Hussein Chalayan talks with Greg Hilty, Curatorial Director, at the opening of his new exhibition “I Am Sad Leyla (Üzgünüm Leyla)” at the Lisson Gallery
Exhibition dates: 8 September – 2 October 2010
Spring Projects presents B-side, an exhibition of work by Hussein Chalayan. From pieces that are being shown for the very first time, to others that are represented in exciting new ways, B-side will showcase Chalayan’s explorations into the body, movement and voyeurism and highlight his fascination with form and process. While Hussein Chalayan is known first and foremost as a designer of radical fashion, investing his clothing with ideas and narratives – speed, displacement, cultural identity and genetics are favourite themes – he has also created a significant body of art works which are collected internationally. In B-side, we see Chalayan as sculptor, film-maker and animator. The exhibition rounds up two discrete projects Anaesthetics and Inertia. Though independent works, together they create a coherent articulation of Chalayan’s key themes.
Chalayan’s films allow him to animate his own designs and work with movement, narrative and sound. (Music has always been an important part of his fashion shows, with soundtracks provided by a range of musical choices from a live Bulgarian choir to songs by Antony and the Johnsons to Hussein himself playing electric guitar.) He describes Anaesthetics as a “film sketch book”. It consists of 11 “chapters”, each based on what Chalayan calls “institutions which codify behaviour in order to conceal violence”. If that sounds extreme, he is referring to situations we find normal – the strange conditions of air travel where artificial air and entertainment keep us subdued; the aggressive way that much refined food is prepared.While the film will be shown in its entirety, Chalayan has created lightboxes that isolate imagery from the film, with three dimensional objects. These will be displayed for the first time.
Inertia was the name of Chalayan’s Spring Summer 2009 collection, in which the showstoppers were body hugging dresses with dramatic protruding backs created in rubber foam and finished with a liquid sheen. A snapshot of speed and the moment of collision, they added to his inventory of dresses as narrative objects. Previous examples include breakable dresses formed in resin and others that translated into pieces of furniture. In B-side, he has chosen to display the moulds, which offer a fascinating insight into the creation of the work. “The moulds are really beautiful in their own right,” says Chalayan. “But showing them is about process and the in-between moments. I always talk about movement and animation in my work, but this instead is the monumentalisation of the frozen moment. A freeze frame.”
17th September to 23rd October 2010
For further information please visit www.springprojects.co.uk
From 8 September to 2 October 2010 Hussein Chalayan’s new installation “”I Am Sad Leyla (Üygünüm Leyla)” will be exhibited at Lisson Gallery, 29 Bell Street in London.
Chalayan says “My approach has always been interdisciplinary; the new work is an extension of this. There is a certain freedom to working in an art context that has allowed me to further explore the ideas that underpin my work.”
The new installation explores music as a cultural form, creating a “disembodied experience” of a performance of a traditional Turkish folk composition by Sertab Erener, one of Turkey’s most successful female singers, accompanied by an Ottoman orchestra. The installation is made up of a nuanced combination of audio, film, sculpture and musical notation. Here Hussein examines the experience of music as layered, exploring both the sounds created by different instruments, and the diverse cultural influences on the composition, which include Persian poetry and Greek orthodox chanting.
The project has emerged from a longstanding dialogue between the designer and Lisson Gallery’s Curatorial Director Greg Hilty who says: “Hussein Chalayan is rightly celebrated not just for his fashion but as one of London’s leading innovators in visual culture. His sensitive play with the history and poetic potential of wide-ranging cultural forms make him a natural fit for Lisson’s programme of exhibitions.”
Don’t miss Grayson Perry’s documentary on creativity and imagination on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday at 13.30.
Including some of the most talented people in the business, the Turner Prize winning ceramicist Grayson Perry interviews Hussein Chalayan on his sources for creativity and explores how imagination works. They discuss what being creative really means and if anyone can do it.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sx8ng
From July 15th – October 24th the Istanbul Modern plays host to the most comprehensive exhibition ever held in Turkey of Hussein Chalayan’s work. The exhibition presents the artist’s fashion collections, art and film projects created between the years 1994 and 2010. It explores Chalayan’s creative approach, his sources of inspiration and ideas on genetics, technological progress, displacement, immigration and cultural identity.
Deliquescent is a new fashion short film from the Albert & Mildred studio in London.
Directed by Luca de Salvia the abstract film is an intimate journey that allows for multiple interpretations. The drama of the slow motion footage has the intensity of holding your breath, a breath loaded with emotional expectations and fear. Whilst the soundtrack is a collection of nature sounds mixed with electronic samples, the sound of the heart beating and breathing.
The film was styled by Silvia and Valentina from the store Milletre in London, and you can spy the models wearing some pieces from our SS10 collection.
Enjoy!
Deliquescent from Luca de Salvia on Vimeo.
The fabulous Andi Bakos got married back in May to the very hip Jarrett Reynolds and we’re honored that she chose to wear one of our Spring Summer Finale dresses on her big day! Doesn’t she look amazing!
For more pictures please go to the Ace Hotel Blog and Jarrett’s blog – the party looked like a lot of fun!
blog.acehotel.com
PS. Check out Andi’s blog too, it’s pretty diverse and very interesting
andibelle.wordpress.com/
Lady Gaga wearing the Black Leather “Perfecto” Jacket from the Hussein Chalayan Fall/Winter 2009 Collection.
