Simone Brewster
The artist and designer’s work spans jewellery, home accessories, painting and furniture (simonebrewster.co.uk)
What inspires your work? At the start of my career I had great energy to bring objects of beauty into the world. As I began developing my voice, I realised how unusual it was to have a woman of colour creating objects for people’s homes. There was a real shortage of designers of colour, especially ones who embraced and projected the richness of their backgrounds. This became a strong influence – the desire to bridge the gap within contemporary design and Black British culture. African sculpture, the female form and wood are recurring ingredients. You work across several disciplines – what came first? Curiosity. It was my desire to learn and play that led me into all my different creative pathways. I started designing furniture after wanting to learn how to create with my hands. On that journey I asked questions and met people that led me to make jewellery. At every stage you learn something that carries through to the next thing. Tell us about the materials you use… I use a lot of natural materials centered around wood and metal. I grew up in a home full of African sculptures and dark wood furniture. I think it left a mark. I’m very much interested in using traditional processes and materials to create contemporary pieces. What have you been up to? Over lockdown, I decided to use the time to paint. I’m lucky that my creativity is also my means of relaxation. I created a new body of work,
‘Woman In Parts’, that grew into aseriesof100paintings.Outwardly, it may have appeared to have come from nowhere, but the foundation of this explosion was laid in some of my earlier furniture pieces. What are you working on next? A ‘listening’ bench for Greenwich Peninsula. It’s perfect timing, as we’ve all been pent up inside and want to speak to people in public spaces in a comfortable way.