Ace&Tate
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Berlin shop mural

Client : Ace&Tate
Date : 2017

I think it started with Gemma from Ace&Tate buying a print because ... she liked it. That's how they got to know my work and commissioned me for the wall few months later. I was quite happy when they asked because I never did anything like that.

Category was "old school museum with a twist". She had the idea through another of my series called "classics" which feature drawings on classic Greek vases. Like every poster I make, I started to define space and squeeze a character in it. It comes from my "everyday commercial illustrative" job when clients asked me to put a max of stuff in a tiny space. So the space is divided in 3 because of the shop design itself. The character can be seen from outside but the rest no. I wanted something bold and easy to get from afar. A face, an arm, a tshirt. They asked me to create a neon (as in every shop) and because I'm not afraid to stay "on brand" I made glasses. It's pretty basic but it compliments and the character and the shop so why not. The rest is a column supporting a vase plus a hand holding a vase. Again, it's pretty simple. I made a parallel between this wall and the clothes I wear. I'm here to compliment the shop and so does my clothes (to me). I never wear only loud items. I'm not a Christmas tree. I like to have an interesting piece next to well cut simple stuff. I don't want my work to be louder than the shop but go with it. At the end, I think the ensemble works pretty well.