“Punctured Perspectives” by Kirstie Macleod: A Fine Point on Embroidery!

Sometimes, intention and outcome do not marry… and yet, opposites attract… so they often court for a time.

Such was my experience, as I, inadvertently, paid a visit to Rook and Raven Gallery, the day after a much-anticipated Private View of ‘Punctured Perspectives’, the first U.K solo show by British Artist, Kirstie Macleod.

Reaching my destination with an hour to spare, I absorbed the environs surrounding its Rathbone Place location, meandering through Stephen and Charlotte Streets, winding my way, bobbin-like, around Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street… visiting bookshops and renewing my familiar vista of this global capital city, with replenished hidden gems of the ‘boutique’ descriptions, from hotels, to high-fashion!

Finding it all-too-easy to get happily lost in newfound objets d’intérêts, I retraced my route to the gallery. Now, past time for the event to begin, an event filled with the promise of multi-disciplinary artistry, I stood quietly, in wonderment at the stillness. With fewer guests than I had expected…in fact, just yours truly… the perfectly-timed arrival of the ever-accommodating Rook and Raven gallerista, to open the door, cheered my heart!

“Excuse me? Has the P.V been cancelled?”

The kindly face gently answered, “The P.V was yesterday…but you’re more than welcome to come in and have a look around!”

I cannot tell you the exact entirety of my emotional excursion, however, I’d compare the spike from crestfallen to elation, to the milliseconds it takes Lewis Hamilton to reach the corner first, at the start of a high-octane F1 race!

I can tell you the sheer bliss of being the only visitor within a space, itself, adorned with mixed-media and textile art of the most gently arresting order. Peppered, at intervals, with lively exchanges as to the dynamism and richness of Kirstie Macleod’s wide-ranging works, I marvelled at the ambition wrapped within deceptively simple formats and materials. I am drawn to the keenly-observed flight formations expressed in matt black thread upon cotton. Displayed one after the other, they hypnotically echo in the mind, as the titles ‘Murmur I’ and ‘Murmur II’, suggest. Juxtaposed in both position and hue, is ‘Lacuna’. A contemporary celebration of colour, the vibrancy is emboldened by a succession of acute, embroidered angles which cut like the Shard against a cumulo nimbus sky. Move, if you will, to ‘Mu’, 132 x 162 cm of glossy red, tonically reading as MAC’s ‘Ruby Woo’ with lashings of clear ‘Lipglass’ hovering atop… The drilled holes only adding a glorious imperfection, similar to the gentle fade of lipstain, over a giddy evening of fine dining! The textural exploration continues into ‘Flow’, where stark matt white creates a backdrop upon which the drilled finish portrays a prickly-heat, insistent energy.

The momentum is topped and stopped by ‘Barocco’*.

It is the unique centrepiece of the collection….

A highly-decorated gown of deepest red, which is exhibited within a perspex cube….

…the embellishment, of which, has been hand-embroidered by 50 global contributors, thus far! With each artisan comes a stunning narrative of idiosyncratic stitches, symbolism and distinct prismatic combinations, to mesmerise the onlooker. It is a gown of concentrated cultural conversations, which has taken extreme concentration to express and just as Kirstie’s performance of sewing the dress, whilst she wears it, you almost find yourself dancing around the cube in order to trace the path of these most intricately-layered patterns! Being a 10 year-project, due to end in 2019, the final embellished design of the dress is yet unknown, however the aim is that, resultant of the extent of needlework, the soft fabric will eventually become a robust sculptural piece, strong enough to stand, unsupported.

Although tonight will see the finale presentation of ‘Barocco’, before the piece travels to its next destination, due to popular demand, the entire exposition has been extended and this stunning acclamation of embroidery can be seen at the Rook and Raven Gallery until April 11th 2015. As with the best design motifs, I wholeheartedly encourage repeat visits, but be prepared to want to move and to be moved…because this ‘rough or imperfect pearl’ is a diamond of a ‘stand-alone’ exhibition!

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The unmissable ‘Punctured Perspectives’ by Kirstie Macleod is on until 11/ 04/ 2015 at Rook and Raven Gallery, 7 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1HN!

Gallery Opening Hours: Tuesday ~ Friday: 11 a.m > 6.30 p.m; Saturday: 11 a.m > 6 p.m; Sunday: Closed; Monday: By Appointment Only

* Barocco: Ancient Portuguese for ‘rough of imperfect pearl’…

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©AFROW2015-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

‘KISS MNEK!’*

…No, I’m not suggesting that you run up and plant one on him, but after you hear the sophisticated sounds of the amazing music-maker to whom I am about to introduce you, I think you might just want to give him a huge hug, in gratitude!

So, who’s all the fuss about?!

Well, his name is Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike… ‘MNEK’, for short, and not only is this prolific maestro putting the South London area of Catford on the music map (as well as his Twitter profile), but he’s also stamping a serious indentation upon the recording industry!

So, why all the fuss, then?!

It’s all because this teen is making some bold creative statements!

From high-rise, ‘hi-top fade’ hairdo (reminiscent of ‘Kid’, from seminal New York 90’s hip-hop duo, ‘Kid ‘n’ Play’), to the powerfully resurgent, afrocentric raiment and the energetically ‘graff-ic’ Keith Haring-èsque video, MNEK brings a uniquely, on-trend polish, to echoes of a treasured audiovisual era.

However, don’t get too lulled into nostalgia, because comparisons with such monosyllabic-monikered, superstar singer/songwriter/producer/remixers as Pharrell and (by all at Afrow-H.Q) our very own, Omar (living soul legend and MBE, with whom, MNEK bears a striking tonal resemblance), are bang up-to-date! These parallels are, part dedication, to learning his craft, (the seeds of which were sown at a young age), and part, distinctive ability to consolidate this honed knowledge and create poised tracks, firstly for, and then with other artists, amongst them ‘Little Mix’, ‘Duke Dumont’ and ‘Rudimental’ and now, on his own elegant, yet emotionally-charged, debut single ‘I Wrote A Song About You’.

It’s more than a song though…

It is, in fact, A C21st lament, layered in a musical mille-feuille of sublime topline and dulcet harmonies, against a backdrop of subtle chord progressions and percussive interplay, which seep into your soul-conscious, as only a classic hit can.

With MNEK’s burgeoning giftings coming to the fore, anticipation is palpable for a follow-up from this hotly-tipped U.K talent and, with a sell-out perfomance imminent at East London’s ‘Oslo’, (fast becoming the go-to venue for artist/label launches), expect pitch-perfect reviews, to-the-autotune-of ‘rising global star’, to follow!

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MNEK:-

‘WROTE A SONG ABOUT YOU’ (via YouTube/ Vevo) ~ PRE-ORDER ON iTUNES! (GENERAL RELEASE 31/08/2014)

SOUNDCLOUD ~ FACEBOOK ~TWITTER ~ YOUTUBE

OSLO

OMAR: ‘The Man’ (via YouTube)

PHARRELL

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GLOSSARY

*’Kiss m’neck’ = A colloquial term, used in Afro-Caribbean parlance, to emote surprise.

©AFROW2014-2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

‘SPOTLIGHT ON: THE WALKING-WORKS-OF-ART OF ‘KWEKU CLOTHING’!’

…So, by now, you might have detected that I am, somewhat of, a voracious Creative-Arts-lover…and that I am especially passionate about using my own platform to promote the excting results of multidisciplinary cross-fertilisation.

Well, fresh from my EC1 and 2 jaunts and the social-media coverage, thereof, I have noticed that I am being ‘followed’…. by a steady stream of funky, new designers on the fashion-block! The most recent label to become a member of the fashion-fabulous Afrow-Family, is that of ‘Kweku (pronounced Kwayku!) Clothing’. The eponymous clothing-line of Ghanaian-born, London-raised, Goldsmith’s graduate, Kweku Quagraine, this is a brand which majors on making purse-friendly, wallet-welcoming pieces of boldly artistic sartorial statements, yet, without the merest mention of a word! So, naturally, yours truly has seized-the-day and taken up the mantle to spread it for him!

At first glance, his menswear and womenswear pieces are striking! Heavy with symbolism, Quagraine thrives on incorporating his Socio-Political scholastic background into his craft and excels in channelling these influences through the joint-conduits of art and fashion-design. For example, the ‘Trigon’ signature, is a triangular motif, in reference to the map of Africa and in deference to his native roots, whilst ‘The Krypt’ is an intriguing metaphor alluding to the differing perspectives, regarding regional identities. His distinctive flair for originality also comes to the fore in the ‘Tribal’ print, in which heritage-patterns from the Ghanaian Ashanti and Ancient Mayan traditions are beautifully-balanced to produce a new KC hallmark. The geometric ‘Colour’ graphic displays a fearless and insistent use of the spectrum, which draws inspiration from unity-in-diversity, as manifested in the London Olympics of 2012. However, Quagraine finds the Natural World as much of a catalyst as that of the Human, evidenced in ‘The Hive’ honeycomb-logo, itself, a nod to such solidarity and unity, in bees.

It is this effortless meandering through parallel universes, which sets Kweku Clothing apart from many others of its emerging counterparts. Will you find such on-trend silhouettes as the ‘body-con’ dress in midi/maxi-lengths? Undoubtedly. Is there a broad choice of sweatshirts, t-shirts, crop tops and vest-tops? Absolutely! But you’d be hard-pressed to find the same capability for siphoning so many global topics into the fashion-world, in such modern, affordable and accessible ways and furthermore, to do so with such a Fine-Art sensibility!

For all of theses reasons and more, am I championing Kweku Quagraine and urging you to WAKE-UP TO ‘KWEKU CLOTHING’….STANDARD!

www.kwekuclothing.com ~ www.facebook.com/KwekuClothing

©AFROW 2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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TWITTER-TESTIMONIAL FROM KWEKU CLOTHING (@KwekuClothing)!

‘…Thanks very much for such an eloquent and flattering write-up!!’