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H O L L Y N O W A K
DESIGNER & MAKER
OF
T H E H U N G R Y G H O S T
THE HUNGRY GHOST IS AIMING TO TRANSLATE NARRATIVES
THROUGH
SENSORY & SCULPTURAL TEXTILES
& ILLUSTRATED STORIES
BLURRING THE LINE
BETWEEN
CONCEPTUAL ART WORK
INTERACTIVE INSTALLATIONS
FUNCTIONAL HOMEWARES
&
ILLUSTRATIONS
WITH THE
PURPOSE OF
CREATING
JOY & COMFORT
" H E L L O . . . "
MEET HOLLY NOWAK, THE DESIGNER AND MAKER BEHIND THE HUNGRY GHOST. HOLLY IS INSPIRED CREATIVELY BY HER OWN TACTILE NATURE, IMAGINATION & OBSESSION WITH COLOUR. HOLLY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH STORIES, TEXTILES & PHOTOGRAPHY BEGAN AT A YOUNG AGE, WITH HER SKILLS DEVELOPING FURTHER DURING EDUCATION
HOLLY COMPLETED HER BA IN TEXTILE AND SURFACE DESIGN AT GRAY'S SCHOOL OF ART IN ABERDEEN, WHERE SHE SPECIALISED IN PRINT & MULTI-MEDIA TEXTILES. HER COLLECTION, URBAN THEATRE, BECAME A BRAVE STORY AND STATEMENT ON STREET CULTURE. THE COLLECTION OF PRINTS & TWEEDS CELEBRATE COLOUR, CONTRASTING SURFACE TEXTURES AND EMBELLISHMENT
IN 2019 HOLLY COMPLETED HER MA IN TEXTILE INNOVATION AT NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY, SPECIALISING IN SENSORY KNITTED TEXTILES. IT WAS DURING THIS YEAR THAT HOLLY UNDERTOOK HER LARGEST PROJECT YET, FINDING HER PURPOSE OF STORY-TELLING & BEGAN BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR LAUNCHING THE HUNGRY GHOST
SINCE LAUNCHING THE BRAND AND BRANCHING OUT OF EDUCATION, HOLLY AND THE HUNGRY GHOSTS HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXHIBIT AND THEY ARE NOW WORKING ON AN ILLUSTRATED STORY OF THE JOURNEY OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS. KEEP THOSE EYES PEELED...
PROCESS
"I GUESS IT ALL STARTS WITH A FEELING. WHEN FEELING INSPIRED BY OBSERVING COLOURS, TEXTURES, PATTERNS, & CULTURES IN MY SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT I CAPTURE THAT WITH A PHOTOGRAPH. TO DATE THEY HAVE FOCUSED ON DIFFERENT CULTURES, URBAN ENVIRONMENTS, & STREET ART. THE DECORATION & THE FACES FOUND IN THEM CREATE NARRATIVES. IF ITS NOT FROM IN-FRONT OF MY CAMERA THEN I AM INSPIRED BETWEEN THE PAGES OF A STORY OR ANCIENT TALE. I THEN TRANSLATE WHAT I SEE AND FEEL THROUGH TEXTILES OR ILLUSTRATIONS, USING THEM TO CREATE A STORY".
COLOUR THEORY
DECORATION
TEXTURE &
STORY-TELLING
UV INSTALLATION
SCULPTURAL KNITTING
UV ILLUSTRATING &
EXTREME FURNISHINGS
COLOUR
"COLOUR IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO ME IN EVERY ASPECT OF MY LIFE, IT PROVIDES ME WITH ENDLESS INSPIRATION AND JOY, WHICH IS SOMETHING I'D LIKE MY WORK TO PROVIDE FOR ITS AUDIENCE.
I TRY TO CONVEY MY OWN INTERPRETATION OF COLOUR FROM 'MY OWN WORLD' THROUGH MY ART. COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY & THE HUMAN RESPONSE TO COLOUR BECAME AN INTEGRAL PART OF MY RESEARCH DURING MY MA. I HAVE ALWAYS WORKED WITH VIBRANT COLOURS; COLOURS THAT MAKE YOUR MOUTH WATER, COLOURS THAT YOU CAN TASTE, COLOURS THAT WE EACH RELATE TO, & COMBINATIONS THAT CLASH BEAUTIFULLY. I NEVER LIMIT MYSELF TO A NUMBER OF COLOURS, THAT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE AN ORGANIC PROCESS. SOMEONE VERY CLOSE TO ME ONCE DESCRIBED MY PALETTE AS A RAINBOW ON STEROIDS...IT SEEMED FITTING".
SENSORY FOCUS
&
TACTILITY
"SOMEWHERE IN THE CHAIN OF EVOLUTION THE HANDS TOOK OVER FROM THE CATS WHISKERS & BECAME THE PRINCIPLE ORGANS OF THE SENSE OF TOUCH. THEY BECAME THE SYMBOL OF EMOTIONS"- ROY SHELDON, EGMONT ARENS
OUR OWN MEMORIES & EXPERIENCES CAN BE TRIGGERED BY THE SENSE OF TOUCH, THEY ALSO HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON HOW WE REACT TO CERTAIN SENSATIONS, & THEREFORE MOULD OUR DECISIONS. VERY FEW ADULTS ARE WITHOUT SOME KIND OF SCAR, BEHIND EVERY DECISIONS WE MAKE THERE IS A LOGICAL REASON FOR IT, MOST OF THESE REASONS WE DISCOVER AS CHILDREN, WE MAY FORGET OVER TIME, BUT THE SCARS REMAIN PRESENT WITHIN OUR FINGERTIPS. PERSONALLY, I KNOW MYSELF THAT SINCE BEING A SMALL CHILD I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND COMFORT THROUGH THE SENSE OF TOUCH. I HAVE GROWN UP OBSESSED WITH REACHING OUT AND TOUCHING ANYTHING TACTILE OR TEXTURED. THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION CREATED IS IRREPLACEABLE, IT SOMETIMES SEEMS UNEXPLAINABLE. SENSORY STIMULATION CAN HELP A PERSONS MOOD, SELF ESTEEM AND OVER ALL WELLBEING. FOCUSING ON A SPECIFIC FEELING OR ITEM CAN ENCOURAGE MEMORIES AND RESPONSES, MAKING THE CONNECTION SO STRONG".
“…REMEMBER, TOUCH IS THE FIRST SENSE HUMANS DEVELOP IN THE WOMB…BUT SOMEWHERE IN ADULTHOOD, WHAT WAS INSTINCTIVE TO US AS CHILDREN HAS BECOME TO FEEL AWKWARD…”
SUSTAINABLE CONSIDERATIONS WITHIN
MY PRACTICE
"WHERE POSSIBLE I AIM TO MAKE MY PRACTICE AS SUSTAINABLE AND ECO FRIENDLY AS I CAN. I WORK WITH WOOLLEN BASED YARNS WHICH THANKS TO THEIR INHERENT NATURAL QUALITIES MAKE THEM MORE BIODEGRADABLE AND LESS HARMFUL. ASIDE FROM THE MORE DECORATIVE YARNS AND EMBELLISHMENT MATERIALS I KEEP A STRICT AWARENESS TO WHAT IM WORKING WITH & TRY TO MAINTAIN A BALANCE OF MATERIALS WITHIN EACH PIECE.
THE PIECES I MAKE ARE BESPOKE & WOULD NEVER BE POSSIBLE FOR MASS REPRODUCTION.
SUSTAINABLE METHODS WITHIN MY PRACTICE INCLUDE REUSING AND RECYCLING MATERIALS, WHETHER THAT BE RECYCLING FURNITURE, REUSING SCRAPS OF YARN FOR STUFFING, & SOURCING MATERIALS LOCALLY".
IF THERE IS ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW...HEAD TO THE CONTACT PAGE TO GET IN TOUCH
THANK YOU
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