Shu Uemura Art of Hair celebrates its intrinsic link to art and beauty with the highly anticipated launch of its LIMITED EDITION ART SERIES 2.0 collaboration – an inspired partnership with three exceptional Australian artists. This year, accessories designer Poppy Lissiman, artist Anya Brock, and painter and illustrator Billie Justice Thomson, will lend their unique designs to a limited edition production of Shu Uemura Art of Hair’s adored Silk Bloom, Color Lustre and Muroto Volume Conditioners. We caught up with the three artists to talk about their inspiration and what it was like working with Shu Uemura Art of Hair.
Poppy Issiman, Anya Brock, Billie Justice Thomson
ANYA BROCK
How does it feel to be selected as one of three selected artists to create artwork for Shu Uemura Art of Hair?
Great! Shu Uemura is a well-respected brand so it always feels good to be recognised by brands that you admire.
What was your process in developing the artwork for the Shu Uemura art of hair collection? Did you always know that this is what you were going to do for the collection or was it more of an evolution to get to the final artwork that’s on the product?
We narrowed the selection down to a couple of images and decided on the flamingos. The aim was to select an iconic image of mine that would work well with the proportions of the product.
What was the inspiration behind your design for the exclusive Shu Uemura Art of Hair Art Series collection?
The inspiration as with all of my work is to find abstract ways to represent an image. The work is about experimentation and mark making.
POPPY LISSIMAN
How does it feel to be selected as one of three selected artists to create artwork for Shu Uemura Art of Hair?
I first heard of Art Series collaboration when I saw Emma Mulholland’s lizard print featured last year – it’s one of my all-time favourite prints. Shu Uemura Art of Hair is such an incredible international brand with a cool aesthetic that I felt aligned really well with my label, so I was excited to be asked to collaborate.
What was your process in developing the artwork for the Shu Uemura art of hair collection? Did you always know that this is what you were going to do for the collection or was it more of an evolution to get to the final artwork that’s on the product?
The team at Shu Uemura provided me with some initial background information about the Limited Edition Art Series collection and asked me to create an original piece of digital artwork to feature on the bottle that was true to my style. As a starting point Shu Uemura mentioned they loved my evil eye motif so I used this as a base and worked from there. At first the task seemed simple enough but when I actually got down to it I realized it was more of a challenge than I originally thought – to try an encapsulate your aesthetic into a small label was quite tricky!
What was the inspiration behind your design for the exclusive Shu Uemura Art of Hair Art Series collection?
The artwork features a glitter serpent and evil eye iconography, which are both heavily used in all of my work. The squiggle background of the bottle is the same pattern used on all of my packaging and the mismatched shapes are reference to my favourite art movement of the 80s, ‘the Memphis movement’, which is an inspiration point for a lot of my work.
BILLIE JUSTICE THOMSON
How does it feel to be selected as one of three selected artists to create artwork for Shu Uemura Art of Hair?
It was a real honour. I’ve known of and admired the brand for a long time. In the past year I have done a number of collaborations and this is most definitely one of my favourite.
What was your process in developing the artwork for the Shu Uemura art of hair collection? Did you always know that this is what you were going to do for the collection or was it more of an evolution to get to the final artwork that’s on the product?
I was given lots of freedom, which is such a great way to work. The team had seen my previous work and trusted in me. It was a dream really! I did a similar painting initially but I wasn’t 100% happy with it. I ended up staying up until 4am that night/morning to finish the 2nd one.
What was the inspiration behind your design for the exclusive Shu Uemura Art of Hair Art Series collection?
Having lived in Japan in my early 20s I imagined something along the lines of the chaotic streets of Tokyo at night. At the same time Shu Uemura is quite luxurious. I think this evolved in to the extra wild colour palette and loose line work in my piece.
The LIMITED EDITION ART SERIES 2.0 collaboration collection (250ml, RRP $58) will be available exclusively in Shu Uemura Art of Hair consultant salons nationwide from August 2016. To locate your nearest salon visit shuuemuraartofhair.com.au/our-salons/ or phone 1300 760 550.
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