Pam Glew
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Art Star No.1. CAROUSEL, 2010. Bleaching and dye on handmade star flag made from vintage denim, linen and cotton with appliqué stars on denim.
Born in Somerset, England in 1978, Pam Glew is one of the most exciting female figures in the contemporary art world. Working with found materials – most notably vintage flags – she blends embroidery, bleaching and painting techniques to create arresting portraits and idiosyncratic textile pieces that draw inspiration from current events, images of cult figures and a love of cinema. Her work has appeared in more than 60 exhibitions worldwide, and Pam has solo shows in London and Sydney scheduled for 2010.
Questions & Answers
- " What kind of art do you make?"
I paint portraits on cloth with bleach by combining vintage materials, flags and fabric with an applied bleaching technique.
- " Where can I see it?"
Art exhibitions around the world; My next solo show is ‘Luminaries’ in Sydney, Australia, with Bicker Gallery (May 6-22 2010), which will be mostly Australia-inspired flags. Then in November I’ve a solo in Paris’s Galerie Itinerrance and in December I’ll have a solo show in central London.
- " How do you feel about Polo Jeans Co.'s ART STARS project?"
Excited, intrigued, I’d been working with denim jeans for a while so it felt like the perfect project for me.
- " Describe your finished ART STAR in a sentence?"
An extreme close up of an all-American girl on a carousel wheel, made with vintage denim and flag fabrics.
- " What did you think when it first arrived at your studio?"
Something like ‘Damn, it doesn’t fit in the front door and it’s snowing... How am I going to get it up an ice-covered fire escape staircase.... It’s massive’.
- "You were asked to use the Stars and Stripes for inspiration. How did you incorporate it into your star?"
I used red and white striped flag fabrics for the front of the star, making the stripes form a star-shaped carousel swirl. It’s almost the effect of looking down on an aerial view of a big top tent in the circus. The back and sides have a small scattering of cotton stars appliqued on to vintage denim, so that nods to the appliqued stars on a vintage American flag. The vintage denim is also treated with dye and bleach, so that it has the look of a dark indigo blue night sky with stars.
- " What else inspired you?"
Cinema, knife thrower’s wheels and the night sky.
- " How did you find working with denim?"
I started working with denim a few months before the project, so it was quite a natural material for me. Sewing and cutting denim to make the panels was a massive job in itself; I used extra denim vintage jeans, which were all cut up, distressed and sewn. But bleaching denim is a joy, as it develops very slowly and achieves a nice soft painterly image.
- " What processes did you use to create your piece?"
Cutting, dyeing, machine applique, hand bleaching, washing, nail tacks and blanket stitching to attach all the panels together.
- " What are you most proud of about the result?"
The three-dimensional quality ¬ it’s so different from all angles.
- " Describe your denim style…"
Free-hand bleach portrait.
- " Who else's star are you most looking forward to seeing and why?"
Herakut – because they are consistently creative, surprising and a little twisted.
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Pam Glew
Working with found materials most notably vintage flags Pam Glew blends embroidery, bleaching and painting techniques to create arresting portraits and idiosyncratic textile pieces that draw inspiration from current events, photographs of well-known figures, and film noir.
Exhibitions
Location: GERARD LOFT, FIRENZE, Italy
Dates: June 14th – June 30th
View exhibitionLocation: SOLO, STOCKHOLM, Sweden
Dates: March 08th – April 28th
View exhibition
