INSA’s world is one where art, product, graffiti, fetishism, and desire collide.
INSA is a fine artist and designer who has established himself from a graffiti background through extensive street level work and gallery shows around the world. Throughout his career, INSA has allowed himself to explore different approaches and outlets for his artistic agenda, including designing signature collections for brands such as Kangol, Kid Robot and Oki-Ni, as well as starting his own heel company ‘INSA HEELS’ (link to heels site). He has undertaken many private commissions for clients such as Sony and Nike and was recently invited out to Sweden as one of only two British artists to help curate and sculpt the 2008/2009 ICE hotel.
INSA’s canvases and installations are often hyper real, finely crafted creations in which sexual desire and commodity-fetishism merge and contrast. Always with a heavy sense of irony, INSA visually exaggerates the notion of objectification meets commodification with graphically depicted oversized body parts that are suspended in the controlled architectural lines of a sneaker or bold black and white graphic patterns. INSA uses these powerful patterns to play with and distort the spaces where his work is installed to entice the viewer into the ‘fantasy’; a shallow fantasy of materialistic aspiration where sexual objectification is flaunted as a symbol of wealth and success.
Born and raised in Toulouse France, Fafi's strong presence in the graffiti and fine arts scene was first witnessed on her hometown walls in 1994. Back then, as she was painting and hustling, her sexy, funny, and sometimes aggressive girl characters made the whole world look and help kick-start a whole new graphic language; by exploring feminity through stereotypes, and using it to her advantage, she drew enormous attention and thus started to travel the world with thousands of Fafinettes in her brushes and paint cans. Europe, USA, Japan, Hong-Kong, the planet is a playground. And it's only started.
Soon enough Sony would ask her to design a six-character toy set for the Time Capsules collection, an almost natural move for her three-dimensional measures. Other successful figurines would follow, as well as numerous expositions and collaborations with Colette, Adidas, LeSportSac, Coca-Cola, M.A.C cosmetics and countless press stories in the most prestigious magazines (ie. Vogue, Elle, The Face, XLR8R, Yen etc...).
The animation world started to eyeblink her vision in Mark Ronson video featuring a Fafi-ed Lily Allen.
Her multi-faceted work was all documented in her books GIRLS ROCK (2003) and LOVE AND FAFINESS (2006), both being also successful prints in museum libraries and selected shops.
As for 2007, Fafi entered a new phase. Having become a mother and moving to Paris made her introduce a new depth to her creations. Now not only the Fafinettes are fly girls, they also run a whole universe of creatures, homes and vehicles. It's called The Carmine Vault. It's a dreamy and peculiar place.
Her multi-faceted work was all documented in her books GIRLS ROCK (2003) and LOVE AND FAFINESS (2006), both being also successful prints in museum libraries and selected shops.
As for 2007, Fafi entered a new phase. Having become a mother and moving to Paris made her introduce a new depth to her creations. Now not only the Fafinettes are fly girls, they also run a whole universe of creatures, homes and vehicles. It's called The Carmine Vault. It's a dreamy and peculiar place.
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