Fluff PR News/Projects

Annie Kevans: "Ship Of Fools"

2009-11-16T23:30:00.006Z

Annie Kevans' private view of her latest exhibition "Ship of Fools" is shaping up to be one of our most exciting openings we've had the pleasure of doing PR for. The show is being put on by FAS London and will be exhibited from November 27th - December 23rd at their Mayfair gallery. Not only is Kevans herself an amazing artist, but we are thrilled to be hosting the private view aboard the Golden Hinde, with Ron Abuelo Rum and Arette Tequila kindly providing drinks. Well, it wouldn't be a "Ship of Fools" without the rum now, would it?

Kevans takes the allegory ‘Ship of Fools’ as the title for her latest series of paintings which addresses her interest in the changing perception of madness and its relationship with societal notions of success and achievement.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, European authorities would deal with their mad denizens by handing them over to mariners, sailing them to foreign ports where they became someone else’s problem. The term ‘Ship of Fools’ has long since been used in Western art and literature to describe society without direction or heading for disaster. From Sebastian Brandt’s poem of 1494, to the film starring Vivien Leigh (who was herself given electroconvulsive therapy for manic depression), ‘Ship of Fools’ has been employed to title a multitude of paintings, films and songs.

Despite the fact that 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, it is still stigmatised and this is the conceptual inspiration behind this exhibition. The list of the great and the good with varying degrees of mental illnesses is seemingly endless and sometimes surprising. Examples include Winston Churchill, Michael Jackson, Kirsten Dunst, Jackson Pollock, Drew Barrymore, Charles Dickens, Yves Saint Laurent, Albert Camus, Beyonce Knowles, Ewan McGregor, and Mark Twain. Kevans is also interested in the trend of post-diagnosing people long after their death.

As in much of Kevans’ work, the idea of truth versus fiction features in the series. Diagnosis in itself is often based on opinion. Anyone proclaiming themselves to be the son of God now is seen to be mad, but two thousand years ago Jesus did just that. In the 1920s, the American public would be drawn into the strange fantasy world of Opal Whiteley. A young woman from Oregon, she claimed to be the kidnapped daughter of the Duke Henri Prince of Orleans, a descendant of the French royal family. Another of her claims was that she could communicate with animals and trees. Her childhood diary was a bestseller in America and the public believed it was proof that her story was true. Eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to Napsbury Hospital, she died in 1992 but was buried in Highgate cemetery as HRH Francoise Marie de Bourbon D’Orleans.

Kevans believes “perceptions of one’s mental stability are dictated by time, place and belief systems. The days of Opal Whitely and the Cottingley fairies seem long gone, but are they? While today we dismiss those who claim to be ‘the son of God’, religion retains a special status in most societies. We are happy to diagnose Leonardo Da Vinci and Beethoven but draw the line at Jesus”. She aims not to belittle religion but to question our verdicts on history and perceptions of intellectual solidity.

Stylistically, Kevans' semi-translucent paintings possess an ethereal, slightly melancholy quality. It is interesting that her paintings are achieved not by using watercolour as one might expect, but thinned oil paint on canvas paper. Kevans has a fascination with varying trends that connect public or historical figures. The subjects of her paintings provoke feelings of familiarity and nostalgia, but the new method she employs gives the paintings a wholly unique appearance. Her precocious talent was first recognised by Charles Saatchi, who bought her entire BA collection 'Boys'. The works in another series 'Girls' see teen stars such as Avril Lavigne and The Olsens take on an almost eerie appearance, their wide-eyed naivety counteracted by sensuously plump red lips and semi-nudity. Kevans' paintings manage to be individually stunning but are also cohesive. Her work uses a muted colour palette, which is in contrast to the occasional bold colour plane of the background.

“My paintings reflect my interests in power, manipulation and the role of the individual in inherited belief systems. It is important for me to examine the duality of truth and falsehood throughout my work, which I do by creating 'portraits' which may or may not be based on real documentation. I believe that a person’s identity as is not preset but is a shifting temporary construction.”

The exhibition will present a large collection of new paintings, some of which have already found their way into museum and private collections. The private view for clients and press will be held on 'The Golden Hinde', a Tudor ship docked near the Tate Modern on Thursday 26th November. The exhibition will then transfer to the gallery, opening the next day at 2pm.

Full info, including the official press release and invitation, can be found here. To RSVP, please email leonie@fluffpr.com.

Flora in the Flesh Exhibition - October 15th 2009

2009-10-13T00:11:00.004+01:00

This Thursday Fluff hosts a show exhibition of the talented and award winning photographer – Kaylie Mountford.
Kaylie’s flowers captured in close-up are more than the mere physical examination of natural forms and textures. They possess a sickly beauty of a living object just prior to withering decay whilst remaining still powerfully potent. Mountford focuses in macro detail on these living organisms conveying a sense of the monumental which gives these bold images an overwhelming strength. They possess a fleshy seductive quality and are loaded with sexual connotations. There is an undeniably strong aesthetic to Kaylie Mountford’s work. Her flowers are unsettlingly ominous, yet strikingly beautiful in their dark and mysterious bloom. Kaylie Mountford graduated from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design and went on to work in production for Nick Knight and SHOWstudio.

Private View and Opening:
Meza
100 Wardour Street
London
W1F 0TN.
6.00 pm – 9.30 pm

For guestlist enquiries - piers@fluffpr.com

Fluff Art Update

2009-10-08T03:23:00.005+01:00

With Fashion Week chaos now unfortunately/thankfully over for another six months, this has allowed us here at Fluff to focus more on the preparations for the upcoming Frieze Art Fair, which begins on October 15th in Regent’s Park, London. We're very excited about it, obviously!

In other Fluff Art news, we have started working with the Fine Art Society, a brilliant gallery on New Bond Street. Our first venture with them was the Leonardo Drew exhibition which opened on October 6th 2009. Drew is an American artist (Brooklyn based) and this is his first UK exhibition. You can find out more about his style of work here or, better still, you could actually go and see the exhibition! It runs until October 29th 2009 and press packs and exhibition catalogues can be downloaded from the Fine Art Society website.

Derek Lawlor S/S09 Showcase

2009-10-08T02:43:00.003+01:00

September 18th 2009 was obviously the start of another exciting London Fashion Week, with Derek Lawlor and Fluff PR getting the week off to a great start at Blackall Studios in Shoreditch. I’d hate for us to sound arrogant but…our showcase we put on for him was fantastic! The efficiently managed guest list meant that there were no ridiculous queues or disgruntled faces, and no one left due to impatience or disappointment. Walking into the venue before the show began, guests were shown into the ground floor gallery space, where illustrations by Alec Strang set the scene, before heading downstairs into the basement bar where the cocktails and beer flowed all night thanks to Arette tequila and Tiger beer.

Having previously shown his designs at the Central St. Martin’s graduate show and the first Dubrovnik Fashion Week in Croatia, this was Lawlor’s first independent London catwalk show, and it certainly surpassed expectations. The wax cord embellished cashmere dresses that first gained him attention were still present but this time there were also more wearable knitted cotton separates included, making his collection far more versatile. Commenting on his progression Lawlor says “I really like doing the editorial sort of stuff, but I also wanted to prove that the garments were wearable and women could wear them as every day pieces.” The monochrome colour palette remained, and the futuristic outfits being sent down the runway worked perfectly with the M anolo Blahnik shoes.

Specialising in knitwear not only allows Derek to create beautiful figure hugging creations, but it is also practical for him as a designer, allowing him to work rapidly and play around with new techniques. Lawlor explains the benefits saying “knitting is a very quick process and you can really experiment and do so much with it. It's such a wide medium that you can work with.” However, what really sets Lawlor apart from other designers is his unique wax chord decorative element, the distinctive spiralled discs being inspired by Japanese body armour. Lawlor likes the fact that his individual technique often intrigues because no one is sure how it’s done. He notes that it was this aspect of his work that gained him recognition after the Central St. Martin’s show in February 2009, “I'd been developing this process for quite a while and not many people knew about it so it was really great when people started to pick up on it and appreciate it.”

Focusing individually on the components of his clothes, Derek recalls how his vision came together in a very gradual way. Interestingly, one of the first designers who inspired him was Christian Lacroix; and this has been influential in terms of embellishment, but his interest soon shifted towards designers such as Thierry Muegler and Claude Montana because of the sculptural element of their pieces. “I just loved the amazing shapes they were producing,” enthuses Lawlor.

In terms of what the future holds for Derek Lawlor the possibilities are very exciting, especially considering that he is currently working on a collaborative collection that will see his designs in vibrant colours inspired by psychedelic swirling patterns. This next collection will provide new exposure for him, as well as pushing his whole aesthetic in a new direction. Since his September showcase he has attracted interest from the likes of On|Off and Vogue so he is definitely “one to watch”! Just don’t forget that you heard it from us first, yeah?

All photos courtesy of Danny Bourne.

Fashion - Dubrovnik Fashion Week

2009-08-04T21:17:00.002+01:00

Thomas Vicary at the V&A

2009-02-26T11:11:00.003Z

YOUNG BRITISH DESIGNERS: MAPPING FUTURE FASHION

Thomas Vicary Video AW09

2009-02-26T11:04:00.003Z

Golden in Company

2009-02-19T12:58:00.004Z

Golden in Harpers

2009-02-19T12:12:00.004Z

Thomas Vicary

2009-02-19T11:57:00.004Z

Thomas Vicary

2009-02-10T12:09:00.001Z

Thomas Vicary

2009-02-10T12:07:00.004Z

Thomas Vicary

2009-02-10T12:00:00.003Z

Alice Anderson - Observer Review

2009-01-26T16:29:00.003Z

Alice Anderson - Observer Review

2009-01-26T16:26:00.002Z

Alice Anderson - Observer Review

2009-01-26T12:42:00.002Z

Lua Lua in the Express

2009-01-23T12:41:00.002Z

Lua Lua in FE

2009-01-23T12:37:00.004Z

Golden Jewellery in Metro

2009-01-17T12:43:00.002Z

Lua Lua in Retail Jeweller

2009-01-17T12:40:00.000Z

Alexandra Groover - Stylist Antonia Kraskowski

2009-01-16T13:37:00.000Z

Golden Jewellery in the Express

2009-01-16T12:47:00.000Z

FLuff on Fashion Monitor

2009-01-16T12:44:00.000Z

Alice Anderson at Artprojx

2009-01-16T11:29:00.000Z

Alice Anderson press in the Evening Standard - Ben Lewis calls Alice Anderson, 'one of the most interesting artists working in this country today'.

2009-01-15T16:59:00.001Z

Hey There and welcome to the new FluffPR website...so nice of you to come!