Here are a few interesting statistical tidbits for you dear
reader as the ishotkatemoss project starts to enter its way into the
not-so-mainstream cultural conversation:
(i) As of last week, www.ishotkatemoss.com has 479 images
included in the collage; and
(ii) The greatest number of submissions from one
single artist is 22 images. Street artist, Gregg LeFevre, who we featured in
Photographer Series 13, holds the record …
that is until we were introduced to the
remarkable work of British artist Ant Pearce, who sent us 92 kate images,
all of which he has created over
the last 9 months.
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| Kate #1#1x2 (59·4x84·1cm), Cotton thread sewn on paper |
Influenced by Freud’s theories and the writings and
philosophies of Dostoyevsky, Kafka and Camus, Ant’s practice alludes to the idea
that “external authority is what brings about man’s aberrant destructive
behaviors”. His work is inspired by Freud’s structural model of human consciousness,
being that our minds are made up of three interconnecting entities: the id, the
ego and the super-ego. He addresses such an idea through the presentation of series of
Thread Drawings, with select pieces created as Line
Drawings (ink on paper) and Syringe Paintings (emulsion on medium-density
fiberboard). Through
a web of cross-references between color, medium and form the viewer is
positioned before the image in a conversation between order and chaos. As Ant
specifies, ”Each work brings into visibility the sense of imprisonment and
anxiety, which underlie human existence”.
His work has progressed into pieces, which explore aspects
of gender, narcissism and the life and death drives, as discussed by Freud,
through various imagery including the depiction of fashion icons, which of
course leads us to kate.
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| Twenty-five different Kate images from Ant's #6 series |
iskm: Why Kate Moss?
Ant Pearce (AP): My work addresses the fragility of life
through aspects of human psychology - the constant flux of breaking apart and
reforming. Kate Moss embodies these ideas to me. In a world increasingly littered
with celebrity and vulgarity, Kate Moss is a true icon flowing with artistic
talent and elegance with a twist of 'rock 'n roll'.
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| Kate #2#2x2 & Kate #2#3x2 (both 21x29·7cm), both Gold thread sewn on paper + cotton thread sewn on 24kt gold leaf |
iskm: We have never featured someone who has made so many
kate artworks. Why so many reflections on her?
AP: Kate has a chameleonic quality, which I find bewitching
and inspiring - she emits a sense of hope. As Vogue stated '…Kate Moss defies
categorisation'.
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| Thirty different Kate images from Ant's doubled sided work |
iskm: Given
that 'chameleonic' viewpoint, each time you are creating a piece are you seeing
or finding something different about her, yourself or us? Do you find the need to
keep coming back to her repetitive? Is it meditative? Are you trying to
capture an essence that maybe you, and we (as external observers of her
image), simply can't grasp?
 |
| Kate #1#3 (81x116cm), Emulsion + yatch varnish on MDF |
AP: I do not feel it has anything to do with a compulsion,
nor does it relate to repetition (since I always create something new and
different) and it is only meditative in as much as making any thread drawing
is. Although my choice of word would be 'relaxing'.
The reasons are mainly to do with my dissatisfaction with
the images I end up creating. There is something I find magical about Kate Moss
(as I do with Jane Birkin), which I seem unable to express. Although she is
very much of the world, I feel that trying to capture her is like trying to
take hold of 'air'. She has an unworldly quality about her, like a
will-o'-the-wisp. No matter how many times I try and represent her, and convey the
feeling she evokes, I never seem to manage it. With this in mind it is likely
that I will return to creating more work based on Kate in the future.
iskm: How do you select the source kate imagery?
AP: I was lucky enough to be given a collection of magazines
that featured Kate. I chose images that captivated me either as portraits or
full figures. It's a bit like being moved inside by a piece of music. I thought
it would be interesting to make the Playboy series, combining image with
branding, particularly after I learnt that Kate had chosen the Playboy bunny
ears and costume, used in the 60th edition shoot, in the Vogue UK Christmas 2014 feature 'A few of
my favourite things'.
 |
| Kate #2 #1 & Kate #2 #2 & Kate #2 #3 (each: 21x29·7cm), all Cotton thread sewn on gold mirror paper |
iskm: Can you explain your process?
AP: My creation process oscillates between the desire for
structure, through mapping, which I then abandon in favour of fluidity. Thus,
each work is created through a combination of control and chance, conscious and
subconscious. New works rely more heavily on intuition, with the formation of
overlapping and intersecting angular planes resulting in a stronger sense of
flux and instability.
iskm: Why do you chose to use thread? Draw? And Paint? Is there
any conceptual distinction in choosing one tool of creation over another?
 |
| Twenty-eight Kate images from Ant's Playboy series |
AP: I had been making installation-based work using various
materials, one of which was thread. When I moved to making more accessible
works I decided to continue using the thread since it gives the work a
three-dimensional textural quality. The action of sewing is delicate and
traditionally thought of as feminine. I am able to use it in a way that creates
strong images formed within a web-like structure. Thus, adding a real sense of
fragility, imprisonment and movement into the work. The same is true of the
other tools I use - paint is applied with a syringe and fine needle while lines
are carefully drawn in ink on paper.
iskm: Why is the straight line critical in your work regardless of the chosen tool?
AP: I work around the idea that 'man is condemned to exist
imprisoned' while drawing on aspects of human psychology as discussed by Freud.
The underling focus relates to 'the life and death drives' - breaking apart
into smaller matter and then reforming.
These concepts are communicated through ‘breaking' and
'reforming' the image(s), using the straight and diagonal lines formed by
sewing thread onto paper, drawing with ink and applying paint with a syringe.
Each piece embraces the idea of deconstruction and 'the spiritual importance of
the line' as explored by Dutch avant-garde, constructivist Theo van Doesburg
while the style of abstraction termed ‘painterly architectonics’, developed by
Russian Cubo-Furturist Lyubov Popova, is clearly visible. Each medium has it's
own quality and I often create a series of three works based on the same image
using each of my creation methods. This demonstrates to the viewer how the same
image appears very different while remaining the same, causing a sensation of
movement between different states.
 |
| Kate #1#3 x2 (59·4x84·1cm), Cotton thread sewn on paper |
ishotkatemoss pondered how kate tied back to the notion of “external
authority” that brings about “man’s aberrant destructive behaviors”? Is the
external authority as it relates to the choice of kate the fashion industry? Is
it society at large? Is it more the idea of beauty? And then what is the
associated destructive behavior? Our consumption? We asked Ant but in a way he
preferred to leave the question open and give us the space to consider,
question, deliberate and muse with his muse …
 |
| Kate #1#1 (81x116cm), Emulsion + yatch varnish on MDF |
AP: I find Kate Moss inspiring. She gives me a sense of hope
somehow. She embodies the idea of fragility and the human disposition in a
positive way, something, which is broken while remaining intact - in a state of
constant flux. My practice as a whole relates to the idea of the ‘external
authority’ and how it brings about ‘man’s aberrant destructive behaviors’ through
image and image style. I touch on the concept of the cultural super-ego, which
Freud suggested influences the development of civilization and can be thought
of as the introduction of ethics within society, which if not adhered to,
results in punishment through a fear of conscience.
I cannot help but feel that
we often search for things that aren’t there, while not seeing what is.
iskm: Which photographers/artists would you most want to
most see involved in ishotkatemoss?
AP: Lichtenstein, Bacon, Schiele, Picasso. There is a clear
linkage between my practice and these artists, particularly Bacon and Scheile.
The interest in 'the flesh', the unconscious, movement and sensation. Something
that Bacon refers to as 'deforming and reforming reality' while instinctively
creating images within a 'deeply ordered chaos'.
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| Kate #1#2x2 (59·4x84·1cm), Cotton thread sewn on paper |
Given the number of artworks, it is difficult to display the
intricacy and detail associated with each piece. As such, iskm suggests you
delve more deeply into the work and Ant’s practice by looking at antpearce.com.
Better yet, for those in London, you have plenty of opportunities
to see some of Ant’s Kate work in person including at: Espacio Gallery (18-23 August) as part of Sweet Art's Summer Art Festival; the Art on a Postcard stand at the Moniker Art Fair (October), to raise funds for The
Hepatitis C Trust; at The Other Art Fair (October); and there will be a month long exhibition being organized
by After Nyne in South
Kensington (November). And for those outside of the UK, Ant is represented by Artvera's Galerie in Geneva,
Switzerland and internationally by White Court Art.
With so many images to see you simply must:
Observe. Slow Down.
Shoot. Submit.
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