Alison Sye

Eco-friendly art from junk mail and conked-out stuff. Folksy shop. Oh, and I make greetings cards from cereal boxes. Nothing wearable or readable is harmed in the process. No Sir. London.

[alisonsye]

Sylvia Plath: Inside The Bell Jar. On the iplayer. Utterly heartbreaking. Photo: Bettman/Getty #sylviaplath #thebelljar #mentalhealth

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Morning... #london

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Body Fluids Dripping Onto Work Survey. Blood: weekly Sweat: never, until today Tears: annually #sweatyhands #sewingwithsweatyhands #coldhandsusually #bloodsweatandtears #bloodandchocolate

[alisonsye]

Opt-out organ donation. Cape Town’s Slave Quarter gets gentrified. Technology addiction. Venezuela leader in drone attack. Ireland in Hockey World Cup final. No Fault divorces. Britney wears sequinned leotard and thigh-high stockings. Grandad grows giant cucumber. What will become of France’s IS children? No Deal most likely outcome. Empty gay football bus. Barry Chuckle does. Labour risks eternal shame. How do breasts have so much power? #tometoyoutometoyou #bbcnews #ripbarrychuckle https://www.instagram.com/p/BmF9aF8B58t/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=yqbverwjw0s8

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Hand-stitched collage. 13 x 18cms. Made from a page from #picassoeditionsaimerysomogy1949 and the leftovers from #alisonsye878 and #alisonsye879 #fridakahlo #nickolasmuray #zadiesmith #murdomacleod #alisonsye880 #makingherselfuplondon #artlife #recycledartwork https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl9t8D5BnZa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13m58ooy8ru3t

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And a hat (not the best fit) left over from Zadie Smith and #alisonsye879 #zadiesmith #murdomacleod #fridakahlo #nickolasmuray #makingherselfup #alisonsye880 #makingherselfup https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl7SPoTBuCo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wyv7dznabtb1

[alisonsye]

Morning. What’s left of Frida, from #alisonsye878 #fridakahlo #nickolasmuray #makingherselfup #alisonsye880 #artgram #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #londonartist #collage #makingherselfup

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Just got back from Copenhagen (hence the social media absence). What a bloody great place. A land where legs are valued above cars. Excellent public transport system (if you’ve never been, that yellow boat was a harbour bus - like a regular bus, but better) clean, efficient and relatively cheap. We didn’t have a holiday last year, and as it’s probably our last family holiday (our son is 18 next week), Mr S suggested a few days in Denmark. I was sceptical, as I’d had my heart set on Lisbon. Turns out it’s my new favourite place. Although to be fair, I haven’t been to many places. And I always say that when I go somewhere. Will try to catch up with you now #lovecopenhagen #lovethedanes #whatagreatplace #copenhagen #worldhappinessreport

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Morning from Brixton #imonatrainagain #brixton #southlondon

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Piccadilly Circus - Haymarket - Charles II Street. 2 minutes ago. #94bus #londonbuses #piccadillycircus #haymarketlondon #charlesiistreet

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Morning. Hand-stitched collage using #picassoeditionsaimerysomogy1949 and my nana’s thread. 13 x 18cms. La Hollandaise (or La Belle Hollandaise), by Picasso, 1905. The woman’s name is unrecorded (don’t get me started). The pussy-grabbing hand belongs to Donald Trump. Cut from the London Evening Standard, 19.12.17. Photographer uncredited. The hat was cut from a photograph of Zadie Smith by Murdo Macleod. The bra was cut from #TimeOutLondon and made by #thisisnotalovesong Photographer uncredited. The bubble gum was also cut from Time Out, photo by @hollyandres for #tuneyards The Earrings were taken from a photo of #fridakahlo by #nickolasmuray . The same photo I used for #alisonsye878 #labellehollandaise #zadiesmith #pussygrabbing #donaldtrump #alisonsye879 #makingherselfupexhibition #makingherselfup #murdomacleod #hollyandres

[alisonsye]

Morning. This year I have had lots of people suggesting that I would make more money if I did limited edition prints of my work, which made me think I have not explained my process for a while. I do not print things. Partly because I don’t want to add anything new to the world (I use what has already been printed by someone else) and partly because of copyright infringement. My work is an amalgamation of other people’s images. I respect that. Each piece is a one-off. Donald’s pussy-grabbing hand (above, photographer uncredited) would have been much more visually pleasing if I had enlarged it slightly. However, it would have given me no pleasure, and that is why I make art, because it gives me pleasure. I like the feeling of the needle going through the newspaper, I like the way it smells. I like that somebody else took the newspaper onto a train and unknowingly left it for me. I like that this Picasso drawing is from a 1947 book (and has been through many hands) and not a photocopied version of it (I would have no reservations about sewing into an actual Picasso, by the way). I love everything about the making of my work, the end results are important, but not massively. I am not criticising anyone else’s methods, just explaining mine. There are many printers here, whose work and ethics I greatly admire. Nor am I criticising the people who suggested printing my work. For most people it would be a sensible solution, and I always appreciate those who take time to comment, even when I don’t agree. We must all find our own path. #picassoeditionsaimerysomogy1949 #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #artsanity #artistlife #picasso #labellehollandaise #donaldtrumppussygrab #alisonsye879

[alisonsye]

Finally got all my notes together on this one. Hand-stitched collage made from old papers and my nana’s thread. 13 x 18cms. Tête de Femme, Pablo Picasso, 1946. Taken from #picassoeditionsaimerysomogy1949 The head in question belongs to Françoise Gilot. The lips and eyes belong to Frida Kahlo. Cut from #londoneveningstandard . Photo by #nickolasmuray #tetedefemme #françoisegilot #lifewithpicasso #picasso #fridakahlo #makingherselfup #picassoperiod #picassowasanasshole #themodernlovers #alisonsye878 #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #artistlife #artsanity

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Any scissors on the train, please? #todaysmetro #friday13th #13july2018 #holdinghands #hateredcarpets #trumpishere

[alisonsye]

That self-stabbing yesterday was weird, because I barely felt it. I wasn’t expecting any blood (I’ve had more yelp-worthy injections that have resulted in no blood whatsoever), which is why the most perfect drip landed right between the legs of one of my little people. Sometimes, I leave blood in my work. But this was so circular, and so impeccably placed that it looked contrived. I was listening to Armando Iannucci talking about The Death of Stalin a while back. He said they had to leave some bits out of the film because they were way too funny for anyone to believe. Even though they were true. This was a similar thing. That blood was flawlessly shaped, positioned and coloured. So I removed it. Squeezed a blob of 27yo travel-wash on, leaving just the faintest trace that only I and you know about. I like that. Meanwhile, if you want to follow someone in Moscow, you can’t go wrong with @kjspompey10_vinylly . Gave me great pleasure seeing his square omelette and cauliflower breakfast. Don’t know why. Have a good day. #itmightbecominghome #engcro #handstitching #armandoiannucci #deathofstalin

[alisonsye]

Pants. Always become complacent when stitching fabric. I imagine I can do it blindfolded. I can’t. Hope this isn’t a bad omen. You know you asked if I ever stab myself when stitching on the train @ca3hin ? #itmightbecominghome

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Current view from Waterloo Bridge. Nice. #WaterlooBridge #londonbuses