Nelly Duff presents Jessica Albarn, their first print together sees a meeting of Jessica’s fine line drawing with a hidden geometry (gloss varnish that shines under direct light).
She completed a series of portraits, which include the likes of Banksy, which was published in Marmalade Magazine, Brian Haw the peace protestor and the singer Alison Goldfrapp. But her real obsession is insects, Spiders and drawing out the beauty in all creatures. Dead or Alive!
Jessica is interested in the psychological dramas we project onto these creatures, their symbolism and the emotional tension that is held in the image.
She has exhibited in the UK and published a book of her drawings with Cederteg Publishing. She has collaborated internationally, recently with Helmut Lang for their new collection to be launched early next year. There is more to Jessica than meets the eye but that’s for us to know and you to find out!
CONCERNING CHANGE
Fine Art as enviro-activism – Can it help get the message over?
Jessica Albarn’s hair-line drawing of the endangered bubble-bee addresses the fragile state of the bee population and how mankind depends on the insect for food pollination. The limited edition print combines Albarn’s eloquent drawing of a bee with the ancient symbol of “man’s end” and a hidden glossy layer of geometrical honeycomb shapes. The combination of nature, symbolism, and science underpins Albarn’s interest in the fundamental circle of life we have with these creatures, on first glance it maybe not be obvious to see the emotional tension that is held in the image. We are being encouraged to become a nation of bee keepers rather than bee swatters…
In addition to drawing the beauty in all living creatures, Albarn completed a series of portraits, which include the likes of Banksy, which was published in Marmalade Magazine, Brian Haw the peace protestor and the singer Alison Goldfrapp.
She has exhibited in the UK and collaborated internationally, publishing a book of her drawings with Cederteg Publishing and collaborating with Helmut Lang for their spring 09 collection. Later this year she publishes her first children’s book with Simply Read Books, ‘The Boy in the Oak’. (Written by Kristina Best)
Event Info:
jessica albarn
The Birds and the Bees…..and the Butterflies!
8th April 2010
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST
http://www.nellyduff.com/index.php?/art/artists/jessica_albarn
Singer and songwriter Razia Said’s nomadic life has taken her across Africa to France, Italy, Ibiza, Bali and New York City, but despite these wanderings, her heart and soul remains inexorably tethered to Madagascar, the land of her birth. Her musical explorations have also been wide ranging, and over the years Razia has experimented with French chanson, rock, jazz and even smooth, Sade-style R&B. But it took reaching back to her cultural roots for Razia to uncover her true artistic calling as one of African music’s most promising talents.
With the album Zebu Nation, Razia has created an inspiring collection of songs that draw deeply on the music she heard growing up in the town of Antalaha in northeastern Madagascar. The source for the world’s most prized Bourbon vanilla, Antalaha is one of Madagascar’s wealthiest communities, although there remains a great gap between rich and poor. Razia was born on December 1, 1959 when her mother was just a teenager and not yet ready for the role of parenting. To diffuse the scandal, her mother was sent to the Comores Islands and Razia’s grandparents raised her in a bustling household filled with relatives. Razia first heard the infectious rhythms of local salegy music blasting out of the town’s ubiquitous radios. It was one of Razia’s older uncles that first introduced her to French music as well as The Beatles, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and other Western stars. Her uncle even invited her to sing the latest French pop songs on stage with his band when she was just ten years old.
Believing that her grandparents were her parents, Razia was in for a shock when she learned at age eleven that “Aunt Hassanatte” who regularly visited from the Comores was actually her mother. In fact, by that time Razia’s real mother had married a French architect and wanted Razia to join them in the West African country of Gabon. Suddenly, Razia was uprooted from the world she knew and traveled on an epic journey through Dar Es Salaam, across the Congo River to a new life and family. In Gabon, Razia discovered that the local church had a choir, but one had to be Catholic to join, and Razia was raised a Muslim. Music was far more important to her then the details of which God she prayed to, so she begged her mother to allow her to convert…which she did. Razia was also exposed to the funky grooves of Fela, Pierre Akendengue, Papa Wemba and other African artists who were popular in Gabon at the time.
After three years in Gabon, Razia was sent to boarding school in southern France, where she first started learning to play guitar. Seeking economic stability, Razia received her doctorate in Pharmacology and moved to Paris. But her passion remained with the arts, and in Paris, Razia made a living through modeling, acting and occasional music gigs. In 1987, Razia moved with a lover to New York City, and they worked odd jobs in order to earn enough money to spend three months a year living in Bali, Indonesia. Over the years, Razia also lived in Ibiza and Milan, working as a stylist, an actor and in fashion, struggling all the while to find her own musical direction.
Madagascar is home to thousands of plants and fauna unique to the island, which is the world’s fourth largest and situated in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. One third of its native forests and vegetation have disappeared in the last thirty years, and scientists predict that several species of amphibians and reptiles found in Madagascar’s mountainous north could become extinct in the next 50-100 years because of global warming. The loss of forests in Madagascar is what galls Razia the most. “To see my country stripped like this is heartbreaking.” Her song “Slash and Burn,” is an outcry against the rampant practice of clearing brush which devastates Madagascar’s fragile soil. “What I saw shocked and appalled me,” Razia says. “I found the decimation of what once made Madagascar unique in the world: its intense, vivid flora and fauna, its forests, its very essence. I saw an entire country being destroyed.”
In addition to delivering an urgent message, Zebu Nation creates a personal, soulful portrait of Madagascar. Razia says, “The songs of Zebu Nation let listeners journey to the magical place I have always known and loved.” Songs such as “Yo Yo Yo” and “Mifohaza” speak to the richness of Malagasy sounds and rhythms, while “Omama” sends a message of love and thanks to Razia’s grandmother, who still lives on the island. “As the strife and political chaos of the country are growing daily,” says Razia, “some of the Malagasy people are turning to art to inspire unity. We want to share in that movement and tie in with communities and organizations that are working on projects for change in Madagascar.