In conversation with our limited edition label artists
We didn’t know what to expect. All we knew was that both Kenya and Lucie’s work evoked something visceral within us – a joyful, intriguing, full-bodied, curious quality that we wanted to capture on our bottles.
And so the brief was this: a summer of taking life curiously. More broad than brief, really. But who were we to steer the creativity of artists? We know drinks. But they know art. And through this process, Kenya and Lucie unintentionally captured two very different sides of summer – and of curiosity.
It’s often hard to distill how a piece comes to life, but we wanted to ask them both how they interpreted the brief, what has evolved within their style and what taking life curiously means to them.
Where did your creative brain take you when you first got the brief?
Kenya: I instantly thought of myself and my friends, somewhere hot and ending up at a secluded beach, or a tucked away local bar that was just perfectly vibey and fun. When I think about a curious summer, I think about random days out with no plan, starting in the afternoon and finishing in the early hours of the morning, ending up in places that you didn’t know existed; having brief encounters with new, interesting people and making the most funny and random memories.
Lucie: It really resonated with my own feelings about this summer. Leading with curiosity is something I used to do a lot more and feel I lost a bit in the last few years, so this summer I really want to go beyond my own comfort and see where that can lead. In terms of my painting the crocodile represents those fears: making peace with that fear and seeing the joy that lies beyond it.
How did you arrive at your style and how has it changed?
Kenya: Honestly, it’s hard to pinpoint a time when I arrived at my style. I have always painted in this style since I started painting around 2015/2016. My favourite kind of art is folk art, so I think when I started painting it was only natural that I followed in that kind of tradition with my own touch. It just happened kind of naturally. I wouldn’t say my style of art has changed significantly, as I typically have explored similar themes in my artwork since I started painting. But the way I paint and understand painting has improved since I started.
Lucie: My style arrived from feeling completely trapped in my own life and my paintings became imaginings of ways out. My style has changed as I’ve grown more confident in my painting abilities: the paintings are bolder and more definite I think. However I’d like to explore the narratives that arise from that naivety I first had again; it again comes back to curiosity and then gems that can come from that place of unknowing.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Kenya: I’m inspired by so much in life that happens daily. For example, last week I went to a concert and I whispered to my friend halfway through “I want to go home and paint this evening!” But generally, I am hugely inspired by artwork from the broadly Caribbean and Latin America. I love Jamaican/Cuban and Brazilian folk art, Mexican muralism, Haitian artwork entered around Vodou. My work is centred mainly around black women and black culture, so I am very inspired by daily cultural activities and rituals in my culture. These could be different foods, textiles, music and places – all of which is a recurring theme in my artwork.
Lucie: My anger is a great part of my inspiration: the things I would do, the space I would fill, the words I would speak are all in my paintings. Things that ignite that kind of feeling within me be it in music or in films and books I guess are also big inspirations – films like Betty Blue and Dennis Hopper’s Out Of The Blue are endless inspirations.
What does taking life curiously look like to you?
Kenya: It’s so important to be curious in life! That is how we grow and develop as people. I love learning new things, about different people, and about the world. Being curious and not being afraid to think out of the box is what has led me to be an artist, which I am so grateful to be. I am not afraid of doing things differently to my friends and family, or doing things alone. In fact, I love doing things alone, during that time I am really able to indulge yourself in things I am curious in, but other people may not be, which I think is great. All of this makes me excited about life, and makes me stand out as an individual. Being curious to me is being open minded, adventurous and unafraid.
Lucie: Embracing things, accepting things and trusting things; that’s when magic happens.
Photo credit: Pete Elliott