Welcome to Creative Closeup, an ongoing series where we spend time with inspiring women learning about their creative practices and the spaces they inhabit.
This month, we delved into the world of London-based artist Indrė Šerpytytė, who draws on the energy of her city along with her Lithuanian background to create art that speaks to the issues of humanity globally. Discover more about her work, her style, and her perspective as a working mother.
Q: What inspires you most for your work?
A: My practice is inspired by humanity and its experiences. The work that I create explores history, individual and collective memory, and loss. I work across photography, sculpture, performance, and mixed media. At the moment I am working on a project From.Between.To. It's a textile work in which I explore culturally charged symbols as an abstract language: a form of communication that traces a universal discourse. Just as linguistic forms of expression facilitate a communal purpose, so visual matter can be incorporated into a process of mutual understanding. The textile works not only address cultural context but also address a different history, that of international Modernism and in particular the development of abstraction and the concept of the Readymade. By weaving the sashes into complex grids on canvas stretchers the work recalls the tropes of geometric abstraction. By using them unaltered, as Readymades, it both celebrates and deconstructs their historic meaning.
Q: How would you describe your style and how does your work as an artist influence it?
A: I try to wear clothes and accessories that are timeless. I love things that have a combination of rich heritage and exquisite craftsmanship. Style for me has to be effortless. I spend most of my days between the studio and meetings so I need a wardrobe that is functional and beautiful at the same time.
Q: What is it about Merlette that appeals to you?
A: I love Merlette’s luxury in simplicity which is beautifully achieved whilst only using natural materials. The pieces are versatile and timeless. They are essentials that fit perfectly in my daily life.
Q: How have you styled your Merlette pieces?
A: True to me and my everyday.
Q: How would you describe your space?
A: Full of love and creativity.
Q: What’s the last exhibition or artwork you saw that really inspired you?
A: Louise Giovanelli's delicately luminous paintings at White Cube in Bermondsey.
Q: How does living in London play into your work and your style?
A: London has an incredible energy that is very creative. The city is without judgment which inspires me and allows me to be utterly myself in my work and style.
Q: As a female artist, what does it mean to you to support other female creatives?
A: It’s the only way to make us stronger. I am extremely lucky to have a strong group of women around me and I know that at every step in my life they have my back. It’s empowering!
Q: How does being a mother inform your work and/or your style choices?
A: Time has become truly of the essence. Decisions get made much quicker. There is no time for procrastination. Becoming a mother has been freeing and I definitely see that in my work as well as style choices.
Photographed by Bogdana Ferguson
