Portfolio

McLaren

by Rita Ackermann and Bernadette Van-Huy
8 Dec 2021
8 Dec 2021

This past winter of 2021, artists Rita Ackermann and Bernadette Van-Huy decided to go off-program and make some clothing. Neither have any experience designing—though in the ’90s, Ackermann ironed her drawings onto t-shirts and underwear, and Van-Huy was the stylist for the artist group Bernadette Corporation during its stint as a clothing brand.

The two liken their action to coming upon an instrument that doesn’t belong to them (in this instance clothing-making), taking it up and improvising for a while. The important thing was that the activity be a flight, a temporary movement with unfamiliar means, conducted without reason or forethought. In a crowded real-estate field, with so much labeling and defining to effect the certainty and place of a cultural product, they wanted one without an edifice.

According to an introductory note from Ackermann and Van-Huy, the improvisation began in this way: ‘While watching old interviews with Malcolm McLaren, the inspiration set in to do a one-off clothing project; there’s also a race car brand called McLaren that has a bird in its logo. From there, we just followed the movement.’

They have shared a record of their experiment with ‘Ursula’ magazine, told through drawings by Ackermann and photographs by Van-Huy. By the way, the two are old friends who have a long history together and with each other’s work (for example Bernadette Corporation’s first fashion-show invitation featured a drawing by Ackermann); they were even roommates back in the day, sharing a futon, a full-length mirror and a small TV set in an otherwise unfurnished living room of a crowded one-bedroom apartment on Ludlow Street.

Bernadette Van-Huy is an artist based in New York who works across media, including writing and photography. She is a co-founder of the artist group Bernadette Corporation.

Rita Ackermann is a painter. Born in Hungary, she lives and works in New York.

Models: Meetka Otto, Rachel Rosin, Marika Thunder
Clothing: McLaren; one blouse made from a Seth Shapiro/American Manufacturing pattern
Makeup: Marika Thunder
Hair: Angelica Devou of Salon Shizen
Thank you: Daniel Turner

Be the first to know updates about Hauser & Wirth
Thank you for subscribing.
*By submitting your email address, you consent to receive our Newsletter. Your consent is revocable at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our Newsletter. The Newsletter is sent in accordance with our Privacy Policy and to advertise products and services of Hauser & Wirth Ltd. and its affiliated companies.
×
×
×
×