When did you first approach the art world? When did you realise that art could be your playground? And, in particular, when did you decide that you could work as a duo?
We both were artistic as children. Adrian always wanted to be an artist and Shane always wanted to be an architect from a really early age. Working together wasn’t planned. It was the result of a very drunken night, a bottle of Absolut vodka and a sketch pad in a student flat in Glasgow in 1998. Within a year of that we had our first exhibition. We’ve been exhibiting fairly regularly since then. Everything we do seems to happen organically.
How could you define your works?
A documentary. A record of our relationship. A snapshot of a moment in time. A portrait of a memory. With pop art influences.
Which have been the most important moments in your career so far?
Madonna tweeting at us. Selling our art internationally is great. We have collectors buying our artwork from all over the world.
Adrian+Shane are seeing polka dots.
Who has inspired you in the past? Which are your visual references? Where do in general creative inputs come from?
Inspiration comes from everywhere. Film, music, fashion. We love the whole creative process. Of taking an idea and following it through. Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Alexander McQueen, My Own Private Idaho, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, The Wizard Of Oz, David Hockney, the Catholic Church, Jean Paul Gaultier, The B-52’s.
You work a lot/promote yourself with new media. Which is your relationship with social networks?
Social media has played a big part in our success over the last few years. It’s how a lot of people have gotten to know our name. The internet is a great way of getting your work out there to a big audience in an instant. You’ll find us on most of the social networks, username is usually: adrianandshane.
What are you working on at this moment?
So far this year we’ve exhibited work in New York, Berlin, North Carolina and Dublin. The Amy Winehouse Foundation have invited us to take part in an exhibition taking place in London in September. So we are currently working on a sculpture and 2 paintings for that. We’re also busy with a few other projects. We’ve just moved into a new studio in Ireland (where we’re based). Busy, busy, busy.
Since this blog is a lot related to fashion. Which is your relationship with it? Who and what do you like?
Fashion and fashion designers have always been inspiring for us. We have our own range of Adrian+Shane T-Shirts which are available to buy online: http://adrianandshane.
A few weeks ago we saw the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at the Barbican (London). He is a genius. It was wonderful to be surrounded by his work and to see it up close. He uses a lot of religious imagery in his work and so do we. We love everything he does.
We were also really inspired by the Isabella Blow exhibition we saw in Somerset House (London) earlier this year.
What’s in your wardrobe? How can we define your personal style?
Our wardrobe consists of a mishmash of high street brands, secondhand/vintage and designer clothes. The occasional bow tie. Not sure how to describe our style because it changes depending on the occasion. Every day for working in the studio we usually wear old jeans, trainers and T-shirts. It can get messy.
Plans and dreams for the future?
An Adrian+Shane book. A solo show in London, New York and Tokyo. Be braver and bolder. And hopefully inspire others to be braver and bolder too.
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Meravigliosi. Li seguo anche io da un po’ e me ne sono innamorato!
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