WEARABLE ART: Guests at the Akris show in Paris on Sunday discovered the work of Vancouver artist Rodney Graham, who mounted a 2015 exhibition in Zurich devoted to photos of himself donning an overcoat.
Akris designer Albert Kriemler displayed the photos in his show space — including one called “Coat Puller” — and printed the images on the backs of some coats, and as linings.
“I use myself as a model in my photographs,” Graham explained, noting that the clothes he wears are important. “Often they’re costumes, reflecting different characters. Sometimes I get them made in Vancouver by a costume maker. Or I just assemble things together. You know, prop shops.”
It wasn’t Graham’s first collaboration with a fashion designer. “Actually I did a white shirt with Ann Demeulemeester in 1992, a long time ago,” he recalled. “It came in a box, so it was kind of an artwork collaboration. There were only 10 of them — a very small edition.”
After flashing the Neil Barrett label on his sports jacket, Graham noted he’s preparing exhibitions for the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle, England, and Museum Frieder Burda in Baden Baden, Germany.