Designing for the Royal Academy's Joseph Cornell Exhibition

September 09, 2015
2 min read

Tovi Sorga's printed leather tote bag inspired by Joseph Cornell for the Royal Academy's exhibition

Art and Fashion are old friends.

Art thinks it is a bit more serious, more meaningful than Fashion. But when Fashion holds up a mirror and tells Art how beautiful it is, and makes it self-conscious, aware that it is now, Art smiles and tweets about itself with a little more panache.

And Fashion needs Art just as much. It needs pure, brave colour experiments and audacious politics. It needs the strange things that can only be created in quiet, meditative spaces, or the chaos of an energised community.

Fashion needs things that are born useless, out of sheer rebellion, because they just needto be.

Tovi Sorga inspired by Joseph Cornell's Shooting Gallery for the Royal Academy exhibition Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) understood better than most the art of enabling things to be. His miniature box worlds repositioned everyday objects so that they could speak for themselves and of their relationship to one another. In celebrating the ordinary he created extraordinary new happenings.

When asked by The Royal Academy and Etsy to create a new piece for the RA’s latest Cornell exhibition, Tovi Sorga wanted to preserve this relationship of the miraculous to the mundane. ‘I wanted the piece to be a day-to-day item, something that would hopefully be used and enjoyed as part of our daily lives. A tote is a practical size and quite a straightforward accessory.'

'My design takes the viewer on a journey, a brief glimpse into the travels of man in mind and body.’

Moths Tote Bag Tovi Sorga's printed leather handbag inspired by Joseph Cornell for the Royal Academy's exhibition

Tovi explains how his dark, atmospheric new tote, ‘Wanderlust’ (named after the exhibition) uses the metaphor of moths endlessly pursuing light to ‘touch on our fixation with exploration, as well as the danger of the voyage.'

'It’s our innate sense of wonder and curiosity that keeps us pursuing the unknown.’

The beautiful night-time-navy-blue tote is hand made from fine cow hide and kid suede, with a highlight of black ostrich leather for tactility and a touch of the exotic.

For further information about the products inspired by Cornell – including scarves by Florence Boyd, Holly Picthall and Livia Henne, ceramics by Emma Finch and Yvonne Ellen and a beautiful astrological dress by Zuzane Lalikova – click here.

The exhibition runs until 27^th September 2015 at the Royal Academy, London. Don’t miss it but be warned: when you get home you may feel an irresistible urge to rearrange your belongings.

‘Somewhere in the city of New York there are four or five still-unknown objects that belong together. Once together they'll make a work of art. That's Cornell's premise, his metaphysics, and his religion...’ Charles Simic.

Tovi Sorga designs for the Royal Academy

Art and Fashion are old friends.

Fashion needs things that are born useless, out of sheer rebellion, because they just needto be.

'My design takes the viewer on a journey, a brief glimpse into the travels of man in mind and body.’

'It’s our innate sense of wonder and curiosity that keeps us pursuing the unknown.’

‘Somewhere in the city of New York there are four or five still-unknown objects that belong together. Once together they'll make a work of art. That's Cornell's premise, his metaphysics, and his religion...’ Charles Simic.

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