'No Love Lost' at Eleven

For their first joint exhibition "No Love Lost" at Eleven Fine Art Gallery, Natasha Law and Daisy de Villeneuve have created a fictional character based on the flaws of women. This isn't new territory for de Villeneuve whose felt tip pen drawings have always pondered the teenage female angsty. For Law though who is used to painting sleek semi-nudes on aluminium, the exhibition aims to showcase a slightly more jarring side to her work.

Dazed Digital: Natasha,  you work with household paints and Daisy you generally use felt-tip pens- how and when did you decide which medium was for you?
Natasha Law: When I first started making figurative work they were done as huge blown up poster type pieces and I would colour in sections once they were pasted up – maybe it was from doing a lot of screen printing but I definitely preferred  a flat, solid colour . When I started painting on board, then metal, the gloss paint gave me the effect I wanted – smooth, dense colour that the image has to fight with for domination. I like the kind of bulk it has, that you can pour it on if you want to.
Also I think I felt more at ease with household paints – I’d been house and set painting for years and the whole process from buying it to priming, sanding and building up the layers is reassuringly mundane. Kind of wishing I’d fallen for a different medium, though as this one is not exactly the healthiest.

Daisy de Villeneuve: I used felt tip pens for my final show when I was at Parsons School of Design. I drew 14 or 15 characters on lined note paper with type writer text, the text being about boy- girl relationships which later became a book published by Pocko Editions in 2001 called, 'He Said She Said'. I thought it was an interesting medium to work in. I'd had some pens lying around at home and wanted something that would work well with the paper that wasn't paint and I liked how you could see the lines overlapping. So, since then I've been known for my felt tip pen style. I thought it was hilarious to use felt tips, as I was getting a Fine Art degree, but it actually worked well and looked great on the page. I started out using a pack of pens from Woolworths but now since I do make a living with these felt tip pens of mine, I've invested in Prismacolor pens from the US which come in a vast range of colours but are quite pricey. They look like watercolour, which I like .


DD: How did you come to be exhibiting together?
NL:It was an idea the gallery had – they knew us both and knew we had been friends for quite a long time now and had shown together in the past – so I think they’d been looking for a good moment to suggest a joint show.


DD: As well as editorial pieces for the likes of Vogue, you've both done some wonderful designs for iconic retailers; Daisy for Topshop and Browns, and Natasha you've worked with Selfridges and Browns as well. Are there any new ventures in the pipeline?
NL: I’ve got another show coming up at the end of June at Paul Smith gallery in Tokyo and something in New York in the autumn. I think I’m getting involved with the Art Car Boot Fair as well.I really loved doing the window and walls of Matches recently and that’s given me a chance to see that sometimes those things can work out well, so I’m looking into further projects like that.

DdeV: I'm looking into making my own products; fridge magnets, key chains, little trinket type things which I love. I will sell them on my website.


DD: You're both increasingly active in the fashion world; Natasha you launched your label Loulou and Law and recently created printed scarves for your show at Matches, and Daisy you've produced work for London Fashion Week and curated the Absolut vodka vintage fashion boutique last year. Who has influenced your personal style? Any designers you still dream of working with?
NL: I realised recently that I have been trying to do a female version of the guy in 'Kings of the road' for years; loon pants and plimsoles– but I haven’t the height or skinniness to do it justice. I do like a 30’s/40’s meets 1970’s kind of affair. With a big dose of 1970s Europe thrown in.. my best friend's mother was German and very cool, consequently she was the only child at our primary school (middle of the Ferrier Estate, Kidbrooke) in head to toe Biba and Oshkosh b'Gosh dungarees – Christiana X and the kids of the Berlin Zoo! I still have a weakness for scoop necked, skinny long sleeved t-shirts and rainbow stripes.
I feel like I’m still gradually inching my way closer to being happy with how I’m transferring work onto other objects.. I'd kind of like it to go on 3D shapes at moment..

DdeV: I like lots of the designers from the '70's such as Ossie Clark, Halston, Zandra Rhodes, YSL & Bill Gibb. I also love the Rolling Stones/Marianne Faithfull era; I used to love going to Portobello Market when I lived there and looking at all the old clothes. Now I wear more contemporary clothing, lots of French labels: APC, Isabel Marant, Les Prairies de Paris & Vanessa Bruno. The New York designer, Zac Posen is a good friend of mine & we've always talked about collaborating together, it's just finding the time to do something. Ultimately, I'd really love to design a luggage range!


DD:You both have to deal with constant references to famous family members; do you think the constant 'sister of Jude' and 'daughter of Jan' comments have made it easier or harder to make a name for yourself in the fickle world of art and fashion?
NL:Those three little words are going to end up on my grave I think – I have tried to learn to love them. What can I say though – it’s true, it’s got it’s good and bad sides – it’s a strange swap where I guess you get a bit of extra press in return for a box you’ll never quite escape from.

DdeV:No one knows who my mum is, so it just makes me laugh. I drag my mum to events with me sometimes and we find it funny when they write that.

"No Love Lost" by Natasha Law and Daisy de Villeneuve will take place at Eleven 11 Eccleston Street , London SW1W 9LX from 1st April to 2nd May 2009.