On the Surface

On the Sur­face is a solo exhi­bi­tion of works by fash­ion illus­tra­tor and artist Joan­na Lay­la, explor­ing the beau­ti­ful ten­sion of sur­face and depth in fash­ion imagery. Mate­r­i­al and metaphor­i­cal, On the Sur­face embraces both the super­fi­cial, the beau­ty of sur­face, and the impli­ca­tion of lay­ers – of sto­ries, crafts­man­ship and authen­tic­i­ty — beneath. 

Cre­at­ed in ink, On the Sur­face explores the mate­r­i­al.  The play of sur­face, tex­ture and form. Epit­o­mis­ing Layla’s unique style, translu­cent lay­ers of expres­sive ink dis­perse on the sur­face of the page, cling­ing to the flaws of the paper, and find­ing beau­ty in its imper­fec­tion. And then the ink itself is ren­dered cel­lu­loid as Lay­la plays with the per­cep­tion of the sur­face by hand-fin­ish­ing prints in counter-intu­itive cray­on and pas­tel. Like a child’s mark mak­ing on a wall. Like fin­ger­prints on the lov­ing­ly turned pages of a fash­ion magazine.

Cre­at­ed and installed for Lon­don Fash­ion Week and fea­tur­ing brands Lay­la has worked with at LFW includ­ing Adri­anne Eber and De Fichi­er, On the Sur­face is an ode to Lon­don and to the city’s fash­ion — an irre­sistible sur­face of inter­wo­ven iden­ti­ties and narratives. 

Joan­na Lay­la – Artist Biography

Joan­na Lay­la is a Lon­don-based fash­ion illus­tra­tor and con­tem­po­rary artist. Her unique style applies flu­id brush­strokes and refined com­po­si­tion to fash­ion art­work. Com­mu­ni­cat­ing both beau­ty and con­cept, she has worked with numer­ous brands includ­ing Miu Miu, Adi­das, the V&A and E.L.V. Denim.

Layla’s intu­itive process of work­ing by hand in ink brings spon­tane­ity and move­ment to fash­ion imagery. Seek­ing to cap­ture the ener­gy and emo­tion of a moment in time, Lay­la aspires to an image that has depth whilst retain­ing some­thing min­i­mal in its sur­face, invit­ing the view­er to com­plete the picture. 

Her orig­i­nal com­po­si­tions and dis­tinct aes­thet­ic have been com­mis­sioned as fash­ion edi­to­ri­als for numer­ous pub­li­ca­tions and she reg­u­lar­ly works live with brands at LFW. Lay­la was com­mis­sioned to lead ‘Draw­ing Chanel’ for Coco Chanel: Fash­ion Man­i­festo this year at the V&A and is a fea­tured artist in the New Fash­ion Illus­tra­tion: 50 Essen­tial Con­tem­po­rary Artists. Lay­la is rep­re­sent­ed by House of Juba, Fash­ion Artist Agency, and for her orig­i­nal art­works by gal­leries in Lon­don, France, New York, and Ams­ter­dam. www.joannalayla.com / @joannalayla

Joan­na Lay­la | Fash­ion Illustrator

www.joannalayla.com

www.instagram.com/joannalayla/

Rep­re­sent­ed by House of Juba www.houseofjuba.co.uk

Solo Show ‘On the Sur­face’ at Round­house Lon­don 08.02.24 — 10.03.24 for Lon­don Fash­ion Week. 

Gallery Rep­re­sen­ta­tion — New York @spaceystudios | France @acidgallery | Lon­don @bleur_art | Ams­ter­dam @Iloveillustrationgallery