Joy's label creations are catching designer's eyes
12 May 2014
Alumna Joy Pitts (BA Hons Fine Art 2004 / MA Fine Art 2006) has a passion for clothes labels, and uses them to create unique artwork.
From Primark to Dolce & Gabbana, Joy has spent hours turning tens of thousands of labels into remarkable pieces of artwork, including a recent commission from Nottingham’s famous fashion designer Paul Smith.
“I wrote to him asking if he could give me any labels to use and he said he’d like me to do a commission. He sent me a palette of labels to choose from and I went for ones that were vibrant colours.” said Joy, who used around 2,000 red, purple and black labels for the 60 x 83cm picture.
Three of Joy’s designs were also snapped up by exclusive London department store Liberty’s managing director Ed Burstell, who commissioned her on the spot for three pictures of bees in red, yellow and purple.
Joy’s collection features three cattle and a swan, made from a total of 20,000 labels, with some of the larger pieces taking two to three years to complete. Joy’s friends and family save labels for her and the rest she finds in charity shops. Then comes the arduous task unpicking them and sorting into size and colour before deciding on an image.
Joy created a spectacular 3D bishop’s medieval robe out of 10,000 labels for her final degree show project at NTU. Described as ‘an extravagant rescue of fashionable waste’ the three-metre robe won the sculpture prize at Nottingham Castle’s open art exhibition in 2004.
Most of Joy’s designs are available as limited edition prints and ten per cent from the £140 Paul Smith rabbit prints will be donated to Maggie’s cancer caring centre in Nottingham – where the interior was designed by Sir Paul.
Joy’s artwork will be on display at her first solo exhibition at the King George Gallery at Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy from 4 September to 10 October 2014.
For details visit www.joypitts.co.uk