Image 1 - Fatso Jason pattern on the motorway, London
Image 2 - Cupid visits a roundabout, Edwalton
Image 3 - Dilk's tribute to my Uncle Peter, Hong Kong
Image 4 - Kenton Hoppas live commision via TikTok, USA
Image 5 - Grip TBC, Surrey
Image 6 - Don't leave chrome around Resh, Notts
Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury was featured in the Swarovski Kristallwelten - translation Crystal Worlds attraction, opened by Swarovski in the 90's.
Her work 'Yes To All' - "is a cynical commentary on the consumerism of today’s society and is in dramatic and edgy contrast to its glamorous crystal design"
This work features huge fabricated letters that have been adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals.
Having just created my own diamante clad text piece, I felt a kind of sympathy and appreciation for this artist (and no doubt her technicians) who would have spent hundreds of hours applying every individual crystal, regardless of the way they were adhered, the handmade quality of this speaks to the theme of consumerism and materialism. It made me think of the labour that goes into any crystal or diamond piece, often high ticket items are created by workers on minimum wage or less. It screams of privilege and wealth.
Both the chrome exterior of the fabricated letters and the crystals shine beautifully in the natural light, creating a breath-taking piece of signage art. This work has been a massive inspiration to me and further reinforced my desire to use crystals in my work. The font and setting remind me of vintage American signage, just as my own has been influenced by.
Updated: Jun 10
Once my design was finalised, I used the laser to cut my own hand written 'Fuck's' from plywood.
I then primed with a PVA/Emulsion mix to create a white background.
I started off by creating a border with a mix of 5mm and 4mm diamantes. Using a B-7000 glue made specially for diamantes, I painstakingly placed and glued 1000s of diamantes individually. This was an unbelievably long task! It took me DAYS!
I quickly used up the 4200 diamantes I had bought. I bought more crystals and used all 4,320 of those too. Finally I purchased another 9,000 diamantes in 5mm, 4mm and 3mm, using them in a pattern to create a densely filled letter, leaving only the tiniest of gaps visible.
In all I estimate I used around 15,000 diamantes in total to create this piece which took 40+ hours time.
I am pleased with the outcome, though it took so long to create. The irony, kitsch and duality is so clear in this piece. A large 3 foot wide swear word, adorned with thousands of tiny crystals, creating this sparkling, garish, attention-seeking piece of Kitsch art.
I have also lasered a clear acrylic surround for this piece to sit on, as the piece is made from 3 separate pieces this will allow me to keep them uniform and together.
