Getting Lost: Between Art, Music and Fashion

The division between art and music, and between art and fashion has never been a definitive line, even a fine one. Often, we get lost between two creative forms, finding ourselves being hurtled, not into distress or disorientation, but into a new space that has us wayfinding, navigating from place to place between different textures, tones, sights and sounds.

The phenomenon of getting lost in the arts continues with London-based alternative acoustic electronica duo, Lisbon Kid, recently working with a range of artists to curate an exhibition at The Dissenters Gallery following the release of their debut album, ‘Lisbon Kid’. Equally testing our ability – or inability – to navigate across such mediums, the collaboration of British artist Marcus James and luxury women’s fashion label, Jigsaw, sees art and fashion collide across silks in contemporary cuts. Here, we take a closer look at these collaborations, our arms outstretched, our hands guiding us through the inter-mix of these creative forms.

Lisbon Kid

Hailing from Portugal, Rui Da Silva and Danny De Matos have found themselves, from the beginning of their shared music venture just a year ago, invested in visual art as much as audio. Drawing on this, the duo launched ‘Lisbon Kid’ this year alongside sculptural and photographic-textile works, video installations and performance art pieces by such artists as Justin Robertson, Ana Pallares, Sukey Parnell and Hilary Mance, all of which were inspired by, and in response to, select tracks from the album. Aptly titled ‘Call and Response’, the exhibition left its attendees immersed in the existential themes of the album, ranging from mortality to the search for happiness, through a sense of longing, to belonging and depression.

Artwork: Alex King

Artwork: Ana Pallares

Artwork: Eleni Gagoushi

Released on May 5th, the album’s opening track ‘At the End of The Day’, accompanied by a cinematic video containing footage of starling murmurations, is a continued reflection of Lisbon Kid’s song-visual sensibility, a unique outlook that has allowed listeners to experience the laidback mix of electronica and acoustics, their narratives and subtleties, in their entirety. As the starlings fly – gently ebbing and flowing like waves through the apricot-tinted sky – the video becomes part of the audio, a semblance of the effortless beats and soft vocals of the single.

Marcus James x Jigsaw Collaboration

Printed on silk and viscose, the hand drawings of Marcus James – illustrative artist known widely for both his independent work and collaborations with Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and Saint Laurent Paris – are, in image, a balance between chaos and order. Central to Jigsaw’s latest women’s collection, these two mathematical concepts can be found on dresses, tops, trousers and a jumpsuit in the form of delicate floral designs and continuous butterfly shapes. The former, having been manipulated by screen-printing, leave an impression of delicacy and fluidity, while the latter, drawn from charcoal, appear as if they are untamed lines dancing – sporadically, wildly – across the garments.

As a story of beauty and fluidity on the one hand, and of chaos and unbalance on the other, the designs of this collection are a natural fit, a visual echo of the working relationship between James and Jigsaw, and the harmonious balance between fashion and art.