SEQUIN KAY
Sequin Kay is an artist who uses sequins to create meticulously ornate and decorative works on canvas and objects. Kay draws inspiration from ancient cultures and their connection to light and spirituality, intending to communicate a subconscious meaning concerning aesthetics and the viewer experience.
Sequin’s believes that we are truly intertwined in a web of life in which everything is connected, as above so below. We are conscious beings on a journey of re-self discovery. Part of the magic of creating is being able to craft a physical piece of work from the intangible; reaching into a void and harnessing creative energy. Abstraction is open to a subjective freedom of expression, in an emotional state or sequence. These pieces burst with the contradiction of disciplined and undisciplined energy, capturing an amorphous feeling. The elaborate Mandala’s carry conscious overtones, reincarnating personal experience into a visible form, communicating emotional upheaval and penetrate deeply into the fundamental aspects of human existence.
Kay combines the complexities and layers of emotional reflections with the use of an unconventional material such as sequins, as a means to explore and analyse the transience of the human experience. A majority of Kay’s work comes from an obsession with repetitive action: monotony is the easiest way to tap into the self. Something about an obsessive process and the occupation of body and mind allows for freer introspection.
Her works have been exhibited across London, including on the London Underground, through public art agency Art Below, Sequin has exhibited internationally showcasing works and collaborations in Miami, Canada, Berlin, Ireland and Malta. She has recently completed commissions for Rainbow City in Portugal and a conscious music festival in Malta.
Sequin is currently facilitating Sequin Empowerment workshops throughout London and Europe.
Tell me a little about how your personal history has worked its way into your craft?
I am mixed-race (half Irish and half Moroccan) growing up in London, I always felt that there was more to understand in regards to my ancestry and heritage. I have always felt like a ‘Londoner’ but culturally very connected to another land. I grew up in London, a multicultural hub where I spent a lot of my youth in Brixton and where my love of sequins and all that shines was cultivated through browsing through various haberdashery shops gazing at the array of patterns. Dance culture has influenced my work, the euphoric state you achieve whilst on a gritty dance floor in South London is a beautiful duality of the sublime and urban. I believe that creativity is a window into a deeper realm of spirit, so to create was a gateway into exploring where I am from originally.
Much of your newer work explores themes of what is invisible/visible and what is personal /political; do you aim to challenge your viewer with your medium? I aim to challenge viewers with my medium by using symbols and objects, which are concerned with the nature of consciousness. I wish for viewers to question the nature of consciousness, is what we see really a reality or is there something more to understand, learn and ascend to. I use ancient symbols or conceptual materials such as mirrors to encourage a deeper understanding of what our eyes present before us. Some of my work is concerned with illusion and the playfulness of duality through the use of various surfaces.
What are you presently inspired by, are there particular things you are reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I am inspired by sacred geometry, quantum physics and the nature of reality. What is it we perceiving and which senses are we using to tap into our greater intelligence, how can creativity and the power of art accelerate our learning and understanding of our greater purpose here on earth. I am currently reading DNA the secret of life, by James Watson a brilliant and inspiring read on the nature of our inner dynamics. Paul Lowe is one of my greatest spiritual teachers of late, his teachings guide my understandings of the Satori process (lifting of the veils of existence)
What risks have you taken in your work, and what has been at stake?
In order to rise from it’s own ashes a phoenix first must burn’ A quote which greatly inspires me. This promoted me to start burning my work to see how the process changes the outcome. Burning sequins is a transformative experience as you are turning the light into dark they are no longer reflective disks of light. This changes the frequency of the material and therefore its audience. This is a risk as the work could really be destroyed totally as I am giving the creative power over to the element of fire. I could potentially loose hours and hours of work in one flame, this is something I am willing to experiment with.
Is there something you are currently working on, or are excited about starting that you can tell us about?
I am currently working on my mirror collection where I am using found and broken mirrors as surfaces to embellish sacred geometry onto, viewers will still be able to view themselves in the mirror alongside the patterning of the cosmos, reminding us that we are one and we are are a part of everything.I am working towards a Solo Show in London and looking forward to presenting my work at London Design Week May 2016.
