Art is an expression of its time – and here at Vilda, we like to believe that we live in the era of sustainability. Luckily, events like A Sustainable World Art Competition & Exhibition is a project to celebrate “activist art” that is both aesthetic and didactic.
Organised in collaboration with Atelier Tammam, London’s first sustainable couture fashion studio and showroom, A Sustainable Art features ten artists’ work in paint, photography, clay and mixed media. They have created artworks to promote animal rights and sustainability to be eligible for a chance to win a coveted spot on the wall of the atelier’s Bloomsbury showroom. The winning piece will be reproduced on Tammam’s cruelty-free couture.
The pieces will be judged at a private view for industry experts, high-profile artists and vegan celebrities by Meg Mathews – PETA ambassador, renowned contemporary artist Mikey Georgeson and Ceri Hand, art curator, artists’ mentor and industry insider.
The shortlisted artists:
Dana Ellyn – Now I can Look at You in Peace: I Don’t Eat You Anymore
Ellyn’s work is exemplified by a risk taking vision, strong content and colorful critiques of social norms. Ellyn style sits on the fence of social realism and expressionism. Ellyn strives to infuse more emotion and meaning into each new painting she creates.
Claire Anscomb – Adventure is Waiting
Anscomb uses graphite powder & a 2b pencil based upon a collage she made of photographs. The piece is about dreaming of a better future. The silhouette of the butterfly, containing the sleeping young woman are symbols of renewal and hope the blossom that the butterfly is perched upon is indicative of spring, a time of change and a new start.
Ewelina Trejta – Entropy of Arcadia / Arrow of Time
The pieces are a photo essay showing ruins where the artist grew up. The artist’s focus was to emphasize the beauty and nostalgic of the buildings, dwells and gardens.
Moreza – Crimson Moon
Crimson Moon is the main piece if a concept music and art project, which was inspired by a lunar eclipse of the moon. A series of lunar eclipses called as Tetrad will be happening around the world until September 2015. The materials used for the piece was oil paints.
Natasha Marouf – What Does the Fox Say
The piece is a commentary on many subjects: celebrity, art, brands, fame and symbolism. It shows the combination of the subjects can be deadly and hurtful and not justified or beautiful or desirable (as sometimes it is thought to be). The woman is intended to be Lady Gaga wearing a Hermes Fur coat and she is holding the scythe of the grim reaper. Next to her in a statue of a piece by Deborah Sengl, called: Killed to be dressed. Lady Gaga in my piece is oblivious to this statue, she clutches her designer bag and wears her ‘peace symbol’ earring while staring off through her dark sunglasses.
Katherine Soucie – Vinyl Recordings
Vinyl Recordings was produced over a 5-year time period using sustainable ink from the artist’s signature hand printed hosiery textile process. The piece emphasizes the forms of production and labour in relation to textiles and its history.
Rachel Filmer – Ivory Tree
Filmer had been working on a collection of tree cuts, and this is the largest one to date. The piece features many very small, similar shapes, which are arranged to create the image of a tree. Trees are such a beautiful and vital part of our planet, and the artist explores their natural patterns and textures in this organic way. This tree was cut completely free-hand, so the shape and appearance of the tree emerged only as it was cut, making each piece unique. This piece has been cut from a single sheet of A3 textured pastel paper in ivory.
Marco Ferra – Flesh
Comparisons between human and animals usually highlight commonly known characteristics, mostly predictable and cultural. Pigs are one of the first sources of edible meat and our meat (flesh) is what we are made of. The question posed is what differs us. The woman is a representation of human kind and the pig is a representative of animal kind. But men are animals. United in breath, in blood, in flesh.
Dana Ellyn – Rabbits
Ellyn’s work is exemplified by a risk taking vision, strong content and colorful critiques of social norms. Ellyn style sits on the fence of social realism and expressionism. Ellyn strives to infuse more emotion and meaning into each new painting she creates.
Selvamathy Tharmaratnam – Materiality through Jewellery
Jewellery defines itself as objects of beauty and rarity, where a unique art is applied. Tharmaratnam’s focus is the growing need for wider conceptual aspects in fabric as a creative medium. This is done through transforming clay into body jewellery. The piece is part of a collection of contemporary jewellery elements those reference the materiality of fabric.
The pieces will be exhibited at Atelier Tammam, 5 Hastings Street, London WCH1 16-19 May.
Atelier Tammam
5 Hastings St, Bloomsbury,
London WC1H 9