Gino Dreams of Josephine Baker

Print description

This print depicts the moment I asked my life model, Etienne, to reflect on a stencil print by one of my favorite artist, Gino Severini. Etienne brough a couple of bananas for the break and somehow we got talking about

Print details

To create this print, I start by crafting individual drawings in ink, which collectively form a collage comprising the final piece. I scan my drawings and digitally add colour. The original design solely exists in digital format, and I print it using archival inks and paper. I then release my design as a limited edition print, available in standard ‘A’ sizes, ranging from A0 (84.1 cm x 118.9 cm) to A4 (21 x 29.7 cm).

Domestic Interior and self expression

This work echoes many different sources: from Vuillard’s colourful depictions of the domestic interior. Many of which I saw at Pallant House Gallery in 2022, to the Alekos Fassianos Foundation I visited in Athens in the summer of 2023. It also draws inspiration from and exhibition in summer 2024 at Studio Voltaire in London, which featured a pairing of work by Beryl Cook and Tom of Finland. Other references are the work of the Picasso linocut ‘Still Life with Glass under the Lamp’ (1962) I saw at the British Museum during the exhibition ‘Picasso Printmaker’’ in November 2024; Gino Severini beautiful Futurist stencils and even the Art Nouveau Posters of Josephine Baker wearing not much more than a banana belt.

Corporealism

I have been running a life drawing session in Brighton at the Sussex County Arts Club for many years; the depiction of the human form is something that fascinates me. Through these pieces, I aimed to express my own personal experiences and the environment where I live.

Josephine Baker

In the summer of 1926, the Folies Bergère in Paris became the stage for an unforgettable moment. Throngs of Parisians eagerly filled the renowned theatre to witness La Revue Nègre, a musical extravaganza born out of France’s growing admiration for jazz. Among the spectacle’s highlights, Josephine Baker made her entrance, descending from a palm tree wearing little more than strings of pearls, wrist cuffs, and a skirt fashioned from 16 rubber bananas. As she performed the danse sauvage, her electrifying movements catapulted her to international fame, securing her status as the world’s top Black female star. She quickly became an icon: dolls dressed in banana skirts flew off the shelves across Europe, beauty experts recommended walnut oil to darken skin like Baker’s, and postcards featuring her famous banana skirt, a sleek hairstyle, and jewellery strategically draped over her bare chest became ubiquitous.

Gino Severini

Serenade à la Lune (1917) by Gino Severini is a striking example of his work during the phase of his career when he was integrating elements of Cubism with Futurism. Severini, an Italian artist and one of the leading figures of the Futurist movement, embraced the dynamic energy of modern life, and this piece reflects his fascination with movement and light.

Technique: Severini’s technique in Serenade à la Lune combines fragmented forms and the use of multiple perspectives, characteristic of both Cubism and Futurism. He employs a somewhat muted palette, with soft earth tones and subtle shifts in color to create a sense of light and shadow. The composition, structured and yet flowing, reveals his interest in the rhythm of space and the merging of the static and the dynamic. The artist breaks down the figure into geometric shapes and planes, a Cubist influence, while still retaining a sense of narrative and emotion. His use of line and form creates a sense of motion, especially in the depiction of the musicians and the night setting.

Subject: The subject of Serenade à la Lune is an evocative night scene in which a lone figure serenades the moon. The serenader, depicted as part of the night’s atmosphere, is seen playing a guitar or mandolin, while his movements and the surrounding forms suggest a harmonious interaction between the individual and the cosmic. The moon itself is not just a physical object but also serves as a symbolic element that connects the serenade to the larger universe, a theme that Severini explored in other works influenced by the surreal and metaphysical ideas of the time. The fragmented, yet fluid nature of the composition conveys both a sense of intimacy and transcendence, merging human emotion with the vastness of the night sky.

In this work, Severini captures the convergence of music, motion, and atmosphere, reflecting both the personal and universal aspects of his theme.