Style & Design
Originally published on Thursday, 18th September 2008
Artist Interview: Doris Day
Apart from hosting some of the hottest fashion designers, On|Off also supports new creative talent in art and design from around the world, bringing them all together at London Fashion Week. UJ talks to some of the artists involved this season.
Describe your work and how you have used it to create a piece for On|Off.
My work is mainly drawings at the moment. I just love to draw. It’s a visual way of thinking. So most of the drawings are like fleeting thoughts or humorous observations. I was asked to create a new body of work for On|Off that was more fashion driven. I’ve spent the past couple of months trawling through fashion magazines and been to a couple of shows which is all fun. I like to create a surreal and comical outlook to my drawings. I feel that humour is all-important in my art and in life for that fact. I think it’s one of most important human emotions neglected in art. I want to find a connection with the viewer through humour.
What do you love about London and what are you most looking forward to during Fashion Week?
I just love the general hustle of the city. The assortment of people. Being able to hear snippets of a conversation and then just filling in the blanks. I generally walk about with tears of laughter in my eyes. Fashion week will be the same, so hopefully there will be a new body of work after the week has been.
How do you think fashion and art relate?
They are distant relatives. 2nd cousins maybe. Fashion went to a comprehensive school whereas art was sent off to boarding school. They share the same bloodline though. Art became a teacher and Fashion became a handy man. They get on well but they serve different purposes.
If your work could be translated into something wearable, what would it be and why?
A kilt. You try to work out what’s underneath, but when you see, it’s all wrinkly and hard to work out what you were looking for in the first place.
What can we expect to see from you in the future?
I’ve got some plans to translate my drawings into clothing. Not just t-shirts. I think that’s a bit cliché. I want to have my work on dresses and skirts, ponchos, pants and maybe kilts. I’ve got my designer all lined up! Just got to tell her now...
Your career highlight so far?
Being asked to draw Justin Timberlake for the CBBC programme Smart.
If you could describe Urban Junkies through your art, what would it look like?
A supply teacher eating a Sunday newspaper.
