Jamie Murray-Pullan

This piece sees a blue ‘planet’ melt into a pool of green which then turns brown and eventually dry to for a cracked scorched plain.

This project is one where my canvas is Hermès Birkin bags. The hyper exclusive bag is so symbolic of luxury, excess and being horrifically over priced. These bags have an almost mythical reputation and to see one ‘in the wild’ is a real ‘moment’ for and fashionista. I wanted to play on the idea of these bags, which of course are made from dead cow skin, coming back to life.

The bags have their own names and personalities, their adventures are only briefly glimpsed through photography.

Vivienne Westwood has been huge part of my life for over a decade now. Her ethos on the planet and how we desperately need a climate revolution has always resonated with me. Westwood clothing is also one of the things I collect (the other being keyrings), the loveliest thing about this collection is that I can share different parts of it with the world every day. 

A large part of my collection is the Vivienne Westwood Pirate boots, I have over a dozen pairs and wear them almost daily. Wear often leads to tear so I looked to the Japanese practice of Kintsugi as a way to both mend and honour the things that take me on so many adventures. Each pair has specific memories connected to them whether that be walking on the beach getting sand in the buckles of the yellow pair or the pair I was wearing when I was admitted into intensive care for double pneumonia. 

I am currently working on a small exhibition at my studio where I bring the boots together and display them with tags describing memories I have had wearing each particular pair or the reason I own them. 

I have used ornate frames in other works, they have something about them that I can never seem to escape. I will always remember going to Leeds Art gallery and thinking that some of the frames of works were more impressive than the paintings they surrounded.

I tend to gain inspiration from other artists in very broad ways, for example these pieces are inspired by the slashed works of Lucio Fontana. These canvas frames are formed only from a sheet of canvas soaked in a solution of starch and gelatine. There is something ghostly about them, shouting different meanings at me on a daily basis. Sometimes I get a sense of pessimism and almost censorship from them as if they’re covering up something. Other days I find them really inspiring, encouraging me to consider new works of Art and projects to get stuck into.

In the past my practice has focused heavily on the interactive, during Corona this has obviously become more of a challenge particularly when a physical interaction is the aim of the work. I wanted to create something where the viewer is compelled to come to me and engage in an encounter, a moment or happening perhaps. This encounter is determined purely by the viewer and is therefore unpredictably exciting.

In the creation of this case I aimed to make an object of wonder, something that is a treat for the viewer, my practice has always been generous to my audience as I believe messages I try to share through my Art are received better when the viewer is both happy and self initiating their discovery. Inside the case is a range of products ranging from brooches to ‘flim flams’ a leather strip that can be worn in many ways and makes up part of my personal style silhouette and framed original artworks. I use a lot of reclaimed material in these products such as the oak and leather, these provide an opportunity to nudge conversations towards sustainability and the environment.