ICENI INTERVIEWS
www.icenimagazine.co.uk
Issue 30 2015
Iceni Interviews Ashley Pearce Award winning designer Interview by Jessie Quick Mystic Magic certainly is mysterious and magical, how would you explain your creations? My creations are a work of pure
imagination infused with art and fashion that like to test the boundaries between both dimensions allowing others to also indulge in my bizarre fantasies. I like to put a tiny piece of my spiritual self within each design giving them a crazy life of their own which in some ways brings comfort knowing I’ll always be with them wherever they travel to. When I take the time to gaze upon my designs it’s like they deeply stare back at me reflecting a coded fragment of my life, almost like a secret time capsule that only I can read.
Your Mask and Head Wear Couture is eccentric, diverse and individual, what/who inspires your creations? I draw my inspiration from the earth and the abyss of the night skies as flickering lights of twinkling stars whisper softly into my dreams like muses. When I look upon the world and it’s day to day life I am inspired by all its beauty whether it be the textured colors of nature, architectural shapes or even just to simple things like a shop window display or a pile of junk, some people may see it as nothing more than what it is but I like to look beyond the obvious and see the potential.
You mention on your website you suffered from bullying in high school. Is this something, which may have encouraged you to create masks? In some ways yes, I’ve always had a strange fascination with masks of all sorts Twitter: @icenimagazine
Photography and Model: Jaz Instone-Brewer Curandera Headpiece Created By Mystic Magic
and from a very young age I’d gained accustomed to masking life with a simple smile to hold back the hidden emotions of what was really going on behind closed doors. When I was bullied at school the masks of my emotions grew so thick that even I when looking in the mirror could no longer see my true self. By being bullied everything that was me had been painfully skinned from my body and I couldn’t even begin to see a way of life after high school nor getting a normal job so I made a plan to sacrifice all that I had left to start the healing process and becoming a mask maker, slowly peeling back each face I had created for myself and sealing it into a physical mask of beauty. I wanted to turn what had been a torturous situation into something positive and prove I was not a lost cause.
In reference to your email to us, you stated you welcome the challenge to create exclusive 'out of the box' designs for discerning clients. What separates your work from the evergrowing fashion industry? I truly believe
everyone has their own individual unique hand printed style that’s injected into their work no matter what it may be. What makes my design work different from most others is that I am fully self-taught. I have never been trained up by anyone or shown PAGE
Facebook: www.facebook.com/icenimagazine
Instagram: icenimagazine
41