大象传媒

Excited by envy

When it comes to art for me, for it to be good it has to evoke some sort of emotion. I'm not bothered what emotion, and I often find myself excited simply by the envy art can conjure within me. This envy is the same as the one shared when you meet a person who proclaims: "I'm just good at most ball games" or "I just have a talent for musical instruments".

Stitching her next masterpiece!

These people on top of being annoying are also admirable and I must admit, as I'm sure most of you would too, that there is something wonderful about 'artist envy'. When an artist's work is so good we know we could never emulate it, let alone create anything of equal stature.

Naseem Darbey's art provokes this emotion, this wow factor and the question, 'How was that done?' Her art is created using sewing machines and is very different. Using needle and thread like pen on paper she creates expressive pieces focusing on the fluidity and spontaneity that comes from using a sewing machine.

What's it all about?

Naseem is 28-years-old and has been involved with art ever since she realised it was her strength at school. After finishing school she went on to a Textile and Illustration degree at Bradford College and since then she's continued to practice as an artist.

I ask Naseem about the ideas behind what she does. She says: "My art is [made up of] large scale drawings working directly from life, particularly paying attention to the personality of the person I am working with. It's drawing using stitch. I'm really keen on the scale of the works being as big as I can possibly make them."

Naseem's Queen of Hearts

It's this drawing with stitch that has really got me interested. I want to know if she sketches the pieces before using a sewing machine:听 "No, it's absolute direct drawing, I don't do any preliminary sketching; I literally sit with me, my sewing machine and a model". Using her models as a starting point Naseem seeks to reflect the feelings of those she stitches. Inspired by the likes of Paula Rego's drawings and Ron Mueck's figurative sculptures it's representations of people and figures that Naseem likes to explore when drawing with stitch.听

Why stitch?

My artist envy only grows when I learn her work is stitched without any preliminary sketches - just to sit and draw with a sewing machine really is sensational! I have to ask what brought this on and why she chose to draw this way: "The reason I work with stitch is because I can't rub it out. It's like drawing with pen and ink but it's even more direct in the sense that when I'm working with the machine I'm not drawing with my hands anymore. I'm drawing with the needle and thread".

Naseem adds: "It's about the fluidity of the line and being a bit more experimental - the fact that it's not an accurate process - it's about being expressive and putting lots of energy into it".听 After taking a closer look at her work and thinking about how it's drawn directly by needle and thread I start to wonder what sort of super sewing machine she might have - a spoiler, extra gears maybe? "No, It's just a regular sewing machine...I love it, though".

'Theatre Box'

By working like this Naseem has built up her own way of drawing, taking the challenge of using her machine to help create and influence her pieces. The way she works gives her only one shot and it's this that not only excites me, but also excites and motivates her.听听听听

How to live from your art...

Naseem admits that earning a living from your art can be a challenge in a place like Bradford which is bursting with good artists, but offers some solid advice for those out there who would also like to make a career from their art: "You have to be driven and keep going, keep yourself motivated...You have to build on everything you do and make yourself better each time".

Her willingness to get involved in new avenues was shown last year when she collaborated on a film with Studio 163, a production company based in West Yorkshire. The film was commissioned as one of seven digital shorts to be shown on the 大象传媒 Big Screen in Bradford's Centenary Square. This was a short film showing an animated sequence of Naseem's stitch coming to life on the page, an interesting way of exhibiting her art.

Naseem hard at work...

I have really warmed to Naseem. She hasn't weighed me down with explanation or justification. Instead she's shown me her art and explained what it is she does and why. Her pieces certainly portray emotion and it's this, combined with the skill involved in how she draws, that has me hooked. She has some advice which strikes a minor chord with my own artistic ambition: "Believe in what you do. Not everyone believes in their art but if it's what you do then don't be afraid to show it...Always plan your shows and try to expand your audience. It's one thing having lots of work but, if it's just sitting around with no one seeing it, then it's not doing what it supposed to do".听听

What piece and why?听

I ask her if she could go anywhere in the world tomorrow to see any piece of art, what piece would it be and why? "The Terracotta Soldiers...I would really like to see them because I would like to feel their presence and what it would be like to stand in front of that many representations of people. The enormity of all those soldiers looking at you at once would be amazing and to see them in China would be fantastic".

Naseem is currently working on new pieces but when I ask for a sneaky peak or a quick explanation as to what she is planning for the coming year she divulges very little telling me: "My lips are sewn".

Naseem Darbey's gallery and up-coming shows can be found on her website.