INTERVIEW WITH DIANE BRESSON
‘Tangram Slice I’ by Diane Bresson
Diane Bresson is a London based textile designer specialising in Print. Her art explores how the relationship between craft and technology can create playful and dynamic patterns. Read on to learn more about her practice!
Tell us about your background in textiles
I loved studying textile design. We were really encouraged to experiment and were focusing on the process rather than the final product. Even though I specialised in print, studying knit and weave was also very beneficial, especially to learn about different materials and fibres.
How are your designs made?
I get my inspiration from various fields but I am mainly intrigued by how elemental shapes can be built into more complex compositions. For my series of limited edition prints I took inspiration from the Tangram puzzle which was studied in more depth by Martin Gardner. During 25 years he wrote a column called ‘Mathematical Games’ in the Scientific American that explored the construction of puzzles, patterns and optical illusions: an infinite source of inspiration for me!
How important is colour to your work?
Colour is essential to my work. I first started printing with a few colours and then played around by mixing printed artworks with digital and projection. I recorded new combinations of colours and gradients with photos and videos that I then translated back into screen printing, in order to build shapes and colours together.
What is your working technique?
For my series of prints I first started exploring combinations of shapes in smaller scale but quickly moved on directly to screen printing. I combined lines and dots with solid colours to make them interact with each other. I prefer printing without a precise plan and improvise along the way with stencils and patterns. Many things that I thought were mistakes ended up creating interesting visual effects. The outcome was two ten meters long rolls that were then scanned and divided into separate prints.
Can you elaborate on the digital aspect to your working process?
After the rolls were scanned I touched up a few things on Photoshop. Most of the little defaults that are barely noticeable on a 10 meters roll appear very obvious on a high resolution crop of it. However I made sure not completely erase every imperfection and keep a crafty feel.
Where do you see your work belonging?
I think it is quite versatile and so far it has been for all of the three mentioned above. Exhibition are always a great way to put together a body of work as well as showcasing new and/or bigger pieces. It is as well very gratifying to know people have my prints hung up in their home! I also had to opportunity to have one of my wallpaper panel featured in Elle Decoration Netherlands in which it was beautifully put together with other designers’ pieces for a photoshoot. It was an amazing opportunity to see how my work can interact with its environment, and the result was stunning.
What is the intent behind your distinctive style?
I’ve always liked Op Art and deceptive visuals that makes you look twice at something and makes you wonder how it is constructed, like M.C. Escher’s and Vasarely’s work for instance. The scale is also important, I want people to be able to immerse in the colours, especially in my bigger wallpaper pieces.
What giclee paper do you think works best with your prints?
For my series of limited editions giclee prints I settled on the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag. I wanted something slightly textured to contrast with the sharp geometric shapes.
Tell us about your life outside of your designing
I have been working part-time in a wallpaper studio since university and it really pushed me to work on a bigger scale. It also allowed me to attend several trade shows and discover many amazing designers and products.
What interests and hobbies which influence or inspire you?
My main interests and hobbies revolve around art, design and print to be honest but when I am not working on some geometric patterns I like painting more traditional portraits as well, mostly friends and family. I like graphic novels and comics as well, recently I was stunned visually by Michael DeForge’s Dressing.
Do you have any upcoming shows or publications?
I took part in the Cluster Craft group show recently which is now unfortunately over. It gave me the opportunity to work on projections of animated patterns in addition to my prints and wallpaper panels, and it is for sure something I want to continue to develop.
I am also published in the newest issue of Fused Magazine in their column about recent graduates.