JaguarShoes caught up with Chrissie Abbott during the installation of her show at DreamBagsJaguarShoes to talk about the magic of GIF’s, music and the beauty of nature…
Chrissie Abbott’s new exhibition, ‘Reflections of Alternate Dimensions’ is now showing at DreamBags JaguarShoes, featuring interactive artworks built around the concept of an infinity mirror. New films by the celebrated illustrator are projected and reflected by giant mirrors to form a two-story moving tapestry, presenting inward facing portals that capture your imagination with beautiful rippling collages. These arenas create a curious psychedelic effect that can be likened to the hypnotic appeal of a kaleidoscope, mesmerising anyone that drops in for a drink.
JaguarShoes Collective have previously collaborated with Chrissie to create a variety of projects and innovative products, applying her collaged imaginings to ceramics, t-shirts and even socks! To mark this exhibition, JaguarShoes Collective have released a brand new china plate, featuring Chrissie’s iconic cat collages, to accompany the best selling mug. Available HERE!
Interview by Melissa Gage | Photography by Melissa Gage and Ben Loom
JaguarShoes Collective: Hey Chrissie! This is one of the many collaborations you’ve done with JaguarShoes Collective, you could say you have a creative bromance, when did love blossom?
Chrissie Abbott: I’ve been working with JaguarShoes since 2008 when I met Vickie and we swiftly became good friends. She asked me to do my first ever solo exhibition in the Old Shoreditch Station, which was called ‘In my mind I’m clapping’. From this we figured out that our way of working together was great because we have a really similar mindset and bouncing ideas off each other was more like fun than work, it was just a perk that we got to produce some of the things we talked about. So we went on to collaborate further with group shows and making products like the cat mug and plate set and now there are plenty of other exciting things in the pipeline! Doing this show anywhere else wouldn’t make sense as its been something Vickie and I have been cooking up for a little while, and she has been intrinsic to the planning and inspiration of how to make it happen.
JS: You’ve made the transition from collage to video in your current exhibition. A lot of your work has spiritual/magical undertones, has your work transcended! And what has provoked this change in format?
CA: Ha transcended is quite a nice way of describing it! i think its just an experimentation, i’m learning bits and bobs of the editing program Final Cut, hopefully (the exhibition) will be really all-encompassing, there will be projections on each main wall and they will be reflected into mirrored ceilings, there will also be worm-hole inspired video screens. It’s been fun making moving collages instead of flat ones.
JS: So I guess you must be influenced by GIF’s! Do you have a Tumblr?
CA: I don’t have a tumblr…i am often too slack to even keep my blog updated. I have respect for people who take the time to do it properly, and I enjoy perusing their wares when I am procrastinating and not updating my own internet presence.
I’ve been making gif’s for a while now because they are fun and the easiest way to make an animation and you don’t have to be too clever to figure out how to do it. I like the rave-y aspect of when they flash really quickly.
JS: I read about synesthesia the other day, where people see sound as colour, a lot of your work is quite “noisy” in colour and movement, does music play a big part in your work?
CA: I’m definitely inspired by music and I feel like it is integral to my work, I’m putting together a playlist for the show but I’m not skilled enough to make sounds specifically for the exhibition.
Here is some of the music that made the cut:Â The black angels, Glasser, Steel mill, Young Magic, Blue Oyster Cult, Hawkwind, Women, Three Dog Night, Sebadoh, Crosby, Stills & Nash.
JS: OK, you have to pick one song that is going to be looped over the exhibition, what’s it going to be?
CA: Oh god, that’s my worst nightmare, listening to anything on repeat just kills the joy in it so I wouldn’t want to sacrifice anything I liked. Maybe it would have to be some kind of abstract noise or a pan flute cover of Cliff Richard’s ‘Wired for Sound’?
JS: Nice. So, from Cliff Richard to God; worship features quite heavily in your work, does religion influence you? (seamless)
CA: I think its probably more abstract; I personally am not religious but I am interested in faith being placed in things that are beyond the physical realm plus the worship/celebration of nature and the universe.
JS: Any other points of reference we should be aware of?
CA: Magic, space and time, cults, Stephen Hawking, Einstein and metaphysics.
JS: You feature a lot of natural landscapes in your work, have you been some place that has changed how you see the world that you keep drawing upon? And where is this magical place….
CA: When I went to Big Sur in California I felt like I’d found the holy grail. I really want to go to Wizard Island in Oregon as well because I found pictures of it in the national geographic and it looks amazing.
JS: When you’re not day dreaming of faraway places and instead, in your studio in Hackney, what’s a normal day for you?
CA: I can never seem to achieve anything earlier than 10am and I am definitely better at working at night but due to the fact I have to co-operate with clients and friends and loved ones I hold back from being nocturnal and I try and stick to a general 10am-7pm working day, I usually eat my lunch at my desk like a loser. I share a studio with one of my bestest pals (prop and accessory maker) Rosy Nicholas.
JS: How has your creative process changed since your move into video?
CA: Its not wildly different, I spend a lot of time working on my computer still. I start off by researching and gathering and collect all different types of media then I work on composition and then somehow the final result emerges.
JS: That sounds very organic. Have you got any advice for anyone wanting to get into illustration?
CA: Find your own style and don’t get distracted by other people’s work. Find the joy in what you do and have patience.
JS: You have enraptured us with your fragmented, psychedelic, other-worldy imaginings, how did you get to where you are today?
CA: I have absolutely no idea where I even am.