Stuart Semple - Cult of Denim

I have long thought of Oxford Street store Selfridges as the ‘mother ship.’ Whilst I love all department stores ( such possibilities, just an escalator away ) Selfridges sells with style. With its flattering light and gorgeous product it looks good and knows it - exactly how you should feel when on the hunt for, say, a new pair of jeans. And now the decision between skinny or boot-cut, flared or faded will be thrown into the store’s glittering spotlight with artist Stuart Semple’s exhibition Cult of Denim, which opens on Friday in Frieze Week, London’s busiest time in the art calendar.

Stuart has teamed up with Selfridges and leading denim brands including Levi’s, 7 For All Mankind, JBrand, Diesel and Evisu  to produce an in-store exhibition reflecting our enduring love affair with jeans and their place at the heart of popular culture.
He’s made  limited edition paintings, a giant, sparkly, diamond –shaped installation and customised T-shirts and jeans.

When I dropped into his Shoreditch studio a few weeks ago Stuart was a mixture of panic and excitement,
“I’ve got to make all these paintings!” he said.
“But I’ve always loved jeans, the whole idea of them. They’re democratic, everyone can wear them. And they’re so important in our culture. The jeans you wear say so much about who you are.”

Stuart has been given access to the brands’ archives to help inspire each piece, and the canvasses themselves are the denim from each company.
“Denim is actually a really good material to work on,” he explains. “Some of the vintage denim is amazing. I’ll be using it again.”
And although the exhibition looks at fashion and appeals to a mass audience, Stuart is really clear that it’s about art, and not an exercise in brand PR.
“I’m exploring what jeans mean, what they say about us as well as looking at the heritage of each brand. I really hope people get that. All those Levi’s ads with Nick Kamen in the eighties were so significant. Cowboys wore jeans. And then there’s this sinister aspect too. James Dean immortalised 501’s because his death was so dramatic. Kurt Cobain died in his jeans. I’ve become a bit obsessed with that.”
It’s true that Stuart’s paintings, whilst on first look use the language of Pop Art and are full of instantly recognisable characters, celebrities and symbols do have a dark side.
“I can get a bit melancholic,” he smiles.
But his thoughtfulness is inspiring. It leads you to question the culture that’s all around us, and how we’re a part of creating it.

When we met he was waiting for the delivery of denim to make the  next “canvas”  and in the meantime had created a few ( very good ) practice paintings.
And, he explains, he always works to blaring music: everything from Cyndi Lauper to early Pulp and the Subliminal Girls.
Truly a Pop Artist. And one of our most relevant and exciting.

Loma-Ann Marks

Cult of Denim, Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, London, W1A 1AB
17th October - 15th November
Paintings and Installation on :Women's Spirit, Ground Floor; LA Denim, First Floor and Women’s Contemporary, Second Floor.
Limited Edition T-Shirts and eight unique pairs of hand-painted jeans displayed across these three locations.
All artworks are for sale. If you’re interested in purchasing any please email cultofdenim@selfridges.co.uk