georgina Hooper}