1948 Q&A: Alex Turvey
posted by Phoebe on 21st Jun 2011What’s my favourite word? Omphaloskepsis – contemplation of one’s navel.
Where’s home?
Live and work in London, born and raised in Cornwall.
What kind of work do you do?
According to my bio:
Recently hailed as one of “Fashion’s New Generation” by VOGUE, as well as one of the fifteen “Creatives Who Will Define The Future of British Arts” by the INDEPENDENT, Alex Turvey is a director and designer based in London.
His dark, surreal and highly stylised aesthetic has been applied to music promos, fashion films, commercials and installations and has led to Alex being named as one of London’s key Creative Craftsmen by LEVI’S, a Young Creative Entrepreneur by DAZED&CONFUSED Magazine and as a Leading Young Director by BOARDS and SHOTS Magazines. He has also sat as a jury member for the D&AD Awards.
Where’s your favourite place in London?
Wilton Way Cafe. I can’t start day without it – damn fine coffee.
If you didn’t live here, where would you like to live?
Big Sur, California.
Who’s your favourite sporting personality of all time?
Shaun White – because of his relentless ambition and magnificent hair.
Who or what inspires you?
Growing up by the sea, Cornish folklore had a huge effect on my creative thinking as a child and it’s still with me today. The theatrical, macabre, ritualistic and often sexual performances that I witnessed being paraded through the streets of local villages have definitely left their mark on my work. One particular favourite is the Obby Oss festival. Each May, a horse-like chap, the ‘Oss’, dons a gruesome mask and a huge black cape under which he tries to catch young maidens as they pass through town. Powerful stuff when you’re a young boy in a small town with a lucid imagination.
Other than this, I like Georges Franju, Twin Peaks and Alejandro Jodorowsky.
What’s your favourite word?
Omphaloskepsis – contemplation of one’s navel.
Your house is burning down. Which three non-living objects do you save?
I’m the proud owner of 1 of 9 original RR diner menus used in both seasons of Twin Peaks, so that’s a must. Other than that I would have to save this incredible cat painting I acquired from a market in LA, it’s like the Mona Lisa of cat portraits.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Very simply not to plague myself with the worry of what other people think of my work. When I first started out this has totally crippled my creativity at times, especially when I first started getting press. As soon as I really learnt to trust my instinct, good things started to happen.
Photograph: Dean Chalkley
1948London
