SOPHIE MILNER
Sophie is coming to show some works and also original prints made for the artwork of the band Mumford and Sons, especially from the album "Love Your Ground".
More About Sophie:
Sophie Milner is a London based artist known for her collaborations with musicians such as Laura Marling, Rachel Sermanni, Mumford and Sons, Emily and the Woods and Pete Roe. An appreciation of folk music as an ever evolving genre led her to the heart of the British folk revival that has emerged in recent years. Working with a broad range of mediums and techniques, her work is now recognized for its intricate, hand crafted approach that interweaves a myriad of influences; including medieval alchemic drawings, nineteenth Century woodcuts, Victorian silhouette art, japanese ink work, botanical illustrations and indian folk art.
Past collaborations include special edition releases with the prestigious Vinyl Factory, pop up CD cases, picture-engraved vinyl, secret prints in gatefold sleeves and five-foot hand printed posters. In 2011 she held her first exhibit of music related artwork with the cult roots music nightWoodburner, at East London’s speak-easy venue The Old Boys Club. Later that year she was commissioned by Mumford and Sons to embellish an antique piano for an installation in London’s Hyde Park. In 2012 she was Artist in Residence at Camden’s Roundhouse for their biennial CircFest. She is currently undertaking a six-month artist residency at The Owl Barn in Gloucestershire, where she is developing a new body of personal artwork to be exhibited early next year.
‘One thing that interests me about the current British folk revival is how the aesthetics of the music can be interpreted as a response to the rapid advances in technology that our generation has grown up with. The musicians that I have come to know within this genre are often united in their nostalgia for simpler ways of living and being in this world. Their music expresses a longing to reconnect to the land and to each other in a way that technological advances seem to have threatened. In this way their romantic subject matter and poetic use of language can be interpreted as a reaction to a rapidly changing environmental and personal landscape. Furthermore their choice of instruments and recording techniques can be interpreted in relation to a massive upheaval in the musical landscape, now dominated by digital production and assimilation. There is a strong sense of community values amongst these artists, harking back towards roots movements and reverence for the oral tradition. Being romantic in your lifestyle and artistic pursuits is often met with distain in the contemporary artistic climate. However there has always been an important role in society for artists who aim to inspire through their selective and often utopian ideals and reflections. Such artists signify the human desire to dream beyond the everyday and into a kaleidoscope of histories, both artistic and social. Folk music and art has always reflected this tug of war between nostalgia and progression, to yearn for the lost through the creation of the new. For me, it is the most fascinating tension that lies at the heart of its production.’
