A piece of magazine history has arrived! Limited-edition prints of Shades of Flat and Lustre Finishes are now available to purchase. This is the first time that either myself or Harper’s Bazaar has made a limited edition print available to buy. The prints have been produced in a strictly limited run of 300, they are incredibly beautiful and are launching today.

This moment marks the end of an epic year of research, inspiration and discovery, which began with Harper’s Bazaar allowing me unlimited access to their extraordinary 150-year archive. I studied the period from the 1930s to the 1950s, when the magazine was under the genius art direction of Alexey Brodovitch, and the European Surrealists were regular contributors to the magazine. Gradually, I realised that there was something I just adored about the particular blend of Brodovitch’s dynamic, rule-breaking graphic design, which fizzes with energy, and the complete stillness and restraint of the ice cool, impeccably-dressed women, staring wordlessly into the mid-distance. It’s an odd and captivating combination, and one which I set out to channel in a new piece of work.

Shades of Flat and Lustre Finishes is a fictional vintage paint chart that I’ve made from scratch. It’s a triptych; I designed it to work with the magazine’s monthly cadence and it has been revealed gradually, across three issues of Harper’s Bazaar, one chapter at a time. Starting with tiny details I found in the Bazaar archive, I’ve built up a picture of the disjointed thoughts, memories and ideas that hover invisibly around the yellow hat, the beautiful shoe, the perfectly manicured hand. The atmosphere is hallucinatory. Anything is possible. Pinks become a dawn sky, soft powdered skin, delicate fabric. Creams are a sandy beach, an open curtain; red becomes the sumptuous interior of a cinema. One moment a sphere is a bubble, lighter than air, the next it’s a planet floating in a chestnut-brown sky.

Stories are waiting to be told. Clues come and go. There’s beauty and glamour alongside sadness and unease. Follow the phone lines, trace the ribbons, keep an eye on the matches, the letters, the hands, the bird. Watch the sun rise, the night fall and the stars come out. Match up the colours, put together an outfit, a room, a dance, a plan. Throughout it all are the women - silent, still, trapped on the page or behind the screen or by the conventions of their time, but pulsing with ideas, stories, dreams and a vivid sense of their own power and potential.

The prints of this piece are exquisite. They show the artwork at exactly the same size as the original and every tiny detail is there to see. The paint chart is 23.5cm x 53cm, and there is a white border built into the print, so the total size is 40cm x 66cm. They are signed, dated, numbered and embossed with the studio seal. The print run is strictly limited to 300; these prints will never be produced again. I’m very excited to have reached this moment in the project!
If you have any questions just get in touch here. You will reach me directly and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you!

DELIVERY INFORMATION

UK delivery: £6.25 (Royal Mail Tracked 24 with Signature)

Rest of world: £15 (Royal Mail International Tracked)

Please note: I am based in London, UK. International customers - there will be no additional import taxes or duties to pay, as I’m able to cover these costs before posting your parcel.

Your print will arrive in a triple strength postage tube, wrapped in tissue to protect its delicate surface. Also included: a signed certificate of authenticity and a text about the project. I process, wrap and post all orders myself from my studio in South East London, so please feel free to get in touch anytime and I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have. All parcels have a tracking number and you can contact me anytime to check on an order.