October 10th 2012

Eyestorm Creative Director Angie Davey talks to Jacky Tsai about his new print publications which are being released today both online and at Multiplied Art Fair at Christie's

Angie Davey: Tell us more about the floral skull image. How did you come to have your work shown in Alexander McQueen’s collection?

Jacky Tsai: I did a 3 month work placement at McQueen's studio while I was studying at St. Martins and while I was there I did a few artworks for their collections. So after 2 months, they asked me to develop something for the "floral skull" concept, which they’d been trying to find a visual answer for months, so I had a go and they liked it. The idea came from McQueen, I just visualised his concept in my own way, and it ended up being used in the collection.

AD: Why did you go for this colour scheme for the prints? Is colour important to you?

JT: Colour is extremely important in my art, usually I will experiment with various colour combinations to find out the best colour palette to use. I particularly love the mix of royal blue and lavish gold background in this new version; gold symbolise the glory of life in China and blue indicates the infinite ocean, which means the growth of flowers in a fertile soil.

AD: Where did the idea for the titles of the works come from?

JT: The rich gold background reminds me of the bumper harvest scene in the beautiful Chinese countryside, and great harvest scenes represent hope, fortune, happiness and positivity in Chinese culture. I wanted to give out a positive message with these works and for them to be a celebration of life.

AD: Your recent ‘Skullptures’ are also of skulls made from flowers. Where did this idea stem from and where are you taking it next?

JT: The idea came from my very first 3D prototype of a floral skull which I made in 2010. Miss Linda Tsai, who made the recent ‘Skullpture’ works, saw the prototype in my solo show and expressed an interest in taking the idea to a new level. Since then, after many tests and trial and error, we’ve invented a unique way to create the hand-made leather floral skulls.

The next move with the 'skullptures' series is to bring in new innovative materials and techniques, such as porcelain and wood craft, embroideries; sorry, I can not reveal anything more here, you will have to wait and see!

Creative Director