Dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet have taken part in a unique art project to be unveiled at Eye Candy festival.
Eye Candy returns this November, bringing world-class pop artists, illustrators, photographers and designers to Digbeth, the creative hub of Birmingham. This free event celebrates the best of visual pop culture with one-off installations, street art, workshops, talks and performance.
Star names for 2014 include the fashionista’s favourite, Daisy de Villeneuve, who leads an illustration masterclass using one-off designs created exclusively for Eye Candy. The London-born artist has made a name for herself with funky felt-tip illustrations for clients including Top Shop, LVMH, Nike, Zac Posen and Vogue.
The Paris-based artist Fafi makes a rare visit to Birmingham, where she will make a bespoke wall-based mural for Eye Candy. Influenced by Japanese pop culture, Fafi creates illustrations of women which upset the stereotypical image of femininity. Her work has been used by big names such as Adidas and M.A.C. cosmetics, as well as music artists M.I.A, Lily Allen and Mark Ronson.
Miss Led returns to Eye Candy, having produced her first major mural on a car park wall at last year’s event. She is joined by Anna Garforth, who created a stunning wooden Geo-Fox for Eye Candy 2013. Both artists will create new large-scale works.
Eye Candy 2014 includes installation and 3D design. Paper engineer Sam Pierpoint brings large paper models of bugs to the walls of Boxxed. Much in-demand textile artist Felt Mistress, whose latest collaboration with Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) and Monsterism creator Pete Fowler saw her character creation ‘John Evans’ star in Rhys’ latest video Lost Tribes, brings The Great Advisor; a three-metre tall character made of felt who can answer your deepest (or most trivial) problems.
A photography exhibition of street-style will give new insight into youth culture, presented in association with the photographic agency PYMCA.
Visitors can witness the live creation of a large-scale mural over two days with Brothers of the Stripe, an all-male collective of illustrators and image makers, and there will be plenty of chances to have-a-go at creating your own artworks and prints alongside the group of 12.
Over three days visitors will get the chance to produce their own work, screen prints, photography and more with a selection of immersive and engaging workshops, talks and interventions.
Eye Candy is curated by Fused and Area magazines. Co-curator Kerry O’Coy commented, “Eye Candy is about celebrating and giving due credit to the amazing skill and creativity of popular visual culture, be it illustration, graphic design, fashion, installation or street art. It is testament to the vibrant urban scene of Birmingham that we can attract artists from across the world, who will be creating one-off pieces for the weekend.”
Most of Eye Candy 2014 will take place at Boxxed, the cavernous space in Digbeth, Birmingham’s creative quarter. Additional activities will take place around Southside.
Eye Candy is funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England’s Grants for the arts programme. It is also supported by Birmingham City University’s Visual Communications department and Southside Business Improvement District.
Front page pic: Mark Salmon
