When did you first start illustrating? It looks like heavily bastardised classroom doodles. What or who tends inspires your creative process?

The first was copying the characters in the Beano and Dandy comics, especially Beryl The Peril. The “illustration” label came at a later date – my only understanding was of fashion illustration and wanting to be a fashion illustrator in year nine at school! I’ve always been a doodler and have loved drawing from a young age, I never grew out of it, it just grew itself. Bastardised! Haha! I like that word. My work has always had dark undertones, I guess. I like it that way, keeps it interesting and stops it from ever getting “cute”.

Which illustrators inform your work?

It’s hard to specify, as my influences can come from many things. I tend to love people who don’t work in a similar way or process [to mine]. I love the work of Pauline Boty, she is a hero of mine.

Did you study illustration? Where?

I studied illustration at Kingston University and graduated in 2010.

Describe your work in five words.

Cheeky, sinister, playful, exaggerated, eclectic.

If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be and what would you do?

Hmm… Rihanna! I would hire Hattie Stewart to design my costumes and set for my new tour. I felt weird typing that.

You’ve been involved in various commissions – from Luella to Marc Jacobs. What one project are you most proud of?

I’m proud of all of them. Each project has provided a new platform for my work. At the moment though, I’m proud of the work I’m creating with House Of
Holland.

You’ve been asked to illustrate for House of Holland’s new collection. How did this come about and when will it launch? What will the project involve?

I had a lot of fun doodling for the new pre collection for 2013. I can’t give too much away yet! I was asked to do their first pre-collection as they had seen some of my skull artwork and thought it would fit the aesthetic they were aiming for, and it all spiraled from there!

Finally, your first solo show will be hosted by MTV Switch. What have they commissioned for it? When will it launch?

It is hopefully going to be in April and they will have my artwork – and the magazine covers especially – adorning their walls and it will end with a show. I’m really happy that the magazine covers have proved popular. They will also be participating in a group show called “Urban Portraits” at Able & Baker gallery in Cologne, Germany.

Words: Jack Mills

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What equipment did you use for Dark City?

My favourite camera currently is a Wista 45N, however it’s a very new addition after trading in my old Sinar Norma, (on which I shot Dark City). I loved the Norma, which was a 5×4 camera as well, and I’d had it for years. By the end, it was so beaten up only I knew how to operate it – taping over holes in the bellows, supergluing lenses back together. It was also a monorail (for studio work) rather than a field camera, so became too heavy to carry around… Such happy memories with it though.

What time do you head out to shoot roughly and what techniques do you employ?

The Dark City project is now completed so I’m not heading out for any more late night adventures. Unfortunately, I drew it to a conclusion over 12 months ago when Fujifilm stopped making 5×4 tungsten balanced film. After three years of shooting though I also needed a reason to knock it on the head and concentrate on producing the book. I used to go out whenever the sun went down (great in the winter, not so good in mid-summer with only 3/4 hours of darkness). Otherwise, very still conditions were an important aspect – even a slight wind would shake the camera and blur the shot over a 15 minute exposure. No additional lighting was used.

What is it about London-by-night that you find so alluring? What sets it apart from other cities, visually?

For me, the lack of other humans gives an urban space a particularly unusual feeling. London has evolved over centuries, primarily to service the needs of its burgeoning population. When you take away the people, you’re looking purely at the form of our built environment without any trace of its function. Stripped down in this way, you start seeing the city for its “beauty or ugliness, genius or folly”. Furthermore, daylight is usually flat and grey; diffused through cloud cover. At night the streets are lit from different angles by shards of light that all have different hues depending on their colour temperature. It felt like the stage was in the spotlight after the actors had left. There are countless things that set London apart from other cities, crucially that it’s on my doorstep! I also like the mix of architecture – the great building booms of the Victorian and post-war eras jostle along with the modern and ancient.

What are you working on next?

I have a couple of pet projects that I’m always adding to, but there’s also something hopefully quite big on the horizon. It starts in February with a month in Burma.

Words: Jack Mills

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Take me through how you go about making the bizarre pieces you do.

For me, it’s a ritualistic, transient endeavour – I call it my witch-crafting. When I finish a piece, I’m truly spent – it really takes your blood, sweat and mind. It’s cathartic too, like prayer.

What have been your professional highlights of 2011?

The Sanderson hotel became my first stockist in October – I have a small, exclusive distribution of my headwear pieces with them, which is fantastic. The hotel space was designed by the amazing architect Philippe Starck and shares the Aurora Ozma surrealist, Cocteau dream-like sensibilities. I plan to explore ritualistic wear for the body next year, with views to exhibiting these works in September.

Your list of influences includes 19th century Russian portraiture and cosmology. Can you elaborate on this?

Yes – 19th century Russian paintings by the likes of Vrubel, Vasnetsov and Sadko, spanning the 1800s to the mid 1900s. They were all truly spellbinding, magical artists who created heartbreakingly delicate, beautiful interpretations of the world. ‘The Swan Princess’ and ‘Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom’ are my particular favourites.

How did your rather unique style form – when did you start designing and making pieces yourself?

I have always made art for myself. My Nana was my very first hero; an icon with a huge blonde bee-hive, rouge and leopard print chiffon scarves. Her sister Winnie was the antithesis to this, with a frizz of black gray hair and three teeth to her mouth. She would wear a huge scarlet Micheal Jackson ‘Thriller’ jacket with a thousand long lace skirts and the most ornate sequined sari. I was surrounded by these eccentric, beautiful characters as a child.

Where is it going – what techniques, materials or concepts are you interested in exploring in the future?

Intergalactic prismatic light fragmentation, primordial ooze, spacedust, raw animal skins, precious metals and minerals: raw materials which can be taken to the stratosphere.

What professional lessons did you learn at Hockley?

I learned how to charm the old gents in the basement workshop, who would sneak me up old archive pieces of leopard and ocelot hide. I used to leave with bin-bags full of little bits every day. I learned quite a few methods like tanning hides and various techniques for effect, but I also invented a few of my own there. I think they were quite amused by this insane looking 15-year-old who just turned up one day. I found their advert in the back of Vogue and decided that’s were I wanted to go. So I made a white lie about my age and traveled from my hometown of Newcastle to Conduit Street.

2012 will be better than 2011 for you. Discuss…

Well, 2012 will be the year of the dragon, so we should benefit from an unrestricted, auspicious and enterprising time ahead. A close collaborator of mine, audio visual artist 241-24-7 is the ultimate dragon of the 23rd century, so I see some interesting filmic visions from him ahead. If the gods smile at me, 2012 should be bullet proof.

Aurora Ozma
Words: Jack Mills

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What prompted you to explore film more than any other medium this year?

I started sky-diving last summer, which got me interested in live action and using vertical wind tunnels, but I see it as a continuation of older works really. I had the idea for it a couple of years of ago – diving just helped me find ways to execute it properly.

The Man Who Fell To Earth – POST Gravity from Jacob Sutton on Vimeo.

How did the Gary Card, stop-motion commission for Loewe come about?

Me and Gary first worked together a couple of years ago now – we did an ad for Comme De Garcons. The first film like that I did was a powder column film for a Bermuda Triangle exhibition – it all just kind of carried on from there in terms of aesthetic.

And the Angelo Sorrenti piece? Your work has had a heavy sports bent this year…

I just like working with people who move really well. If you’re trained in a discipline – be it fencing, martial arts, dance or whatever – it means you have a lot more ability to express what you want to do creatively. The same goes for the fencing story for Last magazine. I think they’d seen some of the Stella McCartney Adidas stuff I’d done before, so that probably helped.

The Partisan – New York Times from Jacob Sutton on Vimeo.

The fencing piece reminded me of the kind of dance projects you’d worked on in the past…

Yeah. I was keen to take them out of the sporting context – take the whole thing away from that. For me, fencing is like a form of dancing – from that point we were able to easily transfer the project into a dance piece. But with the Angello Sorrenti film it was way more about power and capturing an explosive movement. I didn’t want it to be a macho film, that would have been boring.

What piece do you feel you enjoyed making the most this year?

The flying film was something I was very satisfied with because I’d envisaged it for such a long time. It was quite tricky to make, too; we ended up filming it in Switzerland. Some of the projects which aren’t out yet I’m really excited about. I’ve just made a new film for Interview magazine, with a dancer called Lil Buck. This is set to be out in February. The Angela Sorenti one was a highlight too – it was moving in a better direction for me; more emotional and soulful.

Can you name me the best emerging photographer you’ve stumbled upon this year?

I really like Dan Sannwald’s pictures. They’re often really exciting and brave.

Jacob Sutton
Words: Jack Mills

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THE SPICE GIRLS. Personalised jumpers for each of them, as they were…

Name your five favourite yarn fabrics.

In no particular order…Viscose, Mohair, anything metallic, Angora and anything space-dyed.

When did you first get interested in knitting?

Sam: I got into knitting on my BA (in textiles) as I liked creating my own fabrics. I really love the constructive element of knitting.

Jenny: My mum tried to teach me a few times but I could never quite pick it up. I used to get so frustrated with her. Then on my BA it just clicked and I simply knew I had to knit. I’d previously fancied myself as a printer.

Leutton Postle SS12 Full Show from VAUXHALL FASHION SCOUT on Vimeo.

Sam, you briefly lived in China after graduating. What do you think you learned from the experience?

I learned there’s less creative freedom in a huge company. I also learnt the importance of quality-control, and that’s something I’ve really taken with me.

In what way did it inspire you to start Leutton Postle with Jenny? Whose idea was it?

Jenny: Leutton Postle was initially my idea, but I think it was fairly obvious that it was going to happen. It’s quite unusual for two best friends to share such a similar and distinctive aesthetic. I don’t know anybody else who works in the same way as me other than Sam.

Sam: After China I wanted to get back to exploring my own work for a while. Jenny finished her MA at exactly the right time – it all fell into place.

You’re the Lennon and McCartney of knitwear design – comparing and improving each other’s ideas. Discuss…

HA! Now that’s a compliment! Maybe a little to complimentary, but yes we work together well. We work equally on everything from the colours to the textiles to the shape. It just works.

Any new year’s resolutions?

Sam: I’m gonna run a half marathon, and I want to make more sausages.

Jenny: Diet! And watch more films.

Are you decorating the office this Christmas? Any creative tips, hints or suggestions?

We will be, yes. We did our home though as we just had a Christmas. For me, it’s all about tinsel and lots of it. But a pom-pom always goes down well on a tree.

Leutton Postle
Words: Jack Mills

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The first time music video directors Daniels met, they despised each other. So much so, that after being pitted together in classes at summer school, Daniel Kwan ended up throwing a bowl of salad over his prospective partner, Scheinert. “He smelt like vomit for the rest of the day,” Kwan reminisces fondly, adding, “we eventually realised all we had was each other, and that it was better than being alone. Thus, Daniels began.” Wonderland thought it would be fun to sit the pair down and discuss the ins-and-outs of their mesmerising, internationally-lauded work.

What was the first project you worked on together?

The very first was a short we made at summer camp. It was like three or four in the morning and we were outside with a 5D Mark II, just screwing around. We sort of accidentally discovered our way into making half-arsed visual effects that night. The short ended up being called Swingers – it was extremely dumb and crazy, but eventually got ‘Staff Picked’ at Vimeo. We realised the general public tends to like really dumb things – it’s sort of become the motto we adopt with all of our projects.

Swingers from Daniel Scheinert on Vimeo.

Do you share interests, obsessions, heroes?

Yes,  but we differ on certain things. Kwan loves greasy fast food and Daniel Scheinert loves his girlfriend.  

Who would you most like to meet?

A masseuse, a midget, and/or rich film financiers.  Or, even better – someone who is all of these things: a ‘ma$$eudgit’.

You’ve said that you tend to let the music you’re writing visuals to inspire ideas. How did this come into practice with the Battles video?
 
It’s a wonderfully unusual song.  So stressful: no chorus; the vocals just cut out halfway through.  We wanted to make a video that took advantage of that.  The one-shot escalator fall felt right. Amazingly, we separately had short film ideas in college about someone falling down an escalator forever.  We asked our friends if they’d do it, and they were all like, “What if I get hurt?  Wah wah I’m a baby.”  Now that we’re a big deal, we just paid a guy to do it.  

Battles “My Machines” from DANIELS on Vimeo.

How did you overcome the shoot’s obvious dangers – sharp escalator stair edges, general falling motions, electricity and feral shopping?

We had a wonderful stunt coordinator called Jess Harbeck, who made it safe.  He had pads under his clothes and as a stuntman he knew how to fall safely.  But we wanted it to be real – it’s a real escalator.  Our job was to be so clear with our direction that he only had to do it once, maybe twice… The project so nearly fell through, though: we almost resorted to hiring an actor who didn’t know what the video was about and sneaking into a mall in the night with a camera.

Your super-short animation/live action piece Tides of the Heart follows similar themes of general misadventure. Are you big fans of black comedy?

We wouldn’t say we are big fans of black comedy, specifically – we’re just really into comedy that doesn’t feel like a comedy. We like tonally-confusing films that make you feel three or four different things at once, so everyone takes something different from it. The Battles video is straight up confusing. People don’t know if its supposed to be funny or scary or sad or just plain dumb. The truth is, it’s all of these things.

Tides of the Heart from dunkwun on Vimeo.

What can fans look forward to from DANIELS in the coming months? 

We’ve done a couple of music videos for Foster the People, which was really fun – they have a great sense of humour and love being playful with their image. But mostly, we’ve been taking the past few months off to develop our own personal projects: high-concept short films; features that would be impossible to produce; a TV show about high school;  a project about people pooping their pants.
 
Wow – we just leap-frogged five years into the future. What are you up to?

We never wanna do the same thing twice because we get bored too easily. We’re also trying to wean ourselves off of visual effects, which has sort of been a crutch for us. It’s pretty possible that we’ll leave filmmaking altogether. Daniel Scheinert loves to act and is probably going to pursue that, eventually. Daniel Kwan wants to write and illustrate children’s books.

The DANIELS site
The DANIELS blog
Words: Jack Mills

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Pomeroy got involved with Super Superficial – an independent clothing and arts shop with flagships in Covent Garden and Soho – after graduating from Kingston in 2008 and has sold many of her own t-shirt designs from there since (one of which made a cameo on Armand Van Helden in the video for Duck Sauce’s club hit ‘Barbra Streisand’, bizarrely). Having jumped on commissions for the likes of The xx, Converse and Channel 4, Pomeroy continues to push her work to exciting new reaches. Indeed, as Wonderland sat down with the artist to pick at her illustrious young career, she was in the thick of illustrating a flyer for Riot Grrl band Pettybone.

Housewives at Play is something I never thought I’d end up reading. What is it about the feel of this and other comics- such as True Crime – that feeds into your work?

I don’t think Housewives at Play is actually that old, but looks like it’s heavily influenced by 1950s romance comics. Except this is less ‘Waiting for the right man’ and more ‘Found him, got bored, then had lots of sex with the girl next door’. It’s well drawn but also doesn’t take itself seriously. The version I posted was in Russian I think, but mostly it’s in English and by Rebbeca Guay. A lot of people who don’t read comics or graphic novels (and probably quite a few who do) aren’t aware of how much great adult stuff you can find if you look in the right places. I guess you have to dig about a bit. I also really like illustrated newspapers from the 1800s – before newspapers were filled with photographs and artists were called in to illustrate crime and gossip. It was a time when everyone looked to illustrations to explain horrific events, for example: http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/21cc/crime/large7577.html. I’m a big fan of technically correct and well-drawn illustration as long as it has an interesting twist or idea behind it. There’s something very satisfying about seeing brilliant draughtsmanship combined with a surreal or comical subject matter. A lot of vintage or older comics feature that. Other than that, I like the aged paper and offset-printed colours of old comics.

Do you end up scouring through back catalogues, Ebay, car boot sales and subscriptions for comics and bygone-era art or tend to look in the same places, such as specific blogs or zines?

All the True Crime magazines I have are from this shop I found in Surrey. It was basically an ex-costume rental shop that this old man owned and wanted to close down. In amongst all these old, stained costumes were loads of magazines from the 60s and 70s as well as comics and band posters from the 80s. Other than that I look in charity shops, but the internet has endless amounts off good stuff, too.

Where do you source the photographs you use?

Do you mean the ones I draw from? Quite a lot I take myself. Me and my flatmate photograph each other acting out various body positions to draw from. This has resulted in a lot of my characters resembling me and him, though. I’m probably the only person I know who doesn’t get offended if I make myself look uglier and fatter than I actually am. I use Flickr quite a bit, too; old family photo albums people upload. Sometimes I’ll take aspects of a certain person or the body shape or shadow from someone or something else and collage them together; then draw from that.

You’ve designed a few costumes – would you be keen to explore fashion design any further?

I’ve never really thought of it as costume designing, it’s usually just me and my friends making outfits for Halloween, which is probably my favourite calendar event. It’s the only day you can walk around looking like a foetus and nobody looks twice. The house I lived in at university was constantly recovering from Halloween parties. There were seven of us all studying creative subjects – by the end it turned into a massive mess of an open studio. My friend Lori is really into comedy horror; she went all-out decorating the house so it resembled an 80s horror film set. I think the bathroom had fake blood on a curtain and a blue light bulb for the majority of the time I lived there.

How did you get involved with Super Superficial? Did you work there before your range was exhibited or vice versa?

I applied for a job at SSF when I first moved to London. I really liked the simple concept and the amount of strong illustrators they work with. I started working in the store, but not long after my first t-shirt was printed, followed by three more. I was given the opportunity to have my first solo show at Gallery7 [below the Covent Garden store] which was an amazing experience. Now I work more behind the scenes, finding new artists for SSF to collaborate with as well as designing for them. We’re a really small company – it’s almost like a family now.

How did you end up penning a band-commissioned portrait of The xx (which remains at the masthead of their Myspace page)? What kind of feedback have you had from this?

I’ve been friends with Romy [Madley-Croft, lead singer] for about five years now – she’s always been very supportive of my work and I’ve followed her music even before The xx formed. We’d spoken about me doing their portrait for a while and when they were on tour last year she emailed me over a photograph they really liked and wanted me to re-work as an illustration. The feedback’s been positive, but the image only really exists in cyberspace. I’d really like to do a follow-up to it this year in maybe limited edition prints – something you can hold.

You’re a prolific YouTube safari-ist. How do you stumble upon such obscure footage?

When I want to draw a person or an animal from an odd angle, sometimes I’ll YouTube it. For instance, if you YouTube ‘Seagull’, you’ll find hundreds of videos of seagulls walking about. The same as if you type in ‘me wearing gimp mask’, you’ll get hundreds of home videos of people wearing gimp masks. There’s something really interesting about videos of people recording themselves in ‘fetish’ wear. Obviously YouTube can’t feature nudity or anything sexually explicit, so it’s usually someone just sitting there, swinging about on their office chair in an inflatable rubber suit. It’s hilarious and mesmerising. YouTube is one of those websites you can spend hours and hours going off into tangents of obscure footage on. Which is why I posted some of the videos I found most interesting on Dinge-Mag – my Tumblr, although it’s supposed to be anonymous – otherwise, I’ll never find them again.

Do you have any career highlights so far? I personally love 2009’s anti-smoking campaign.

That was probably one of the most bizarre commissions I’ve done, for reasons I won’t go into. No Brow and The Dubious Salvation of Jack V book cover were both hugely enjoyable to produce. Other than that, someone sending me questions to fill in for their GCSE art exam was flattering.

louiseplease.blogspot.com/
louise-z-pomeroy.co.uk
Words: Jack Mills

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Congratulations on pocketing a L’Oreal Professional Young Talent Award for your Saint Martins graduation collection. How and when did you conceive the ideas for it and in what way did you go about bringing them to life?

The ideas came from researching tyre-marks after stumbling upon the work of this artist called Paolo Caneveri. I wanted to represent the tyre in the garment without it seeming too masculine. I tried to use it in a feminine way, for balance. I always want my designs to be very feminine and wearable – but there is always a dark twist to them. Latex was the fabric I decided on, but I knew I didn’t want to use it in an expressly sexy way. I wanted the dresses to be cut in a really sharp and covering way. The fabric was used in a fairly unconventional way: not stretched tightly at all. It’s a sharp fit, but not stretched.

Was designing with latex problematic?

It depends. For shaping, no, but for printing, it’s difficult, yes. Not many people use latex for this reason, because the ink usually runs. I had to use a lot of trial and error, but I found a solution in the end, which I don’t tell anyone [laughs].

Some of the collection is on display at Browns, London. How did this come about?

They sent me an email saying they really liked the collection, and invited me to the shop for a meeting. From there we discussed what items would work in the shop – what would be wearable and practical for everyone, whatever size. We discussed what shapes would be easiest to wear, bearing in mind the impracticalities of latex – like jackets or sleeveless pieces. So we added a few twists to the collection, and it’s a really nice outcome. The first few pieces that sold were leather jackets – the latex pieces and bags are selling quite well, too.

Obviously you had a lot of attention after the Saint Martins show – did you have lots of people approaching you with offers?

Right after, yes: many other shops, stylists and buyers contacted me. It’s been really, really great, but at this early stage I need to be careful – I need to make the right decisions, keep working hard and avoid buying into hype.

Let’s talk about your fascination with Canevari’s work. Perhaps, on some level, his emphasis on art as ephemeral statements influenced your focus on flowers and tyre marks…

Not specifically to this collection, no, but I am really interested in what’s ephemeral and the cultural and historical importance of the items we wear. You want to make a beautiful piece, but that’s not its only function – people have to actually wear it. I want my garments to be worn by people and not just be left in the cupboard.

Were you interested in design as a youngster?

Yes, I used to draw a lot and make paper dresses for my dolls. I’ve always loved the history of art, too. The Gallery of Modern Art is close to my family home in Rome – I’d go there after school.

Your work was selected for the ‘British-ish’ exhibition at the V&A, which ended in September. Tell us how this came about…

It was an exhibition curated by the University of the Arts, London. It compiled all the best graduates from universities across the UK that year. I have to say, I was really pleased that Giles [Deacon, designer] selected the two items he did, because they’re my favourite pieces from it.

How has your work and influences changed since graduating and moving to Paris to work under Riccardo Tisci, whom you again pigeonhole as an influence?

I’ve only been here for two weeks, but I have to say, Givenchy really suits my natural style. As I said, I love the femininity of garments – the idea that you make dresses to catch peoples’ eye – but you’re not giving too much away. There’s always a dark twist to my pieces, though, moody aspects, which I really associate with Givenchy. Because of this similarity, I don’t have to adapt or change my style too heavily. We’re currently working on a pre-collection, which will be ready for December.

Has working and living in Paris influenced your creativity?

Oh, hugely. It’s all just so elegant and so beautiful – it seems people find easy ways of just looking so perfect here. You really want to do this justice with your work – simplistic and minimalist, but totally beautiful nonetheless, and make things that don’t take too much effort to wear and look good in any occasion.

Some of Flaminia Saccucci’s Saint Martins collection will go on sale again at JOYCE Boutique in February.
Words: Jack Mills

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