Jamie Hewlett In Conversation With Artlyst At The Saatchi Gallery

Jamie Hewlet

The artist and illustrator Jamie Hewlett, know for his 1990’s creation Tank Girl and perhaps even better known as the Ivor Novello and Grammy award winning artist from the band Gorillaz is presented in conversation with Artlyst’s Paul Carter Robinson, to discuss his current exhibition, curated by Chris Westbrook, at the Saatchi Gallery.

Image: Jamie Hewlett, Le Diable, 2014, Saatchi Gallery. Photo: P C Robinson © Artlyst 2015.

Jamie was voted designer of the year by the Design Museum in London, in 2006 and continues to work in an array of disciplines, including his project with Damon Albarn, the virtual band Gorillaz. He also pursues his work as a successful graphic designer and illustrator.

Image: Jamie Hewlett, installation view, Saatchi Gallery. Photo: P C Robinson © Artlyst 2015.

Now with his first solo exhibition Jamie is crossing the bridge from illustration into fine art with his “The Suggestionists.” Hewlett guides the viewer through a psychedelic journey that is by turns hallucinatory and dreamlike, illicit and subversive, all linked through the tantalising power of suggestion. The first gallery “Tarot” contains Hewlett’s idiosyncratic, interpretation of the world of tarotica. Extrapolating from magic realist Chilean art film auteur Alejandro Jodorowsky’s reconstruction of the original Tarot de Marseille. The second gallery is decked out like a 1980s adult movie cinema with plush red velvet seating. Here he uses his wife to model a fantasy character called Honey, who is depicted in Russ Meyer’s type poster compositions. The portraits are displayed in light-boxes which creates an ambience of dark sleaze. The third room is far more Zen, although more conventional in approach Jamie’s vision of nature is quite cerebral and pleasant to the eye.

Audio: Paul Carter Robinson, Jamie Hewlett. Photos: P C Robinson © Artlyst 2015.

The exhibition continues at the Saatchi Gallery Until 3 January 2016.

Tags

, ,