Hidden Hands Collective are a group of artists from different countries, backgrounds, and art disciplines. Working together, they create a wide range of products and homewares using traditional printmaking techniques and digital printing, inspired by folk and traditional art with a modern, contemporary twist.
“Working together as a collective, we are able to share insights and information about the different techniques we use. We also find that, as a group, we inspire and motivate each other, which keeps the work fresh and relevant, fuelling our passion and our love for what we do.”
The collective is composed of Jesse Singleton, Mabe, and Susanna Widmann. Their story started a few years ago when they met working as tattooists in a studio in London. They state; “We liked each other’s work style and we enjoyed spending time together, so before we even thought about creating the Hidden Hands Collective as an art hub and online shop, we were already doing Group Exhibitions and Art Fairs together in London.” As a group, their artworks are heavily influenced by their tattooing styles and tastes, and the techniques they use are also very much “hands on”, since that is how they like working. “Some people tell their stories in writing, some using their voice and others through movement. We do it with our hands and the personal connection that tattooing brings has always been particularly special to us” say the trio.
Hidden Hands Collective is still a very young business; born during the first UK lockdown in 2020 when the trio found themselves isolated at home in need of inspiration and motivation. Their aim is to become a platform and selling point for all sorts of artists; a place for them all to connect, collaborate and, ultimately, increase awareness of their work to a wider audience.
Jesse Singleton fell in love with body modification whist studying Anthropology and spent years working as a piercer before starting to tattoo. With no formal art background, his interest stems from the physicality of working with tools and allowing the creativity to flow into the pieces he creates. Tattooing was always an ideal medium, and recently he has started relief printing, a process which translates well for his style of art which is influenced by traditional tribal and Asiatic designs. Jesse also works with Risograph printing, creating bold, colourful, graphic prints which are an exciting departure from his usual style of work.
Mabe has an effervescent creative mind; always in motion and in constant experimentation and mutation between many practices from traditional printmaking, to modern digital illustrations, painting, sewing flags, and tattooing. Thus, his work is not easy to label or categorise due to the wide spectrum and diverse directions he embraces.
Susanna Widmann studied Arts and Illustration in Barcelona. Her work is mainly figurative and with a strong illustrative sense. Her love for old encyclopaedias and botanical books and plates are a big influence in her work. Susanna has two main lines of work: the first is her printmaking, mainly photopolymer, in which she works with minimal colour and lots of detail, exploring and combining different elements resulting in surreal dream-like images. The second is fresher, minimalistic, and with a greater emphasis in the design, line work, and colour. Although very different from one another, these two ways of expression balance each other out and give her more creative freedom.
The trio have already started contacting artists of different disciplines to invite them into the Collective to broaden and grow as a group. In January, they welcomed Valeria Nicolucci of Azonzo Ceramics. Her unique approach to the creation of beautiful ceramics by “pinching” rather than using the potter’s wheel gives her pieces a very special feel.
“One of our favourite things is the connection amongst like-minded people, between the different artists and makers, the collaboration work that can spark from a simple conversation” state the collective. Despite the challenges of current times, they have organised a few collaborative works that they found were “an absolute joy to make as well as a great business success”.
The Art Codex that Susanna made in collaboration Marta Soley involving photopolymer etching and bookbinding was all plotted and thought out via Zoom and produced between the UK and Spain. The project sold out within a few days, and there is now a waiting list, with a second edition planned for later this year.
Mabe has also produced a series of flags as collaborative commissions for tattoo studios in Switzerland and Italy, sewing their stories into the pieces, following in the spirit of the ancient art of quilt making. He has a few more ready that will be available to purchase through their website shortly.
www.hiddenhandscollective.com
@hiddenhands.collective
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