As part of the “Bring the Noise” events at Tate Britain, INSA was invited to produce a piece of work in response to Chris Ofili’s current retrospective exhibition. He produced two: a piece entitled “Only God and You Can Judge Me (Jumbo Edition)” and a pair of 10” platform high heels made from elephant dung, entitled “Anything goes when it comes to (s)hoes….” TateShots had a look around his London studio to see what hed come up with. Watch the video and listen to INSA after the jump!
To produce these insane heels, INSA retraced the footsteps Chris Ofili made over 15 years ago and sourced dung from the same family of elephants that produced the dung used in Chris’s infamous paintings of the nineties. Using similar techniques and materials; beading, resin and painting, INSA pays homage to the style and significance of Ofili’s early work. As a nod to their shared influences, INSA‘s work is entitled ‘Anything goes when it comes to (s)hoes…” a play on a lyric from the classic Big Daddy Kane track ‘Pimpin Ain’t Easy” which is referenced in numerous Chris Ofili paintings.
Both the heels and the new piece “Only God and You Can Judge Me (Jumbo Edition)” will be on display at Tate Britain from Sunday 14th March. Charlie Dark brings together the likes of Tinie Tempah, INSA, Cooly G, Eddie Kadi, GoldieLocks, Cut the Chat TV, Jan Blake, Mala, Wah Nails and Rolling Sound in a mix of performances, artwork, events and workshops that respond to and resonate with Chis Ofili’s stunning exhibition at Tate Britain.
INSA’s world is one where fetishism, desire and graffiti collide; through extensive street level work and fine art INSA has taken the iconic high heel image and made it his own, infusing a simple, yet clever, graphic ‘logo’ with meaning and relevance. High heels represent a plethora of different things depending on the person; sex, money, fashion, the battle between masculine and feminine sexuality, dominance and submission, consumerism and object fetishism; all of which are themes actively explored in INSA’s work.
INSA’s work has been exhibited in London, New York and LA. He has undertaken private commissions from Nike, Carharrt and Jamie Oliver as well as product collaborations with Kangol, Oki-Ni and Kid Robot. And was recently invited out to Sweden as one of only two British artists to help curate this years ICE hotel. INSA studied conceptual design at Goldsmiths’ College and has been a well-known name on the London graffiti scene for over ten years.
