NAPKIN
In 2007, Associate worked with curator Jacki Lang on the communication of her solo exhibition project called Napkin.
A group of more than 30 selected artists, designers, illustrators and typographers working in the UK were sent generic white paper napkins to doodle, draw or explore on, and Napkin was an exhibition that showcased these new artworks that were created especially for the show. Napkin was a selling exhibition and a venture that enabled the public to own these innovative and collectable new pieces from established, admired and emerging names at accessible prices.
Many artists and designers have previously explored the unstructured nature of doodling on napkins, and we are certain that everybody has a napkin story of their own – the time they came up with a logo at the dinner table, or communicated ideas and sketched plans during a meal. Alan Fletcher, and his private collection of napkins from friends all over the world, has been a significant inspiration for this exhibition concept, and Napkin is intrigued to discover what today’s influential artists and designers will produce, and how these new pieces of work may represent our contemporary visual culture.
Napkin is an exhibition that gave a nod to the spontaneous - celebrating the immediacy of scribbling down ideas on any available surface when inspiration strikes – and honouring the importance of drawing and exploring with ink on paper as a vital part of creative practice.
