EXCLUSIVE: EVA LONGORIA

Dress by Helo Rocha, Earrings by Bulgari

Photography by Greg Swales | Styling by Charlene Roxborough | Interview by Olivia Munn

Inspired by David Hockney’s series of pool polaroid collages, Eva Longoria becomes a modern day Venus in the waters of the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills as she celebrates the miracle of motherhood.

They say there’s no rest for the weary, but Eva Longoria is anything but weary. Co-starring alongside Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez in the remake of the Goldie Hawn fan-favorite Overboard, producing a new television show entitled The Grand Hotel, throwing her hat into the television directing ring with the ABC hit Blackish, designing an eponymous fashion line, being the face of L’Oreal, championing the Time’s Up Movement, and carrying her first child would even make Wonder Woman tired, but Longoria sees no reason to slow down. Amidst these ever unfolding projects, Eva spent an afternoon with Iris Covet Book for an exclusive photoshoot at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, channeling the glamour of the poolside scenes of Old Hollywood.

Longoria began her career competing in the pageant circuit of her hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, eventually moving to Los Angeles, playing small roles in daytime TV until landing her big break in the hit television series Desperate Housewives. After eight seasons of success on the ABC show, Eva put her political interest to work by touring across the U.S. with Barack Obama on his re-election campaign, finding a personal and ardent activist voice for immigration reform. Keeping up at marathon pace, Longoria continued her work in Hollywood, while balancing multiple businesses and projects in the world of fashion and restaurants. With her first child on the way, it seems like the perfect time for Longoria to celebrate her many achievements including her greatest one to date, becoming a mother.

Eva has granted Iris Covet Book the exclusive opportunity to document this miraculous moment in her life, her first pregnancy. Interviewed by friend and fellow actress Olivia Munn, Eva Longoria is glowing and glamorous as ever, lounging pool-side in Beverly Hills.

Dress by Nili Lotan, Earrings and Bracelet by Bulgari

Dress by Nili Lotan, Earrings and Necklace by Bulgari

Hi Eva! It’s so funny, I was just thinking about us in Miami because usually women are so tired at the beginning of their pregnancy, but I was the one sleeping all day, and you were staying up with me all night and still getting up early in the mornings! (laughs)

I know, I have it reversed… I am so tired now! I was doing so well and had so much energy, running around directing and producing. Then about a week ago I just hit a wall and now get knocked-out four times a day. This was what everyone was talking about! (laughs)

Have you had to pull back on a lot of your projects? It felt like you had a new show to direct every day.

Yeah, my Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony was the last official thing I had to do for work, and I have some press for Overboard left to do. I was on the Ellen show the other day and I felt like I was going to fall asleep, like uncontrollable sleep, and I was like, “Ellen, if I fall asleep can you edit around it?” (laughs)

You’re growing like literal body parts inside of you and that takes a lot of energy!

Yeah it takes so much energy making a human. (laughs)

So, I heard that the cover story you shot for Iris Covet Book is the only magazine cover you shot while pregnant?

Yes it is!

I cannot believe this is your only magazine shoot while pregnant! Did it feel weird?

It was so awesome and freeing because I didn’t have to suck in! You know how it is on a shoot or on the red carpet and you have to suck in and pay attention to your posture? But this time I was just letting it all hang out! (both laugh)

You were telling me that now the dialogue has changed with the paparazzi from when they would take pictures of you before—

Oh yeah! Before I was pregnant, I would just be eating a burger or something and they would write, “Baby Bump Watch!” (laughs) When we found out I was pregnant, my husband Pepe was worried about hiding it, and I said, “It doesn’t matter, they say I’m pregnant all the time. It’s fine.” And then the paparazzi would say “Oh, Eva’s getting fat! Eva’s overeating!” and I’m like, “No, no, no! Now I’m really pregnant!” (laughs)

One thing I don’t think people realize about you is that it’s not fun to be around this constant speculation, but you just let it roll off your back and it’s so admirable. I have learned a lot from you because of that.

I think I’ve always been like that. I grew up with three older sisters so I think I developed a thick skin. I read this amazing book called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and one of the agreements is to not take things personally. It stuck out to me because I really never let things get to me. I try not to be affected by a bad audition, not getting the part in a movie, having a bad breakup. I was kind of born optimistic and it was how I grew up. We were a family of four daughters who were all very sharing and loving. My parents always taught me that failure was just another step to success.

I’ve thought about that a lot, and I was talking to a friend who did not get a role recently and told her what you told me when you had gone out for some big movie and did not get the part, but right after that denial you got Desperate Housewives. At that moment, getting a big movie could have really catapulted your career and it’s hard to see that in a positive light. Were you bummed at all or did you just move on?

Well you know I really just forgot about it! Like what part? Which movie? Maybe I’m not that invested! (laughs) But no, I remember when I got that call I said, “Oh, ok no problem!” If it’s your role, it’s your role. There’s no one who can play your role and nobody can take it from you.

Right, that’s true. You’re just able to roll through so much in life and still look so freaking young! It’s so interesting to think of you as a first time mother. You are just so nurturing and it is so weird to think of you as having your first child because I feel like there’s no big change. You’ll have the baby and keep rolling. Does it feel like a shock to you?

My friends always say the same thing, that I have been a mother to so many in my life. But I’m not freaked out at all, even with all of the other mother’s advice and everyone telling me how exhausted I’m going to be and blah blah blah, I’m like… yeah, that sounds about right. There’s nothing new that is being said to me or that I haven’t already read which…I mean, unless a monkey comes out of me, nothing is really going to shock me! (both laugh)

And even if a little maltese came out of you, you would just say, “Ok, so I had a dog!” and keep on rolling. (both laugh)

Yeah, I’d roll with it! And i’m not saying it is going to be easy because motherhood is never easy, but Im just saying that I’m prepared for the challenges in the greatest way possible.

Is there anything that worries you?

Health always worries me. You just don’t know what can happen with their health at any stage of life. From the time of their birth, to walking, to teething, to their first heartbreak. I want to protect my child from everything in the world, but there are certain things you won’t be able to.

Honestly, I think one of the best ways to protect your child from heartbreak is picking the right partner and Pepe, your husband, is literally one of the best human beings I have ever met. I love him so much and he is just one of those people who instantly becomes family. I think picking a great father for your child is so important, and your son will have it made with the two of you as his parents.

He really is the greatest human being in the world and he’s an amazing dad and husband. We can talk about anything from our day-to-day, politics, world events, or artificial intelligence, but at the same time we can just watch TV and he’ll laugh at me when I turn on my crime shows. There couldn’t be a better person made for me in the world. He is such a good father, so I already know that he will be a good father to our son. It feels like we’ve been together forever, but it also feels new and fresh every day.

Speaking of spirituality and being connected to people, how does the experience of being pregnant affect you spiritually, if at all?

It’s funny because the minute I got pregnant I wanted to know everything that was happening in my body. Not only physically, like “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”, but also spiritually. It is the greatest change you can experience, creating another human. My friend, Deepak Chopra, wrote a book about spirituality and pregnancy and it was just what I needed because it takes you through the whole pregnancy journey and what is happening metaphysically, physically, spiritually, what your baby can hear, when he can smell. He spoke about being careful of the images you take in because the baby can absorb fear from even a scary movie, for example.

It’s true, the baby is absorbing the energy around you. I read this interesting story about these horses which were the top competitors in all of the horse races and they were clones. The interesting thing is that the horse which was cloned had an incident with a water hose that hit him in the face and from then on he was always afraid of water hoses, and then his clone was born and since birth that clone horse would freak out in the same way whenever he saw a water hose. It raises the question of where our memories lie. People think it is our brain, but it is really in every cell of our body. So it makes sense that your baby is not only absorbing the food and drink but also the energy that is around you and produced by you.

Yes energy, thoughts, meditation. I was really obsessed from the beginning wondering what is he feeling? What is he hearing? What is he thinking?

Bodysuit with mesh by Naked Wardrobe, Choker and Rings by David Webb, Robe by Ralph Lauren, Sunglasses by Celine

Bodysuit by Wolford, Wrap Dress by Murmur and Ring by David Webb

Bodysuit by Wolford, Ring and Necklace by David Webb

I learned a lot about sound therapy and it is really interesting because you can use this sound tool with the baby and it relaxes them, and then whenever they hear it again they instantly go into a state of relaxation.

No way! Well I’ve been playing meditation music with him and I do aromatherapy. I sleep with an essential oil diffuser with lavender oil at night, but that sound therapy sounds amazing!

To switch gears a bit, you are in the remake of Overboard which is such a beloved and highly anticipated release, is it a lot of pressure on you to work on a new rendition of such a classic movie?

Yeah…well it’s funny because I don’t have as much pressure as Anna Faris! She ran into Goldie and Kurt and they were like, “We heard you were doing Overboard”, and I would have freaked out! But it’s different because it’s a change in gender and it’s a much more contemporary version of the idea. It’s current for the time. I don’t think you could do the original today due to where we are socially. It’s funny, and I am such a big Anna Faris fan. I just think she’s a comedy genius. Eugenio Derbez, who is just the biggest Latin star ever, plays a wealthy playboy with a ton of money. It was so much fun shooting with them and playing with them, and seeing the movie was so exciting. People are going to love it!

Oh, I can’t wait to watch it! So you’ve directed the season finale of Blackish which is such a big show. It’s such a big deal to direct a season finale, and I know you want to direct more, but do you have a movie that you want to do?

Well I’ve been offered a couple of movies that I didn’t really connect to. I didn’t feel like I had a perspective to offer, and as a director I think that’s everything. I just love the medium of television, the pace of television, and working with actors who really know their characters. Not too much actor directing or motivation because they really know their role better than you do. So you’re really there to create camera choreography and make it better. I’d love to do a feature film, and I’ve been looking for one, but it’s just such a time commitment. You prep for six months, shoot for four months, and edit for a year…so it’s really just two years of your life dedicated to one project, one idea. It has to speak to me and I have to have a point of view and something to contribute. There’s a relevance and a purpose for a movie to be out there, even if it is just to make people laugh. I haven’t found that perfect script for me yet.

You have a project called Grand Hotel which you produced, did you direct as well?

No, I just produced it, but I will be directing if we go to series.

Was it hard to produce it then step back and let someone else take the director’s chair?

Well that’s why we usually pick a collaborative person, and Ken Olin (This Is Us) is an amazing director and was really perfect for this project. He brought so much to this project and I was excited to work with him, observe him, and have him mentor and teach me. He was so amazing and collaborative, and I asked him all of these questions like, “Why would you put the camera here instead of here? Why would you put the lens here instead of here?” I’m super nosy and curious and not scared to ask questions. So just using that opportunity to learn from someone who has been in the industry for a very long time was invaluable.

I think that is why you can do so many things and do them so well because you are so collaborative. I think the most successful people are some of the nicest and most collaborative, and you really show that with everything you do. You launched your eponymous clothing line in 2016. What have you learned from that process as a designer?

Well I’ve been sewing since I was seven, so for me it was a natural extension of what I wanted to do in my life. I love clothing, seams, textiles, and garment construction. It was really exciting, but also a completely different language for me. It’s a totally different industry and I’m not one of those celebrities who’s just like, “Put my name on a label! Look at my shirt!” I really wanted to get into the process, not just design, but everything from sourcing to design to marketing. It’s different press, different events, and the fashion world is its own animal. To jump in and navigate that was definitely challenging but so exciting because it challenged me in a different way then acting, producing or directing.

And I had no idea that you had a Master’s degree in Chicano studies. How did you have the time to get a Master’s degree!?

When I started it I was on Desperate Housewives and we were the #1 show in the world, and I was going to night school… it was crazy. It stressed me out, overwhelmed me, and I didn’t want the news to get to the press in case I didn’t finish. I was just taking classes, but the press found out and I was like, “Great, now I have to finish!” (laughs)

So were you in a private class or being taught with other students?

Yeah I was with other students, but they were graduate courses so they were smaller classes. I was with all these 22 year-olds who were way smarter than me! I’m sure people thought I would be the intimidating one, like a big star coming in, but it was the other way around. I walked in and they were like, “So, the Oedipus theory is applicable to…” and I was like, “Wait? I’m sorry…what is that…?” (laughs)

You know, it is so interesting what your intuition can pull you towards, like when I saw you give your speech at the DNC which was so eloquent and so articulate and smart and thought-provoking and it makes sense because all of those things that you spoke about were so powerful not just to the Latino community but to minorities in general. As an Asian-American, I felt that it connected us all whether going through those experiences or not.

I loved that time of my life because Desperate Housewives had ended and I was focusing all of my time on getting Obama re-elected, and so I spent eight months on the road with him and the campaign. People don’t realize how hard it is to be President because the states are all so different. We are so lucky to live in such a diverse country, but to unite all of those states is such a challenge because of our different needs and values. Just to travel the country and listen to all of these people was such a lesson in and of itself. I encourage it on a global level to reach across our state and country borders to learn about each other. I wish everyone could do what I did and listen to the people and hear their differences, but yet realize that we are all Americans and have that commonality.

We are all human beings and we are all trying to do our best, but we live in a time where people are being specifically targeted. Specifically, the Latin community. When you spoke at the DNC you did not mince words on your stance on immigration, and now we are forced to deal with the attack on DACA, The Dreamers and deportation. It makes me wonder if you have any advice you would give to young people who may be facing this reality?

There are so many things we can do to help The Dreamers who are great citizens, have a lot to contribute, and have been contributing with no criminal history. There are many great organizations, and a lot of progress is done locally on a state level. I know this is a national topic that has been on the administration’s agenda for many many decades, but a lot of these rules, regulations, and policies are on a state levelso figuring out what you can do locally is very important.

What’s interesting to me is that you are so busy and are doing so many things but you are also a huge philanthropist and activist. We are in such an amazing time in our world right now with the Time’s Up Movement and women’s rights being up front and center. What do you think is next for gender equality, and how do we keep pushing forward so justice continues on for future generations?

I think that’s it. We have to keep putting on pressure. There’s the private sector and the public sector, and in the private sector you can hold people accountable and create change in your industry. We started the Time’s Up movement in our industry, but it is not for actors, it is for all women in every industry to make sure men and women have a safe work environment. And something like that should be guaranteed and should be a no-brainer. Everyone should have a safe work environment. That’s when you should approach the problem through many aspects whether it is through legislation like equal pay, a pipeline for leadership from more women, and then there are just so many things we have to work for in the interest of gender equality. There are so many systematic barriers which have been ingrained, subconscious biases that people never see, and just getting our stories out and hearing women’s side is game-changing.

Allowing other people to tell their story and listen and be outraged, and whether you love this person or this actor, it doesn’t matter. People that you love can have dark and disappointing sides, and the line needs to be drawn.

Out of all of the hats you wear—from acting, directing, producing, designing, philanthropy—which do you connect to the most and which gives you the most excitement?

Definitely my family and friends give me the most excitement. You would think it would be my job, but there are so many adventures, so many great things in our life that happen to us, and if you can’t share that with your family and friends then none of it matters!

Vest by Maison Martin Margiela, Bottoms by Wolford

Hair by Ken Paves, Makeup by Elan Bongiorno @ Rouge Artists using Tatcha, BTS Video by Lavoisier Clemente, Photo Assistant Amanda Yanez, Art Direction by Louis Liu, Editor-in-Chief Marc Sifuentes, Production Assistant Benjamin Price, Special Thanks to Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Christina Vu, Kendal Hurley of Ballantines PR, Liza Anderson and Whitney Peterson of Anderson Group PR, Marcel Pariseau of True PR

WEB EXCLUSIVE – TIE ME WITH A SCARF AND JEWELS

Photography by Rosamagda Taverna | Fashion Editor & Stylist Stesy | Makeup and Hair by Adelina Popa | Model Sophia @Mp Management

Scarf by Emilio Pucci | Earrings by Iosselliani

Scarf by Mario Dice | Earrings by Dior | Brooch by Rosantica | Shirt by Dondup

Scarf by Gucci | Bra by La Perla | Earrings by Iosselliani

Scarf by Hermes | Earrings and necklaces by Iosselliani

Scarf by Fendi | Glasses by Micheal Kors

ROOM 229

Photographer: Justice Apple @justiceapple | Stylist: Isaiah Walls @theisaiahwalls
Producer: Tarayn Sanders @taraynsanders | Groomer: Samantha Tobin @samjomakeup
Models: Christian Dion: @we_staycoolin, Levi Berlin @levithejedi

Christian wears Suit by 5000

Levi wears shirt by Comme des Garcons

Levi wears Tank Top by Rick Owens, Pants by Comme des Garçons

Christian wears Jacket by 5000

Christian wears Jacket by 5000, Pants by Comme des Garcons, Belt by Levi’s, Necklace Model’s Own
Levi wears Tank Top by Hanes, Jacket by Levi’s, Pants by 5000

Christian wears Jacket by 5000, Pants by Comme des Garcons, Belt by Levi’s, Necklace Model’s Own
Levi wears Tank Top by Hanes, Jacket by Levi’s, Necklace Model’s Own

Christian wears Top by Helmut Lang, Pants by Siki Im, Shoes by New Balance
Levi wears Jacket by Calvin Klein, Pants by Acne, and Boots by Saint Laurent

Levi wears jacket by Maison Margiela, Pants by Damir Doma

Christian wears Top by Helmut Lang, Pants by Siki Im, Shoes by New Balance
Levi wears Jacket by Calvin Klein, Pants by Acne, and Boots by Saint Laurent

SAME AS IT EVER WAS

From Edward Steichen’s early black and white gelatin prints of fashion models in the 1900’s to the digitally enhanced fantasies of today’s social media age, the fashion image remains a seductive subject of the gaze, same as it ever was.

Photographer: Alex Black
Fashion Stylist: Brit Cato
Models: Vitalina Burton w/ Muse Models, Emily Grace w/ Elite Models, Skyler Hawkins w/ Anti MGT, David Chiang w/ Major Models
Hair: Mike Fernandez using EVO Hair Products
Make-up: Juan Jaar using Mac Cosmetics
Producer: Associate Editor, Ben Price
____

On Emily: Satin Black Puffed Blouse by Namilia

On David: Multicolored sequined blouse by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello

On Skyler: Hat by Leila Jinnah, Black Suspender trousers by Tibi, White Singlet by Tibi, Colonial heels by Thom Browne, socks by Ozone Socks

On Emily: Black dress by Roberto Cavalli, Long black sheer skirt by Mimi Prober, Grey & White Pinstripe cape by Thom Browne, Black Colonial Platforms by Thom Browne, Pony Hair handbag by Brother Vellies, Silver Rings by Shiny Squirrel

On Vitalina: Green long sleeve blouse and skirt by Jason Wu, Pale Blue Embellished Slingbacks by Rene Caovilla, Net hat by Leila Jinnah

On Skyler: Navy Blue knit hat by Leila Jinnah

On David: White & Black leopard print dress by Roberto Cavalli, Black Fur collar by Georgine

On Vitalina: Black & Silver embellished Chain Dress by The Blonds

On Skyler: White lace up blouse by Thom Browne, Silver/Red chandelier earring by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello

On Vitalina: Black Lace bodysuit and Ostrich fur fan by Maison Close, Gold link bracelet by Shiny Squirrel, Triangle Earring by Shiny Squirrel

On Skyler: Multi colored full length coat by Georgine, Silver Chain by Shiny Squirrel

Fashion Assistant: Kristen Wiltshire, Fashion Intern: Jeffrey Chempere, Makeup Assistant: Chloe Grae

MATTHEW STONE

Beginning his career with an involvement in numerous counter-cultural movements, and rising to notoriety as a founding member of the South London art collective, !WOWOW!, Artist and Art Shaman Matthew Stone is bringing bodies together through his life-sized digital paintings.

Photography by Wikkie Hermkens | Styling by Sonny Groo | Interview by Ashleigh Kane

In the early 00s, Matthew Stone took the teachings of Andy Warhol’s Factory era and the concept behind Joseph Beuys’ Social Sculpture and transplanted them to London, where he and a group of friends had just graduated from Camberwell College of Arts. Consciously eschewing the rental market, they founded !WOWOW! and housed it, and themselves, in an abandoned store in South London with a revolving roster of exhibitions, residencies, studios and parties. “When I was young, I had a really strong vision of how I wanted to live my life”, Stone recalls over the phone from his studio in Hackney, “and I was specifically interested in squatting.” Having grown up with his family in a cottage on a canal in Bath, England with no permanent source of electricity – just a generator which Stone says was often not in use – it’s not hard to understand his draw towards other people. Now 35, content with living alone and much less the party animal he once was, Stone’s work is still crowded with bodies. He contributes to his own series titled “Interconnected Echoes” whereby he interviews the people he admires, has participated in several group as well as solo exhibitions, photographed the cover of FKA Twigs’ M3LL155X album cover, and most recently exhibited his life-sized digital paintings at Somerset House under the title Healing With Wounds.

Here he talks to IRIS Covet Book about connection, spirituality, and shares some invaluable advice for young artists.

Upper World Portrait, 2017

Can you talk about the process in which you make your paintings?

I physically paint and then photograph the strokes individually and create really high-resolution images of each brush stroke. Then I cut them out in Photoshop and use them to texture 3D models that I make of people. I’m working in 3D CGI software and using virtual cameras and lighting setups. Then with a printer, they’re finally printed onto linen with a technique that I developed. I only ever print each once so they live like actual paintings in the sense that there is only one of them.

Why did you want to work in a digital realm?

I didn’t want to make something that was backwards facing. I wanted people to look at them in a way that they look at contemporary imagery, in that they have not seen something else exactly like it before. To look at it with that freshness, with those eyes, and then start thinking about their bodies and each other. For a long time, I wondered whether that was through photography, or pushing photography into sculpture. With this technique, I feel like I’ve nailed the method (laughs) and now I can get on with just making paintings. The majority of the work was developing the technique and there were years when I worked on it without showing anyone any development. I went through waves of development without over-excitedly sharing it with everybody, and that was a big education for me.

One of the reasons that I’ve stopped doing lots of other different things and focused on the paintings is because I’ve realized that I can do everything I need to do within other realms, within this world of painting. Because of the way that I work in 3D virtual space, I can’t help but think of them, when I hang them on the wall, as a window into that space. Increasingly, I’m doing things in life-size so as you look at them, you’re looking into a virtual reality or mixed reality.

The people who appear in the paintings are not based on real people, they are completely invented like avatars that I’ve posed and painted. But those figures have started reappearing through different images, so it’s almost as if I’m investing in these metaphysical beings that live in the world that is my painting.

You came to London from Bath at age 18 and began to study at Camberwell College of Arts. What artists did you admire back then?

I wrote my dissertation on the spiritual content in Andy Warhol’s work and argued that you could read a religious trajectory in his work. Then I came across Joseph Beuys and was really interested in his work from a performative perspective. Through him, I developed these ideas around the artist as Shaman.

Were you always intrigued by spirituality?

My mum was a Catholic and as a result – and as a reaction to that – she was very much like, ‘You are not going to be indoctrinated in any way.’ We were left to work that stuff out on our own. Looking back, I had an interest from a very young age in mysticism; The X Files and UFOs, which I feel were very much of the times.

Photography by Wikkie Hermkens | Styling by Sonny Groo

Can you talk about the out of body experiences that you have had?

They’re not something that I had a ton of but there are some significant ones – and I wish I could go into them at will, but I can also go into altered trance-like states. I used to do a series of performances where I would perform under the stage name “The Art Shaman” and the structure of the performance was that I would get a cover band to play Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones, and I would use the song to enter altered states.

What was the significance of Paint It Black?

Maybe something about the drumming. It has this rhythmic pull. In a sense, me talking about myself as a Shaman stemmed from that period. At that time it was very playful, essentially. But people, other artists, have found it intensely problematic. Someone wanted me to publicly apologize – which is almost as pretentious as me calling myself a Shaman (Laughs).

Why did it bother people?

I think they thought that it shouldn’t be a self-bestowed title. There’s definitely a question about using something like that – like spiritual appropriation – but, for me, the word itself, in its contemporary usage, describes behavioural patterns that are different on every continent and so it doesn’t feel super specific as a term, it feels quite general. I’m not trying to cut into any tradition that I’m not a part of. It’s more in an abstract sense that I’m trying to push the boundaries, or trigger thoughts, about the role of the artists and whether that extends beyond an individual creating expensive objects.

I use it to trigger intellectual debate because increasingly I’m interested in intuitive moments of thinking. There are certain points when I’ve thought – because of explaining it, over and over again – ‘why am I doing this?’ and that maybe I should just say that it was a phase, but I realized that me having said it had its own resonance and power anyway and that I have to live with the consequences of that – whether or not they are uncomfortable. More recently, I feel like I’ve gotten a bit more of a practical and personal practice that relates to it – there’s more humility. But I’m not going to take it off my Instagram account.

After university, !WOWOW! was founded. Did that come about because of situational circumstances or was it planned?

When I was young, I had a really strong vision of how I wanted to live my life and I was specifically interested in squatting. In college, I was obsessed with reading about Warhol’s Factory and had this idea of collaborative and collective living. I was thinking about Joseph Beuys’ Social Sculpture, which was the idea of an evolving artwork that was multi-author – it was all of society.

Once we graduated, we were like ‘let’s not pay rent, let’s go and squat!’ and so we started it and invited people in and it spiraled from there. My hope at that time was that people would perceive some of my activities within it as being a kind of living artwork and certainly not one that I’m the only author of. I was really interested in the idea of presenting a network of people as an artwork and I always had a great reticence to concretely transfer that to a gallery – in terms of installing people into a gallery. So yes, it felt like something that was situational in a sense because if you took it out of the environment that it had sprung from, it would become an illustration of it.

Feminine Teachers, 2017

Other People’s Energy, 2017

You mentioned earlier that you want to see if the artist can be more than someone who is just making expensive objects. What do you think the role of the artist is today?

Everyone as an individual has a political responsibility, so obviously, that includes artists. I don’t think my work has ever really been about art or the art world. Obviously, it emerges from the history of art and in lots of ways my work is very much about the history of religious art in terms of the use of the body and flesh, but I feel like my work has always been about interactions between people. Looking at the idea of collaboration over competition. Coexistence and compromise in conflict and how complex networks of power and connection occur. When I was younger I felt like I had the answers for things, but as I go on my thinking changes. Now I know that my thinking will probably change again in the future. I feel, with my work, I’m trying to frame the development of that thinking more than my thinking specifically.

Healing With Wounds featured the Somerset House show titled Utopia. Is utopia something you explore in your work?

I’ve always been interested in the idea of being engaged in developing ideas or using creativity to envision a more just world, but I’ve never claimed to be an activist. Essentially my thinking about optimism and utopias has always been about questioning if these dialogues are useful? Is it better to acknowledge the violence that already exists by making violent work? Or should I, as an artist, focus on promoting visions of a post-violent world? I’ve looked at art and culture that has explicitly been violent and understood it as potentially being part of a critique of violence, but instinctively, I’ve never said, “well I’m going to make violent imagery because that is a way to show people that it’s a bad thing.” I feel uncomfortable thinking in that way and I don’t know if that’s because I’m naive and I can’t deal with reality, or it’s because that type of imagery can be traumatic and does little to destabilise violence.

I go back and forth between thinking about how the power structures unfold in the images I make and how they deal with violence and what they suggest. More recently, I’m realizing that there is a lot of ambiguity in the ways in which you can read the body language of the people in my paintings. That’s quite important because I don’t think the world needs simple illustrations like “violence is bad” because the world is more complex and intelligent than that. If I can create anything where when people look at it and think about what’s happening, then that feels like the more useful contribution. Ultimately, when people look at my work, I want them to feel something and I want them to think about what they feel.

What advice do you have for young people coming up?

I always say, “listen very carefully to the advice that you give others because we verbalize our own insecurities when we criticize other people, when we give them advice.” The other thing is, “pay attention to your own mistakes, they might be the only original ideas you have.”

Matthew Stone with his dog Beau. Follow Beau @beauthehound

All artwork © Matthew Stone images courtesy of Choi&Lager
For more information visit matthewstone.co.uk

LUKE EDWARD HALL

Charmingly-maximal, Luke Edward Hall’s whimsical take on interiors offers an escape from the mundane white box of minimalism.

Photography by Wikkie Hermkens | Styling by Sonny Groo | Interview by Dustin Mansyur
Full look by Burberry

Peruse through Luke Edward Hall’s instagram feed, and one will find a story vibrantlylayered in color-clad interiors, candy-colored hues of hand painted ceramics and drawings, and peppered with images documenting the 27-year-old creative’s quixotic travels. Stylishly dandy and tousle-haired, Hall curates a dreamy world as if seen through the most decadent shade of millennial pink lenses. A visit to his North London studio enforces the idea, with it’s bubblegum-painted walls and scatter of colorful tools and materials strewn across his work table. Daring fabric remnants, bouquets of colored pencils and brushes sprout charmingly in a collection of vintage mugs and vases, vintage photographs, magazine clippings, and the occasional tchotchke clutter the artist’s space like a decorated nest. In the center, a spot is cleared away, just big enough to entertain a drawing in progress.

Hall has been dubbed by Vogue.com as the ‘interior design world’s wunderkind’, a hefty seal of approval for a budding artist and designer. With a variety of blue-chip collaborations with companies like Burberry, Drakes, and Stubbs & Wootton already in his portfolio, Hall is positioned thoughtfully for longevity. His idyllic watercolor brush strokes, and gestural, simplified drawings elicit an understanding of the same subtleties of Matisse or Picasso’s more expressionistic works, while an array of products he’s created in-house suggests similar branding sensibilities of such design heavyweights as Jonathan Adler or Kelly Wearstler. The romance exists in the visual language Hall uses to couple his creative vision with commercial potential, resulting in the fanciful prism of his nostalgia inspired work.

Here IRIS Covet Book offers a glimpse into the auspicious world of Luke Edward Hall.

‘Gervase by the Pool’, 2017

You actually studied menswear at Central Saint Martins before you established your studio in 2015. Your career has really blossomed as an artist, but also as a designer of objects. What influenced your decision, or what shifted your focus, I should say rather, post-graduation, so that you went down this career path as opposed to choosing to stay in men’s wear design?

I always had an interest in antiques and interiors as well as fashion. While I was studying menswear, I was also selling antiques online. When I graduated I met an interior designer in London, whose style I really admired. So I ended up going to work for him, and that’s how I got more involved with interiors. It wasn’t something that I decided, it happened quite naturally.

Then what helped you to make the decision to venture out on your own after working with that architect that you mentioned?

I always knew that I wanted to have my own thing. When I was working full time, I started designing fabrics. I began putting more work up online, and I started doing much more drawing. Then, eventually, I got a few commissions — enough that allowed me to set my own thing up. I worked quite hard to get my work out there, so that I could be able to go out on my own.

What avenues did you pursue to increase your exposure?

Obviously, I’ve had a lot of work up on Instagram from the beginning. But, early on, I started making products like cushions, fabrics, and prints of my work. I had a lot of product that I could sell. I just tried to make sure that I had my work out there as much as I could. Eventually it began being published in magazines.

Do you do all of your fabrics in-house or are you licensing your designs through a fabric company?

It’s full-time in-house. Coming from a fashion and interiors background, I always appreciated good fabric. After I sketch up the design, I’ll print them out and work with a factory to produce them in very small runs to be used in my cushions and other products.

Can you describe what your studio’s like? Do you share space with others? What is it like when you are there?

I work with my friends in an art gallery where I have a space in the back. It’s really nice because it’s very close to where I live, five minutes away. I have this corner of a room that I’ve painted pink. It’s where I work on all of my projects.

What’s a typical day in the workroom like for you?

I go in every day because there are lots of new things happening. I always have meetings and a variety of projects to work on. Sometimes I’m working on foreign accounts, sometimes I’m drawing, other times I’m painting pottery or sourcing fabrics.

Voluta and Luca Cushion by Luke Edward Hall

You describe your aesthetic as being informed by a love of history, an appreciation of beauty, and a sense of playfulness. Do you have any specific historical influences that you find inspiring from which you pull inspiration?

I draw inspiration from history because often I’m inspired by the stories. I love looking back at ancient Greek myths and legends, also English folklore. I love reading about times in history, like the 1920s and ‘30s, especially in London. I’m quite nostalgic.

Your work is very sophisticated. How do you draw the line between playfulness and something that’s considered kitsch?

The thing is, I do like a little bit of kitsch, but I don’t want what I do to be so gaudy and outrageously mad that it becomes off-putting. I think you can be playful with color and print without sacrificing elegance and sophistication, which is a nice balance for interiors. I love playing with tradition or history, and trying to achieve the balance of pairing something very old with something very new. Curating the right pieces together is always a fun process.

I feel like today people consider minimalism and modern design as being somewhat synonymous, especially when we’re talking about interior spaces. Your approach is anything but minimal and yet reads as modern. Do you think there is a shift in the consumer market towards a more “decorated” approach?

There’s a general shift toward people being more interested in a more maximal approach, which I think there’s lots of reasons for that. Like with fashion, things come in cycles. I don’t really think of my lifestyle as maximal…it’s more that I just like being surrounded by my “stuff ”. I like having lots of color and pattern, and that look is typically classified as maximalism. The thing with maximalism in the interiors I like, is that it offers a little bit of a fantasy. I guess that’s why I look at the past, as well. I like the idea of creating something magical into which you can escape. The world we live in at the moment is quite grim at times. I think that’s partly why more people are taking to this trend because perhaps they need an escape from the everyday as opposed to living in a white box.

Based on your Instagram, it appears as though you travel a great deal. Is it a source of inspiration as well?

Travel is a huge source of inspiration. Italy is a really inspiring place for me to visit and work; I go there a lot and bring inspiration back. I always feel refreshed after going to the countryside in England because I find the city to be quite intense. Travel for me is just as important as my studio days. When I travel, I end up working every day, and always get re-inspired by the many things I come across.

You’ve collaborated with so many high profile companies already across several different luxury consumer markets, Burberry, Drakes, Christie’s, Stubbs and Wootton, and even Samsung, what have been some of your favorite collaborations to work on and why?

They’ve all been great for their own reasons. I only collaborate when it feels like the right fit. It has to be something that I feel really passionate about and connected with. Burberry is an amazing company to collaborate with because their reach is worldwide. It was very exciting when that opportunity happened. I also have always loved Stubbs and Wootton, so it was really fun to work with them to turn my drawings into embroideries for their slippers. Drakes was also a great collaboration that gave me the opportunity to see my drawings on silk for ties and scarves. It’s a great experience working with other people when they do something really well. It allows me to add my touch to it, and we come together and create something beautiful.

Luke Edward Hall x The Store ‘Face Bowl’ (available from The Store x Soho House Berlin and The Store x Soho Farmhouse)

Vases From Left: Lemons, 2016, Flower Prince, 2017 (Personal Collection)

You’re working on many different projects that span different disciplines, do you do all the your own business development or do you work with an agent?

It’s sort of a mixture. I don’t employ anyone. I just work by myself. I have an agent for Europe and they get me more illustration jobs. Most of the work comes to me, though. If the project involves working with a bigger company, I may hire someone short-term if needed, and I have relationships with vendors to produce what needs to be done.

I feel like drawing, itself, is such pure, analog art form. Now, we’re living in a post-digital world, all connected to a screen, advertising ourselves online on whatever platform we can. Do you think that social media and the Internet are simply just an extension of the artist’s tool kit?

I don’t think everyone has to engage in social media. I completely appreciate the people being like, “Oh, I’m not doing it. I’m not doing Instagram,” and that’s totally fine. For me, I like having a visual diary to see and process what I’m working on. I’ve always liked working on blogs and documenting what I’m doing. I’ve received lots of work through Instagram. When I got my first big job, which was for the Parker Palm Springs, it came from Instagram. So I owe a lot to it really, because it’s helped me. If you don’t need it, fine, but it can definitely be a great tool. If you can get greater exposure, then I think, why not make the most of it?

Warhol said, “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.” You have an ecommerce portal on your website, you also have 1stDibs shop, and you did a pop-up shop last year. I’m curious what entrepreneurship means to you. How do you maintain the balance between art and commerce, being commercial without sacrificing your vision?

I’ve always been fascinated by retail. And while I like drawing and painting, I also like making products. When I first started selling antiques online, I’d go buy old antiques and restore them for resale on 1stDibs. I love graphic design and the process of branding things, so creating a variety of products with my artwork was natural. Now, I’m thinking about doing a little exhibition next year, so I’m setting aside time to work on those pieces. Maybe people think, “Oh, well, you’re not a real artist, you’re more of a designer.” I don’t really mind what label I’ve got. I think you can have all of these worlds that fit together, and I quite enjoy doing it.

I saw images online of your pop-up shop. Do you ever think you’ll venture into doing a little shop, a flagship store, for all your creations to live within?

At some point, I will probably do some shop type of thing. The thing is that at the moment I’m doing one-off pieces. I almost went down the route doing more products, but I’m now fixating more on hand-made ceramics, which are hand-painted and all one-off pieces. During the holiday season, I make more pieces and products for online and pop-ups. Right now my focus is on projects like the exhibition next year, which is going to be drawings, prints, and ceramics.

Do you have any advice that you might give to a young person considering to choose this as a career path?

Make sure you feel it pulling your heart; be brave. Go for it and believe in yourself. When something is completely yours, I think people always pick up on that. So do what makes you happy, because that’s what people respond to. You need to couple that with being on it as a business, thinking about social media, and having a bit of a strategy to give you direction. I do think you do need to have both sides – a creative side and a business side – in order to make it a success.

You’ve worked on many of amazing projects and I’m sure you only want more, but what do you envision for yourself in your future?

That’s the thing. I don’t actually have a plan. I’ve got so many exciting stuff happening, like the exhibition next year, and I’m going to carry on doing more interior projects. I’ve only been doing it for two years by myself so there’s still a lot that I want to do. I’d love to do a book and I like the idea you have, maybe, opening some sort of showroom. But for now I’m also just playing it by ear. I’m happy to just let things happen.

For more information visit lukeedwardhall.com

TATJANA PATITZ

Known as one of the original supermodels and fashion icons, Tatjana Patitz takes on a trip through the dreamy, psychedelic landscape of a deserted beach.

Dress by Lana Mueller

Photography by Djeneba Aduayom | Styling by Sarah Toshiko West | Model Tatjana Patitz @ The Model CoOp

Hair by Preston Wada using Kevin Murphy, Makeup by Amy Clarke using skincare by Patyka, makeup by Vapour Beauty, Art Direction by David Moran, Stylist Assistants Taylor Murray and Andrew Earley, Production Assistant Tommy Johnson

Sweater by Issey Miyake

Coat by Versace and Dress by Lana Mueller

Dress by Lana Mueller, Earrings by Lucky Brand

Jumpsuit by Julia Clancey

Turtleneck by Jil Sander, Dress by Peggy Hartano

Dress by Prada

Dress by Julia Clancey

Coat by Missoni, Dress by House of CB

Dress by Aya By DK, Skirt by Jil Sander

Cape by Sebastian Gunawan

ISSA LISH BY NOBUYOSHI ARAKI

Photography by Nobuyoshi Araki | Styling by Shun Watanabe | Model Issa Lish @ Women Management

Known for his prolific exploration of Kinbaku-bi (緊縛美), “the beauty of tight binding”, subversive still-lifes, and controversial erotic imagery, iconic fine art photographer Nobuyoshi Araki teams up with top model Issa Lish in Tokyo, Japan for an invitation into his world.

Coat by Adam Selman, Bodysuit by Wolford, Boots by Christian Louboutin

Dress by Moschino, Shoes by Manolo Blahnik

Jacket (on the daybed) by Tom Ford, Bodysuit by Stella McCartney, Boots by Alexander Wang

Coat by Miu Miu, Chemise by La Perla

Tights by Tom Ford, Underwear by Wolford and Shoes by Gianvito Rossi

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Makeup by Ken Nakano, Hair by Koji Ichikawa using LAICALE, Manicure by Yuko at reAulii, Art Direction by Louis Liu, Editor Marc Sifuentes, Stylist Assistants: Leonard Arceo and Yohei Yamada, Makeup Assistant Sunao, Hair Assistant Hiromitsu Yahune.

MICKALENE THOMAS

With a dedicated studio practice that spans multiple disciplines, Mickalene Thomas explores and challenges societal understandings of beauty, femininity, and identity through her work. Known for her bodacious collage-style, rhinestone-clad paintings, the refreshingly-uncontrived, artistic mastermind is the embodiment of chaos and control.

Photography and Interview by Dustin Mansyur
Unisex Suit and Shirt by Vivienne Westwood, Sunglasses Artist’s Own

The ground-floor, sprawling, warehouse studio that Mickalene Thomas runs is anything but the archetypal cluttered creative hub one might picture when visiting an artist’s studio. Instead, its organization suggests a need for clarity and control required for the artist to create. Small-scale collages, paper and material remnants drape across a single work surface like a patchwork tablecloth, with a pair of scissors propped suggestively on a roll of electric green tape as a centerpiece to its cacophony of color. In a far corner of the studio, a heavy vinyl curtain is swagged aside revealing a space reminiscent of a car-paint room, the color-spattered work table in the center is cleared with equipment tucked away. Adjacent to it, a barrage of carts are trolleyed up neatly, loaded like pack mules with a rainbow of oil pastels, paint tubes, mixing utensils, and a spectrum of boxed rhinestones. Mickalene pushes one with a generous smear of cobalt paint and a pair of knives towards an unfinished piece that she’s “mucking up”, its wheels singing furiously like an operatic aria of the paint’s destiny. Flanking the walls, large-scale canvases of works-in-progress commune with one another, while awaiting canvases are filed away orderly in gargantuan cabinets. The multi-disciplinary artist needs space to breathe and listen to the dialogue of her work as it banters across the nucleus of the studio floor. A library elicit of her groovy, soulful sets offers an inviting corner to entertain studio visits, but we will stand and talk today as Thomas works on a diptych.

An alumni of Pratt and Yale and a United States Artists Fellow, Mickalene Thomas is a dichotomy of soft-spoken eloquence and outspoken intellect, a juxtaposition that feels arresting and gravitational. With a separate office space that runs the length of the studio and a quarter its width, it’s evident Thomas runs a tight ship over her studio practice and team. The role of boss aside, Mickalene Thomas is a distinguished visual artist, filmmaker, and curator whose work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, and is housed in many permanent collections including Guggenheim, Brooklyn Museum, MoMA PS1 New York, and Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, among others. Her work embraces art-historical, political, and pop-cultural references. Employing the disciplines of photography, painting, collage, sculpture, and installation, her exploration of the complex notions of femininity challenges prevailing definitions of beauty and aesthetic representations of women.

Here IRIS Covet Book shares some studio time with the artist as she articulates on adding to the dialogue of the conventional canon of Western art history.

Racquel Reclining Wearing Purple Jumpsuit, 2016

Were there any influencing factors in your childhood that really helped nurture your love of art? What motivated you to pursue this as a life and career for yourself as an artist?

Being raised by an adventurous, industrious and resourceful single mother who exposed me and my brother to art at a very young age. Around the age of 7 to 12, my mother enrolled my brother and I into various art programs in New Jersey and New York. My fondest memories are at both the Newark Museum and the Henry Settlement in the Lower Eastside. In our house there was a constant engagement with art, fashion, and music. My mother’s eldest brother was a trained fashion illustrator. He illustrated for magazines and designed some record covers, as well. I loved looking at his drawings, they remind me of Bill Traylor’s work. The biggest inspiration on this “jersey girl” was New York City.

We ventured to the city on every weekend we could afford, to attend the Met Museum and to see Broadway shows, mostly Off Broadway. My mother surrounded us with her creative friends. They organized house parties and fashion shows around Newark and East Orange. She and several in her group of her friends produced these events. Their parties were called “Better Days” and one of the plays I remember was called Put A Little Sugar in My Bowl. My mom’s friend gave me the script to the play. Looking back and reading the script reminds me of Tyler Perry plays, excluding the religious banter. I guess you might say that art chose me. I’m a product of my mother’s creative environment.

You work in so many different disciplines. You do photography, collage, painting, sculpture, and installation. Presently, what disciplines are you utilizing in your work?

Including performance, video, and the other five disciplines you mentioned, I oscillate among all of these disciplines, depending on the scope of my project, the concept, or idea; eventually making a decision on which discipline is best to execute the idea. Currently, there are two main techniques that are a major thread in my work, which I use in tandem–photography and silkscreen. I employ silkscreen as a way to bring forth the photographic elements into my painting. Silkscreen is used in my work as a tool to convey that language. It’s extremely important to me that the photographic images on the painting, appear as a collaged element rather than literally gluing or pasting a photograph onto the paintings. Photography plays a primary role in my studio practice, and it’s the strongest thread throughout my work. I shoot all of my resources for my work; for found resources, after scanning, them I put them through a photographic process to claim them as my own. What excites me currently as an artist is transforming my photographic images into a painting language. Although, sometimes my photographs and collages serve as blueprints for my paintings. Now I’m thinking about how I could use these disciplines within performance. My new body of work is video based and performative. Working in film has given me license to explore the moving image as the editing process relates to collage.

Combining all these different disciplines…is it in anyway a metaphor for the complexities of your identity?

I think all of our identities are complexed, and these different disciplines provide a platform for me to navigate and explore my identities. As my art morphs and transforms, so do I as a person with my ideas and sense of self. I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago, neither is my art. I harbor various complexities in the same way as I oscillate within different disciplines. My mythos isn’t to be defined by the work that I make, in the same way that it’s an extension of myself. I can’t escape the methodologies of these disciplines because they are all pertinent for me to tell my story by any means necessary.

The strongest discipline in my work is photography. I see it as one of the most powerful tools constructing or deconstructing our identities. It’s our own black mirror, within the constructs of us having the need to constantly see ourselves instead of really seeing each other. Photography is it’s own visual language, it’s how we communicate–it’s on all our devices, it’s the new handshake, it’s the how are you today, and our third eye. I’m interested in using the photographic lens and other devices that will allow me to see myself and others.

Unisex Suit and Shirt by Vivienne Westwood, Sunglasses Artist’s Own

Where do you begin? How do you start a piece? During our photo shoot, I noticed there were several smaller collages on a work table.

The small collages are an iteration of my practice through a photographic process. I make a series of collages based on the photographs taken during photo shoots. The collages aren’t necessarily one-to-one with the paintings, they are research, resource, and a discovery into the the process of my paintings. The collages have their own strength that I try to bring into the paintings. The exploration within the collage materials allow me to be uninhabited and free of constraints. The discovery of making the collages is allowing the scissors to do it’s magic by cutting shapes and forms that tell a story with the images that I’m using. All my cut scraps are reusable for new images. I have piles and piles of images and materials, organized and chaos, colored and textured, pattern and glittered, layered and integrated. It’s exciting to think about all of those materials and how they will juxtapose with one another.

How did the rhinestones come to be such a touchstone part of your work?

I started experimenting with rhinestones when I became interested in the notions of pointillism during my time at Yale. In relation to my work, rhinestones seemed to be the most relevant material, and I realized that they provide a perfect combination of content, process, and materials not as an accoutrement. They serve to challenge my ideas of what paintings are, and can be. As my work evolved and developed stronger, the rhinestones started taking on other meanings as I expanded them into my practice.

I love that you really embraced that. Even though you referred to them as non-traditional material, you have given it this life to become its own medium, like oil or acrylic.

They are just as important as the acrylic and oil paint, the silkscreen, the oil sticks, and gestural marks. They play the same role as these materials and formalities. All of the elements or materials that I employ, represent the notions of artifice, constructed ideas, and means of how we consider adornment on ourselves and in our environments. How we can utilize and manipulate them to exude a certain quality, beauty or light. Also, rhinestones are a very interesting material to work with, the challenges are vast, and it possesses a multiplicity of ideas and notions that I feel like I could grow with as an artist. Figuring out how to use them in my paintings, but also as a material like paint is very exciting for me.

All of the collages in the interior spaces that you present within your work…I’m so fascinated by them because they look like such an interesting world to reside within. What does the interior as a subject matter mean for your?

For me, the interiors are just as important as the portraits because I think of interiors as portraitures. I think you can tell a lot about a person by the things they surround themselves with and how they live. There’s this residue of life, of cultural history, of storytelling, and all that is domestic that describes the home. How we surround ourselves to complete who we are, and the home or interior, is one of them; the landscape is another. I’m interested in how we reside within these spaces, and how these spaces tell a story of who we are.

I’m mostly trying to reference my childhood, and the environment that I found to be most comforting and inspiring as a young girl. I don’t necessarily think of it as being representative of a specific cultural or ethnic identity–while that may serve as one of the inspirations, it really is meant to reflect on the extensions of my own identity and history.

You just opened a show at Rice University in Houston that featured one of your installations. Are the installations something that you utilize as an extension of the set from the photographic process, or a three-dimensional form derived from the collages or paintings of the interiors?

Yes they are. In some ways they’re really about me trying to make sense of home. I moved around a lot as a kid, and I think that a home is the constructed safe space for families. One of the things that we identify as the “American dream” is having a home. Most people aspire to obtain home as an object of gratification or fulfillment of success regardless of demographic socially, financially, or culturally. There’s still this overarching aspiration of security once you have a home. My environments started in graduate school, when I was photographing myself. I would put up fabric backdrop to create self portraits. So when I started photographing my mother, I started adding things to the environment to formally figure out the compositions for my paintings. Overtime the blank wall was filled and covered with fabrics and wallpaper. I’ve been doing this for the past 10 years, but it’s just been the past three or four years that these environments have been recently exhibited. This part of my practice has developed and expanded into various iterations site-specifically expanding from tableaus in the corner of my studio into major installations where the viewer can activate the space.

Naomi Looking Forward #2, 2016

Installation at Newcomb Art Museum 2017 Variable Dimension

Do you usually have several pieces going simultaneously so that you can take a step back, think about it, and process it while working on another piece?

Yes, I work on several projects and works simultaneously. Sometimes chaotic, and then focused. Each project informs the other, allowing the works to have a strong dialogue between themselves. Sometimes I will struggle with one body of work, but then it makes sense in the other, and the works start speaking to each other, and the challenges erupt and make sense. The experience of making art is that it does not lie to you. It starts speaking to you in a certain way, and you have to listen to it. If you’re honest with yourself.

You take classical subject matter – nudes, portraiture, landscapes, interior spaces – and you re-appropriate them based upon your own cultural vantage point and perspective. When you first began your career how was the work received and has that changed over time?

It’s important to me that my work changes overtime. As I grow as a person I want my art to grow with me. It’s important as an artist to find your own voice and be authentic, and hopefully you’re adding a new dialogue to the discourse, to expand it, and to make it richer. I’m interested in using Western art historical canon by deconstructing the traditional notions of beauty within art. By bringing forth the women and beauty that have been removed from the stories, erased, and rewritten.

Art history is known to be so Eurocentric and non-inclusive.

What I’m excited about is the large circle of African American individuals as art historians: as our leaders within art history who are going to be in the position to allow these discourses to be put forth within the institutions. When you look at museums that start to embrace young African American curators, then there’s a shift because they’re entering a new paradigm that is going to allow new conversations to emerge and change in museums and other institutions. I think we need to encourage people of color to be a part of the creative field if they have that interest. There’s a huge generation of younger creative intellectuals that are coming forth that are really exciting. To me, those are the individuals I’m embracing because those are the people that are going to write our legacies and stories.

Earlier, you spoke about the photographic language acting as a kind of “black mirror”. Is that really what art is then, for you, a way of holding up the mirror to society?

I’ve read some of Lacan’s philosophy and something that really inspired me is his theory of the “mirror stage”. That our innate desire and notion of ourselves is to be validated by others, the desire is to be seen. Therefore, whena person gazes at you,it validates that existence because they’re looking at you. This idea of the gaze is very powerful and the notion of validation, and incorporating its existence into Art. Without it, we don’t see ourselves until others see us, which, in turn, gives us our sense of validation: recognizing something familiar in someone else. When we recognize our familiar selves in others, then things will change [in society].

Empathy is such a scarce quality today. How does this quality affect your work?

There’s always a greater part of empathy in artists. We are the most empathetic people. We are the leaders of the world and are capable of allowing people to become their better selves through our creativity. No matter how egotistical and selfish some artists can be, I think there’s still a greater part of empathy to making art. As an artist, we gift so much of ourselves to the world, the fiber of our existence as artists is to help others see the world through our eyes to create change.

Your work also focuses heavily on our understanding of beauty and expanding that. In fashion advertising the big buzzwords right now are diversity, inclusion…How do you think that society’s understanding of beauty is going to change in the coming decades?

The understanding of beauty today is going to become compacted with a deeper meaning of who you are, not necessarily what you look like.

You have this amazing space. It’s so huge, it’s orderly, and it’s still warm and inviting. It appears that you’re anything but the proverbial starving artist.

(laughter) I am! I am, really! I’m not starving, but I’m always hungry. I’m starving for women to sell their art at the same price point as their male counterparts without complaints of it being too expensive. I’m starving for inclusivity, and for being in the right collections, museums, biennials, on the art historian tongues, in the ear of curators, and working with the best galleries nationally and internationally. I’m starving to see more people of color and women having major retrospectives. I’m starving for auction houses to pay artists residuals.

I’m curious what you’ve had to overcome, either personally or professionally, to get to this place in your career. I feel like creative people often have a strong internal dialogue with themselves.

I persevered throughout my life. Everybody has a story, there was a glimpse of my story told in the documentary I directed about my mother in Happy Birthday To A Beautiful Woman.

What advice, then, would you share with any young person who is wanting to choose this for themselves as a life and career?

Despite your personal obstacles, it’s really important to maintain a strong studio practice and a sense of self.

Do you have a glass ceiling? What does success mean to you?

I once heard someone say, “the sky is not the limit it’s just the view”. There’s no glass ceiling for me because I’m hungry and greedy. One of the quotes that I love by Toni Morrison is “…if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.” This is success to me. I can only keep trying to do more than my best.

Hair and Makeup by Nina Soriano using Elemis, Production by Benjamin Price, Special Thanks to Susan Grogan at Mickalene Thomas Studio

OISIN HUNT AUTUMN/WINTER ’18 LOOKBOOK

Oisín Hunt is an Irish fashion designer based in New York. During his education at the National University of Ireland he received a BSc in Business and Management, Oisin also worked under a prestigious tailer in Dublin City for 3 years. During that time, in 2013 Oisín started his first brand Dog Eat Dog (D.EA.D) which he used as an alias name to work and sell under.

Photography by Veselina Tsankova, Model Keenan Javon represented by State Management NY, Styled by Roberta Basilio, Grooming by Luzmyrna Crespo