A Little Inspirational Story For You All

19/01/12

Link to article: http://freyahilltalkingaboutnothing.blogspot.com/2012/01/little-inspirational-story-for-you-all.html

The first time I talked about this artist on my blog I finished my post with this: ‘Cross stitch and porn, who would of thought it?’And I can tell you now, it caused quite a lot of talk amongst you intellectual lot.


About 8 months ago I got in contact with Inge Jacobsen, the artist come photographer who was causing a bit of a stir with her needlework. Surprisingly I found her on Vogue.com, next thing I know I was interviewing her for my own Final Major Project coursework, then Canvas Mag, and in turn, my blog.

Inge’s work fascinated me from the start. It got people talking and more importantly, it got people thinking; artists that aren’t afraid to push the boundaries are artists who generally excite us with their design work. For someone to take such iconic images such as a Vogue front cover and a Valentino campaign shot (below- look closely) and to then challenge its presentation with the aid of her own skills, is quite exciting, especially when the idea behind the work is to acknowledge and poke fun at the sexualised culture that we live in.

I stayed in contact with Inge since interviewing her for Canvas Mag. This afternoon I received an email from her that I was genuinely massively excited about: Inge has just collaborated with Georg Jensen (jeweller) which has seen her sewing in to the series of Freja Beha Erichsen AW 2011 campaign shots used to advertise the brand. And the results? Just brilliant, and instantly recognisable as Inge’s.

For someone who admitted they were concerned what would happen to their career after they finished their studies, the unveiling of this project was warmly welcomed. The 8 images that were cross stitched for Georg Jensen (which took an incredible 2000 hours with The Royal Needlework’s helping hands) are to be displayed at Copehnahgen, New York and London Fashion Week, and then intermittently across the Georg Jensen flagship stores across the world.

To say I was pleased for this artist to do so well would be an understatement, it really felt like the happy ending to a fairytale story (plus the artworks also feature my all time favourite model- she couldn't really go wrong). So yes, these needlework pieces are slightly more commercial than Inge's work that first grabbed my attention (these focus on beautiful accessories rather than generating feminist, challenging discussion) but is this not a fine way to launch one's name?
If this is what happens in the space of 8 months, all I'm thinking is what an earth will we be seeing in ten years to come?