Faith XLVII courtesy Hennessy
It is no secret that the art world has historically underrepresented and undervalued the contributions of female artists. In light of the industry’s difficult past with gender disparity, it is essential that art platforms continue to take legitimate strides towards achieving equal representation. For the 10th anniversary of their ‘Very Special’ artist-led series, Hennessy welcomed the opportunity to contribute towards a more gender balanced industry by collaborating with the graffiti-turned-studio artist, Faith XLVII. The premium cognac maker’s ‘Very Special’ series offers artists a platform to create artwork that reinterprets the design of its classic, bulbous bottle.
Over the last decade, the series has boasted a strong roster of artistic collaborators who have created original artwork to adorn limited-edition Hennessy bottles. The series’ previous collaborators included the likes of Felipe Pantone, Futura and Kaws. Faith expressed a deep admiration for the “super high-quality work” of her fellow peers in the project’s lineage whilst also noting the importance of being the first female artist to contribute to the series. For Faith, the collaboration presented an opportunity to normalise “women imagining themselves in such spaces” particularly given the frequency of “situations where I am the only or one of a few female aspects of a project.”
So rife and ingrained gender disparity has been within the wider art world, that understandable questions are often raised surrounding motivations for increased gender inclusivity. Some fear these moves are just token gestures as opposed to marking a more tangible watershed. Acutely aware of this potential issue, Faith declared that whilst it was important for her to enter such a space as a female, it was also essential that she upheld her work to a credible standard. A priority for her is to ensure that even if one separates the art from the artist, her work would irrespectively bear merit.
Her most well-known works are mammoth-scale street murals that often combine earthy, natural tones with socially conscious messaging. Faith’s decision to collaborate with Hennessy may feel like a departure from what many have come to expect, but she relished the challenge of working within this new context. “You’re conceptualising an artwork, not just thematically and visually but also how is that going to be used.”
Left: Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto Skid Row Los Angeles 2018 ©Faith XLVII. Right: A Study of Warwick Triangle at Rush Hour, Durban 2014 ©Faith XLVII
As for the artwork itself, Faith’s Hennessy design centres on a golden mandala which sits atop a peach-toned background. She explains that the mandala functioned as a “visual key” to celebrate the different cycles found within the natural world. “The mandala can be seen as a sundial which nods to notions of a clock, the cyclical passing of time, and seasons changing.” Time became an integral motif for her design after taking a trip to Cognac to learn about the Hennessy-making process. Slight elemental changes, even as small as a few too many frosty days, could drastically affect the cognac production. This served as a symbolic reminder that time-intensive production “connects us more to the products we use and consciously reminds us of how our lives are affected by the planet.”
The precious regard for time is something also symbolised in the golden accents used in Faith’s design. She candidly revealed that generally she doesn’t “use a lot of bright colours” but in order to give her design an air of “reverence and sacred spaces” it was an appropriate inclusion. The inclusion of gold also nodded to a metaphorical realisation that occurred during her tour of Cognac. The process of turning raw materials into a rich and deep beverage was alchemical, which also shared principles of her own art practice.
Reassuringly the future of Faith’s art “will always have a street practice and public art is always going to be very important to me for what I do because I do like my work to be accessible.” With that said, in Hennessy she has found a collaborator that “actually respects the artistic process” and she is basking in the freedom that such an opportunity offers.