CHARACTER WHICH MIGHT BE SOLD AT A FLEA MARKET EVEN THOUGH IT SHOULD BE IN EVERY ART GALLERY.
The diva with 10 needles who goes by the name of Hally Hopper and is a spirit trapped in a collection of biological molecules Text by Manuela Ernst Image by Hally Hopper
Hally Hopper is an embroidery artist who works in her atelier until four in the morning to create stuff that she never sells. She thinks embroidery is stupid, but loves to hear people’s life stories as a reaction to her embroidered characters, which are composed of things such as a Gumba body and a Picasso head. Who is Hally Hopper??
A fiction, an apparition, a seeker of rare beauty, a lover whose inner spiritual periscope to the universe goes up every time she goes down on her hoops. She is a defender of the downtrodden, a woman highly suspicious that the seed of sociopathy is lurking around every corner, waiting to pounce when her guard is down.
What sort of fashionable fashion embroidery do you make? All of my embroideries are characters that can be used as wearable art to embroider the front, back, arm, leg, or butt of any piece of clothing. Comparisons can be made to tattoo art, actually. Of course designs can also be framed and put on walls.
What’s the coolest character you have ever created?
It is a female character who totally accepts herself and all her contradictions. She is ‘jolie laide’, as the French say. Pretty and ravaged, all at once. She is mournful about all she sees in life, but at the same time, resilient and hopeful. She believes in the female principle of the universe as the source of eternal creation and renewal. She is a middleweight contender stepping into the ring knowing she has a glass jaw. She feels like she is treading on the precipice of death with every step she takes. She is an artist. Yes, I confess. It is a self-portrait.
Are there stories behind the characters?
Absolutely, and there are probably connecting threads through all of their psychologies. The typical character in my embroidery sees herself as a shipwreck washed up on the shores of the dominant culture. A survivor of some kind of war and, to some degree or another, suffering as a result. She might be idealized. She might be missing pieces or be broken in some way. But she is also defiant and looking for a new day.
Would you consider embroidery as fashion?
Embroidery is one of the oldest known forms of clothing embellishment. It was used on clothing buried in tombs in ancient Egypt. Everybody has seen the legendary traditional peasant blouses from Eastern Europe. Indian and Chinese embroidery represents unique heights in the craft. Of course, there are so many other examples, too. The line is unbroken. There are plenty of brilliant new embroiderers out there today. Maharishi in London does killer designs for example. So, yes, I consider it fashion.
“I guess what I’m saying is that embroidery is a dirty job but somebody’s got to do it” Embroidery for you is....?
It is the albatross around my neck and it is my refuge.
Why do you say albatross? Do you mean it feels like a burden to you? Something you are chained to in a painful way?
Let’s put it this way. Embroidery requires that I toil in solitude. It takes weeks if not months of full time work to create a quality piece. Beyond dedication, it requires a full complement of other skills such as drawing, Photoshop, knowledge of esoteric materials unique to embroidery and tailoring. I use a lot of multimedia in my designs. Besides, knowing how to handle the beast that is the embroidery machine, a semi-industrial monster, is a real skill. Let me tell you something about an embroidery machine. Some nights I cry myself to sleep because my 10-needle machine can feel like a bed of nails. One minute it can run as fast as a racehorse, the next it can break down like a two-year-old
child having a tantrum. A serious embroiderer must remain on top of her work at all times to bring a project to completion. I guess what I’m saying is that embroidery is a dirty job but somebody’s got to do it.
What do you want to offer with your embroidery art?
I want to offer enduring charm, something to please the eye... And if it turns out that Charles Saatchi does not ache to own my work, or the White Cube Gallery in London does not kick that old fart Tracey Emin off its walls to make room for my embroidery masterpieces, I will die happy dreaming that my work will wander from flea market to flea market and owner to owner, for years to come. Let it be sold for six pence per piece, I say, if that means it finds its way to someone who might enjoy it. If my work brings a smile to anyone at all, I will be happy. I want to offer pieces that make the heart sigh.
We needed all our TIGER instincts to find you. Why don’t you have a website?
I am already up to my ears in work. I don’t need more, I have a full schedule. Not only that, anyone who needs to find me will find me. It’s that simple. I do not have to troll the cyber-world to find friends of my work. Fortunately my communication is subtler than that, maybe like the protons I described. All I know is the right people seem to enter my life at the right moment. However, I don’t rule out a web site in the future. Anything is possible.
Why do you do this?
Fear, I suppose. If I had more courage I would play the concertina on the street corner with a tin cup at my feet.
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