Interview
Saffron Knight
Saffron Knight was born in London, England.
She has a degree in Surface Textile Design, where she explored painting, textiles, conceptual art and digital design.
As a creative person, Saffron has worked with many mediums and disciplines to fine tune her own practice. From fashion design, exhibiting at London and Paris Fashion Weeks, to graffiti art and painting large murals for clients in the UK. Her printed textiles are used by clients in finished clothes, wall hangings and interior designs.
Her current collection pays homage to the natural world, particularly plants. Questioning our humanity within the wider natural context.
Saffron’s works are created from drawn, collage and painted illustrations taken from life. They are further manipulated in digital formats to enable a novel discovered art, manifesting new realities.
Saffron is currently working on an interactive animation piece of her artwork for an installation and VR, to entirely submerge the viewer into an experience.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“My early creative experience with the family theater production company included art directing, set design and costumes. This gave me a professional foundation to all my work, and led on to Art Directing & Production Design in TV & Film for Sky Arts, National Geographic and Discovery Channel.”
“My artworks are poems on canvas. From visual objects, I create stories.”
What inspires you most?
“I draw inspiration from the natural world - working with plants and their forms, because of their perfected life cycle and vital aesthetic, nutritional and medicinal functions. Mythology and other cultures play a role in positively challenging my current belief structure and provide rich narratives to consider. My own inner landscape, initially explored through meditation, and now developing that further into receptivity and what that means as it translates to canvas.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My themes take natural forms such as plants and bodies, reshaping them with my technique into something hyper contemporary. I produce ethereal feelings within in my work. My work becomes a discovered art, as new forms are constantly revealed to the viewer. The underlying message is one of transformation; that nothing is ever static. It’s always changing, evolving and becoming more, as so are we.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is an inquiry into organic forms, understanding them from all angles. How they can exist with us in a different landscape, and how that then reshapes our understanding of their role. This takes the viewer into an experience with intriguing twists, turns and layers of shape, texture and color. My intention is to create something otherworldly or futuristic to re-engage us with these everyday forms that are all around us.
In a previous series my work takes on more graphic and collaged illustrations, retelling stories of mythology in a contemporary setting. It uses bold color palettes, repeating shapes, rich storytelling and dramatic perspectives.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Salvador Dali influences my work. One of his many processes that I appreciate is manipulating and placing objects in unfamiliar surreal environments. Medieval embroidery work weaves stories of its time, slowing us to understand their values and purpose. Rumi’s poetry, his relationship with himself, his lovers and intense passionate feelings for life is also another great source of influence.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process of inspiration starts with contemplation, research into the topic, painting and drawing, and sometimes still life. The artwork is then taken into the digital process for further manipulation and arrangement, allowing the process of receptivity to guide me. I find this a productive method for following trails of inspired thought as it traces and translates the unconscious.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist's role in society varies, but some of the most important qualities are to examine life through our own perspective, and not just the surface of life and ourselves. We need to be courageous within our experiences, and be willing to explore other views that will enhance our understanding. We should provide a living record of our present moments through art for future generations to feel, enjoy and learn from.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I follow Unit London art gallery. They curated a great show in December 2021, ‘Transformation’, where they exhibited artists from different unconventional backgrounds, bringing the advent of creative new technologies. The group work reflected our cultural shifts during the global pandemic. They explored rebirth, an interpretation of the Last Supper, utilizing code as creative material, conceptual pieces, and invited us to think about ceremony.
The process for purchasing these pieces is through Institut.co, where collectors can bid using either Fiat or cryptocurrency.”
Website: www.saffronknight.co.uk
Instagram: @saffronknight
