I love the cross over between art and fashion; I was totally enamoured and enthralled by the Art and Fashion exhibition at The Royal Academy. I was also enthralled by Sketch's pop-up eatery at the venue. Sandwiches wrapped like delicate french knickers with cute pastel bows, latte's in fine bone china with dainty roses on them; should food be this gorgeous at the end of a fashion focused exhibition?
As I bit into my sandwich and sketched away, I looked up and saw Claudia Schiffer in a variety of prints by Jake and Dinos Chapman, playing the "Damsel in distress" on illustrated horror backgrounds. Almost swallowed by the skull of doom she still manages to get her lush red lace bra out and shows off that vintage 'do.
Why am I talking about this on here?
Well, she reminds me of an old family friend Ingrid Pitt, who sadly passed away last year. The actress infamous for her roles in the hammer horror films, she was amazing. She survived a concentration camp childhood, married three times, held a black belt in Karate and a pilot's license.
One of my favourite illustrations/artworks ever is the poster I have for her "Countess Dracula" film for Hammer. It hung on my wall for about four years before I moved to London, and in it she's a fiendish yellow with cherry lips.
Are Damsels in distress ever really helpless? Are vixens true life vampires? The roles that cinema has projected onto women leave them confused about who to be; the cold vixen or the over emotional damsel in distress? I feel it's only now that women are finding their own feet, and they will, as long as they don't get sucked up by crappy rom coms.
P.S. Emma Forrest's new book "Your Voice in My Head" you just have to read.
