Jacky Tsai meets up with Sophia Victoria at salon contemporary, to talk Alexander McQueen, east vs west and his London debut solo show.

SV Jacky, it’s lovely to finally meet you and talk through plans for your show at Salon Contemporary next month. When did you first meet the director Samir? 

JT Probably two years ago. Before I graduated, in the beginning of my second year at Central St Martins. In that period I didn’t speak English very well, but Samir just put confidence in me, so our working relationship just continued being really close after two or three years so it’s really really nice. He is a gentleman, very professional.

SV What’s your experience of Central St Martins? Did you enjoy it? 

JT Yes, I think so. But I always thought at Central St Martins, half of the people have talent, half of the people are absolutely rubbish...so I tried to be in the talent group! Every day the tutor would teach something really academic. If you want to be a commercially successful designer or artist you have to be taught by yourself, rather than tutorials in Uni because they have limited knowledge - but I do think that I appreciated this tuned in experience, it’s made me really good in every way. When I came here four years ago, I didn’t know this city, it was kind of a cultural shock everywhere so it was really hard for me, but after one or two years I’ve just become really British!

SV So you’ve really adapted!

JT I just totally feel lost because my habits and everything are very British so when I cross the road I’m always thinking, where is the button to press?

SV It must be overwhelming coming over to a new country and experiencing a totally different culture.

 JT Well yes, but the one thing I really love about London is that London is a very vintage city rather than Shanghai and New York which are very overwhelming industrial cities. London for me is very very quiet.

SV That must be nice for a change. You must have a studio here right? 

JT Yes, but I’m also more of a designer so I just freelance everywhere. I do both design and art but before

I got any success in the art world I had to do some kind of freelance boring commercial corporate design to make my life better. But you know, in the art world you have to have a long term plan because the success is never going to be quicker so I have to be patient. That’s why before that I had to do some freelance work, which is good because that’s why I’m quite versatile rather than any other artists, if their work doesn’t sell then they’ll die, so...that’s why I can cross over into the fashion side because I know how design works rather than focussing on oil painting or these things.

SV In some ways your work could be compared to influential Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. He started working in less traditional, fine arts media in reaction to what he believed to be an unsustainable movement towards Western trends in post-war Japan. Do you think the West has influenced Chinese artists in a similar way?

JT Absolutely, because we don’t have any kind of permanent commercial artists in China. I think it’s quite fake because they use the traditional way to represent the contemporary scene, so I think I could be the first one to do that because my way is absolutely the contemporary way...and also I come from a design background as well so I have a commercial eye and come up with quick ideas. I use the quickest, most efficient art formats to do the work.

SV Are there any particular artists that you’ve got your eye on? 

JT You know the guy...maybe my pronunciation is wrong...Roy Lichtenstein? That’s kind of a big influence on me... in my early years. His work uses really solid colours. Really shiny, bright. It’s so powerful. Even, I think I like his work more than Warhol or Murakami, because he started the beginning of a new trend. After him everyone does solid, bright colours. He’s influenced me a lot.

SV What are your main sources of inspiration? Are they places you visit, the mass media, old posters...? 

JT The main ideas and inspiration come from when I talk to friends. When I talk to them I just absorb the nutrition from them. I’m a quiet guy. I don’t like to travel a lot. I just literally talk to my friends and naturally come up with so many ideas.

SV And how has the West influenced your work?

JT way to present work. Roy Lichtenstein’s way. Murakami’s way as well. Also I really like British Rock. It all influences my works. The art format influences me most, but in my mind it’s originally the Chinese people.

SV Have you kept any Chinese traditions? Is there anything that stays with you? 

JT I eat Chinese food! I think British food is nothing compared to Chinese food, sorry. I have to say that even though I love Jamie Oliver a lot!...and also there are so many small habits I can’t change because I was born in Shanghai and it’s so different there. I’m different in this city. That’s why I make work different to any other artist here. You can feel the contradiction in my work. Some really modern, Western elements but also some really natural, traditional Chinese things as well.

SV Sky-born objects feature a lot in your work, like planes and parachutes, but there are also plenty of natural elements relating more to Eastern culture. Could you talk a little about the motifs that run through your work?

JT OK, the flower scenes, all the natural scenes represent Chinese traditional art. So all the machines, hard metal things, high tech, reflect the Western culture. That’s the contrast, the conflict between the West, hard elements and the Chinese soft elements. So it’s really to make the contrast.

SV With your debut show, another First Wednesdays in West London and plenty of arts fairs coming up in October, what are you looking forward to?

 JT I’ve been waiting for this day for almost five years, I’m so excited. It’s kind of a really big thing in my life and also people can see various artworks during the past five years which is so good, you know, you can find out what 2006 version of Jacky was like, and 2007 version and so on, so it will be nice. I think it should be like a group show of different versions of Jacky Tsai.

SV The main focus for your show at Salon Contemporary will be the stunning 3D Floral Skull which is, as you call it, an ‘upgraded’ version of the image you originally designed for Alexander McQueen. Could you talk us through how you came to creating the piece? 

JT They came to me and said, “Jacky, will you do a really nice floral skull with Victorian accents” and I said “OK let’s have a try”, so after two or three days I came up with a nice piece of artwork, which I didn’t know would be so successful in marketing. It is a bit of an accident because I didn’t expect this work to be so famous. But after one or two years I realised, woah, so many celebrities are wearing my designs. That’s why this year I wanted to do an upgraded version of my original work. The one thing I really like about the work is that you can see the different angles and it even made the work more vivid so it’s a really exciting new piece and also this artwork is the main focus - the highlight of my solo show.

SV Definitely, I think it deserves to be. All of the work that’s gone into it is just incredible. You were telling me about this one month process of designing and making it overseas, what was that like - the feeling of transferring your ideas on to somebody else to create? 

JT Yeah, it’s hard, because I have a good feeling for 2D scenes and normally I don’t have any concepts for 3D, but because this work was my idea I had a good feeling for how to interpret it from 2D to 3D. I would talk to my 3D designer about how to move one element, maybe closer like one centimetre, so every day was really hard for me because I had to explain, make signs on paper. But finally I’m really pleased with this version of the work because it’s exactly what I wanted.

SV I bet. I can’t wait to see it in real life!

JT Yeah, and I’ll also have the 2D print of the 3D skull so that everyone can have a piece.

SV So what else can we expect to see at the gallery?

JT aesthetic, traditional work, to really modern, contemporary, Western solid colour works, so everything, you can expect.

SV As an artist myself I am constantly looking to enhance and expand my practice. What changes have you seen in your own work over the last 5 years? 

JT I think I’ve changed a lot. Normally if you are a successful artist you don’t really want to change because change means you have to take a risk, but I like challenging myself. That’s why I’m always adapting the way I present my work. There are so many changes in my work from digital work to feminine hand drawings, so it’s all different because I want to show my versatility, cross over into the design side and use different techniques.

SV It must have been an amazing experience working with Alexander McQueen. What was the highlight? 

JT The highlight for me was actually not creating something beautiful. It’s the attitude towards the artworks, because everyday they’re working so hard to make the pieces perfect. Everything is really intense there. Everyday I’d work so late but when I look back at my time at Alexander McQueen I feel grateful because of their attitude towards my work. It was an amazing experience.

SV Have you noticed any particular developments happening recently for contemporary pattern design? 

JT Yeah, I think it’s more ‘arty’. Originally people just wanted a floral pattern, but right now people want to buy a piece of artwork rather than a décor pattern so you know, its even more of a challenge for designers in the fashion industry because you have to create a really high level work, so I think it’s a challenge for everyone.

SV     And what do you think is coming?

JT meaningful, more deco. It’s about making people happy more than big profound meanings, which I don’t really like. More of Murakami’s things probably! It’s kind of less

SV Your work is greatly commended for the technical skill involved with the delicate silk pieces you create. An understanding of materials and methods is clearly important to you. What are your views on the issue of de- skilling within contemporary arts practice? Is it an issue? 

JT No, I don’t think so, because I use my computer as my pencil. I don’t feel that digital work is cheap work. Everyone has their own message for their artwork. It depends on how you interpret in on camera, on paper...so you know, if you can handle it well, why not use it? I can do a really decent hand drawing but if I feel I can quickly cut out a digital image on Photoshop, why not use it? What if you spend like ten hours doing a beautiful but meaningless element on paper when you could just quickly cut it out on the computer, so it depends on your idea.

SV So, recently you’ve been involved in a new collaboration with Irwin & Jordan who will be at London Fashion Week this year. How did that come about? It must be refreshing taking your skills as an artist to another context?

JT My manager Samir just got the contact with me and we had only one meeting to talk about ideas. At the next meeting a week later we had finished the designs. That’s amazing. That’s why I think me and Jordan are very compatible. My new trend of work is very suitable for the approach because it’s quite feminine but also masculine so it’s a really decent collaboration. We’re all pleased with this very quick, efficient outcome.

SV What attracted you in the beginning to the designer? 

JT Zoe Jordan came from a banking industry before which is why she has a really good eye for everything commercial, so that’s the common sense between me and Zoe. She gave me the freedom to create something beautiful rather than give me kind of bullet points, one, two, three...it’s so nice because she trusts me and loves my work.

SV What would you like people to gain from viewing your work? 

JT I hope people will just simply love my work for different reasons. I never say you should like my work in a specific way. I never say that, because everyone has their own ideas. I only come up with the concepts for my art work. I never explain. The most important thing is that people love my work rather than find it disgusting! So...as I said, less meaningful, more deco.

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Jacky tsai exhibits his london debut solo show at salon contemporary from the 6th of october until the 1st of November 2010. www.saloncontemporary.com