Do you know the way to Jeremyville?
Jeremy is an artist and designer based in Sydney, Australia with his own clothing label Jeremy, a commercial design company called DESIGN Lab and Jeremyville a concept store selling work by all the cutting edge designers
I discovered Jeremyville when I was researching Urban Vinyl for my disseration, I saw his book “Vinyl Will Kill” and I thought i’ve gota have it and I wasn’t dissapointed. The book is a Urban Vinyl bible, with loads of cool interviews and pictures of toys you are gona kill to own. Jeremyville’s artwork is colourful and funky and his characters are wonderfully weird.
I was ecstatic when he agreed to be intereviewed by SUBvert. We wanted to get the lowdown on this crazy new phenomenon which is still pretty new in the UK.
Do you think Urban Vinyl will ever be accepted in the art world as sculpture?
I think the ‘art world’ is a very small and self referential industry based on the manufactured stock value of a particular artist, and I feel designer toys exist outside of that, more akin with movements such as graffiti, sneakers, music, fashion, graphic design, hip hop, and pop culture.
I think stores like Colette in Paris, Alife in New York, and the Vacant stores are more exciting, adventurous and ground breaking than any art gallery could ever be these days. And you will find toys in such stores.
What do you think Art is in the modern world, what does it mean today ?
I think the notion of what art is has really broadened, and is a lot more conceptual and encompassing, and crosses over between disciplines. so you have artists such as;
Geoff McFetridge, Mike Mills, Maya Hayuk, Deanne Cheuk, Groovisions, Takashi Murakami, Jeff Soto, Ryan McGinniss, and a host of others who are pushing the notion of what constitutes art.
The traditional gallery scene is really struggling to catch up and certainly does not hold much excitement for me. It has been a long, long time since I saw an exciting fine art show, but I am regularly excited by modern artists like those mentioned above.
What type of person do you aim your figures at?
Someone who values the new, the challenging, the different. Someone who respects all forms of creativity from the humble DIY sketchbook to a 200 foot mural, to the art on a CD cover. Or a cool new shoe design. Or a painted canvas. Some days I just want things to change completely, to smash it all up…today I’m sick of the old 20th century notions of art, commerce, design, traditional values, and notions of what is ‘acceptable’. Tomorrow I might think differently, but today I’m frustrated by old values and narrow minded thinking. I think toys are a part of the revolution.
What or who inspires you?
Free thinkers, open mindedness, people who break down old notions, change perceptions, push boundaries. More and more I’m feeling liberated, more able to be exactly who I should be. I also inspire myself most days, which is a convenient thing!
Who is your favourite character?
KAWS Accomplice Pink Bunny, Crusty the Clown from the Simpsons, King Ken by James Jarvis, KAWS Companion, the Smurfs, Snowy the dog from Tin Tin, Camguin by Fowler
In what countries is your work most popular?
in Jeremyville, and on the internet. I think the notion of countries is very old fashioned. I don’t think like that, I think of people first, connections with people, then email and websites. those are my points of reference.
I also sell to many people all around the world, like Colette in Paris just ordered from me, I’m having a show in Montreal next year, and I’ve sent off art to be featured in 18 books this year from Barcelona to Tokyo to New York, so it’s about the people, the projects,the mind set not the latitude on the globe they happen to be from.
The Internet is the catalyst for that revolution. 95% of my projects would not be possible were it not for the Internet. I see artists’ websites as mini suburbs of one giant, creative global township.
Whilst writing “Vinyl Will Kill” did you discover anything surprising?
Megan and I realised how long books take to produce! How helpful and supportive designers can be. How strong the global toy community scene is. That emailing your last files to the publisher at 3am on a Saturday night can be a very exhausting process.
What did you gain personally from writing this book?
A really cool network of friends and contacts in various fields all over the place; some great design commissions that came from people seeing the book, such as a big series of animations for MTV Americas; an ongoing column of around 6 pages per issue that I write for IdN magazine on designer toys; the book being in Wallpaper’s book of the month feature, and a 2nd reprint of the book in the US in about 2 months.
How do you think designer toys will evolve?
I think the customisable platform can be extended into more imaginative shapes, and a lot more crossover with products such as apparel, games, publishing etc., that fit in with the general toy concept.
More innovative designs. I think as long as designers push themselves and keep the customer excited and challenged, then the audience for toys will grow.
The toy flame needs to stay alight! Plastic does burn very well, after all.
- Check out more of Jeremyvilles cool creations;
- www.Jeremyville.com
- www.designlabco.com
