NOW
46 ELLEDECORATION.CO.UK S EP T E M B ER 2019
WORDS: CAT OLLEY PICTURES: ALAMY, KAREN ELSON, SGAIRE WOOD & JAMES CREWE, LONDON 2018. COPYRIGHT – TIM WALKER STUDIOThe book that has influenced me the most
is Masquerade by Kit Williams ( 4 ). It is a
children’s book, but it’s so dark, earthy and of
the English countryside – the landscape I love
and in which I grew up.
My all-time favourite film is Little Miss
Sunshine. It reminds me of family
holidays in a camper van as a child
- we were an odd bunch. I once
watched it in a hotel room on my
own and fell off the bed laughing.
One quote that speaks to me
is ‘fascination is reached only
through and beyond boredom’.
I don’t know who said it, but it
makes me feel a bit better when
I refuse to let my son watch TV.
The last exhibition I saw was
‘Art and Counterculture 1967-1970’
at the Stedelijk in Amsterdam. I loved
that all the work was a bit scruffy and
never intended for an art gallery- nothing too ‘highbrow’, which was
a relief for an exhibition visit.
My best-loved museum or gallery is
the V&A. It always has been.
I am a collector of African wax print
cloths ( 1 ). I walk past the African shops
in Dalston all the time, and I just can’t not
buy one. They feature imagery from giant
shells to religious figureheads, phones,
fridges, English words spelt in odd ways,
Chanel logos, cups of tea, cracked eggs...
They are both magical and surreal.
I’d start a free day in London with
a long walk from my home in Stamford Hill to
the courtyard in Somerset House for coffee and
pancakes with my husband and son. We’d get
there early in the morning, when nobody else
is there. Afterwards we’d walk to the Southbank
for a wander around Tate Modern ( 3 ) and,
afterwards, pick sushi from the conveyor at Kulu
Kulu on Brewer Street. Then a black cab home.
My favourite place in the world is a Basque
house in France’s Pyla-sur-Mer ( 2 ). It’s half by
the sea, half by a pine forest and next to the
biggest sand dune in Europe. I’ve been going
there since I was three and the area blows my
mind every time – it’s like a mini Sahara!
This year I will be collaborating more. I enjoy
meeting people in person – that way ideas grow
more organically. I’m also working on projects
with wallpaper brand De Gournay and, hopefully,
Liberty – both dreams come true!
MY CULTURAL LIFE
SHONA HEATH
An arbiter of taste tells us what
they’re reading, watching and more
A veritable behind-the-scenes powerhouse, set
designer Shona Heath creates fierce, fantastical
and whimsical worlds for magazine editorials,
advertising campaigns and fashion houses from
Mulberry to Marni. Flouting any fixed ideas of
what the discipline should involve, her magical
portfolio encompasses costumery, sculpting,
photography, film and, now, exhibition design
- she’s worked on the upcoming ‘Wonderful
Things’ ( 5 ) retrospective of photographer Tim
Walker’s work at London’s V&A museum. Heath’s
20-year collaboration with Walker has enabled
her to build an exciting and imagination-sparking
world, where his visionary work is paired with
ten new photographic projects that respond to
items from the museum’s permanent collection.
From 21 September-8 March (vam.ac.uk).
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