Moshi Moshi
- Text by Ed Andrews
“We pride ourselves in keeping an artisan side to our work where possible,” says artist Amélie du Petit Thouars, who along with fellow artist Eloïse de Guglielmo, founded Parisian collective Moshi Moshi Studio back in 2008. “We try to come up with timeless designs. Which means not following the current trends but trying to stick to a more classical aesthetic adapted to modern times.”
Moshi Moshi Studio are finding inspiration in the pre-Intel Inside days of yore, preferring all things hand-crafted to digitally engineered. Not that they’re totally entrenched in nostalgia, though. By staying “curious and aware of [their] surroundings”, the pair reel off their influences from the Italian Renaissance masters to Wes Anderson and Monty Python via Goya, Degas and Japanese manga artist Suehiro Maruo. This diversity shows in their range of creations including spartan black-and-white typography, dreamy analogue photography and anatomical doodles. “We think it’s important to nourish our work with influences from the outside world,” says Amélie. “We always start our designs by going through books.”
And fitting like a Jacquard loom with their tangible approach, this March they contributed two pieces of artwork to DC’s Burning Ink tattoo art show in Istanbul – a show where the artists’ creations can only leave the premises engraved on skin. Their choices? “Powerful symbols” of an owl and the Virgin Mary, both hand-drawn and hand-painted in black tempera.
“We love the culture of tattoos and the aesthetic range and possibilities,” remarks Amélie. “We are more into vintage tattoos and letterings but a tattoo has to be meaningful and tell a story. It has to be a conscious choice. We like the idea of the commitment and the magical quality that [a tattoo] can gain through time.”
Moshi Moshi’s creations for DC Burning Ink Istanbul exhibition with be ceremonially set on fire on April 12 but living on as a tattoo!
You might like
A new documentary explores Japan’s radical post-war photography and arts scene
Avant-Garde Pioneers — Focusing on the likes of Daidō Moriyama, Nobuyoshi Araki, Eikoh Hosoe and many more, the film highlights the swell of creativity in the ’60s, at a time of huge economic change coupled with cultural tensions.
Written by: Isaac Muk
From his skating past to sculpting present, Arran Gregory revels in the organic
Sensing Earth Space — Having risen to prominence as an affiliate of Wayward Gallery and Slam City Skates, the shredder turned artist creates unique, temporal pieces out of earthly materials. Dorrell Merritt caught up with him to find out more about his creative process.
Written by: Dorrell Merritt
Inside the world’s only inhabited art gallery
The MAAM Metropoliz — Since gaining official acceptance, a former salami factory turned art squat has become a fully-fledged museum. Its existence has provided secure housing to a community who would have struggled to find it otherwise.
Written by: Gaia Neiman
Gaza Biennale comes to London in ICA protest
Art and action — The global project, which presents the work of over 60 Palestinian artists, will be on view outside the art institution in protest of an exhibition funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Written by: Cyna Mirzai
The White Pube: “Artists are skint, knackered and sharing the same 20 quid”
We caught up with the two art rebels to chat about their journey, playing the game that they hate, and why anarchism might be the solution to all of art’s (and the wider world’s) problems.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Meet Corbin Shaw, Huck 81’s Artist in Residence
The Sheffield born artist talks about the people and places that shaped his practice for the latest issue of Huck.
Written by: Josh Jones