In Conversation With: Victoria Sin

If you regularly go out on the East End gay scene, you’re likely to have seen young designer/illustrator Victoria Sin’s work on the walls. We caught up with her to talk about her art, her inspiration, penises and her ‘Piss on Putin’ T-shirts…

 

By Patrick Cash (Twitter.com/@paddycash)

Tell us a little about Victoria Sin. 

I’m a Canadian born artist, illustrator, and designer with an intense love of drag queens and glitter and a talent for drawing portraits and phalluses.

 

How did you get into drawing/designing? 

I didn’t plan for it. I moved to London after high school from Toronto and worked in restaurants for two years (drawing mostly to keep myself sane).  I took a screen-printing course and started to print my drawings on to T Shirts. Now I’ve worked for Sony and do regular work for Vice, and sell my screen-printed garments under my label Victory Brand. Not to say any of that was easy, I worked my ass off.

 

We hear you do a lot of Vogue Fabrics artwork – the penises in the toilets and the revolving window installations – how did that come about? 

One of my friends who ran a girl’s night at VF had me to do one of their flyers. I drew two wolf ladies in S&M wearing big strap-ons and had all these huge dog portraits up on the night. Next time I went in Lyall Hakaraia pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted to make some artwork with him and Vogue Fabrics, I said yes of course. Currently my huge glitter cocks adorn the toilets and fabulous trannies with their cocks out descend the stairwell with you as you enter the club, you’ll also find 5 ft paintings of Amanda Lepore and John Waters in the window outside. We’ve also collaborated on events including Lovebox and Icy Gays at the ICA.

 

 

What inspired you to set up the Victory Brand label? 

Victory Brand started as a platform for my work. It still is that, really. It’s a sustainable way for me to make a living drawing what I love to draw. It’s usually got some kind of feminist/punk undertones, but has been known to include cute dogs. I print everything myself on organic and fair-trade garments.

 

We love the Piss on Putin’ T-shirts! What gave you the idea for them? 

The Piss on Putin T-Shirts came out of a collaboration with a friend who recently started a social action fund called The Love Bank. The idea is that £10 from every T goes to LGBT initiatives. Previously that money has gone to the You Are Loved Trans Suicide Prevention Project, next we’re supporting MORF Binder Exchange Scheme which redistributes free binders to trans men around the world. The Ts have had pretty good reception so far, though some people have pooh poohed them for not being serious enough. Our position is that serious issues sometimes require creative ways to get people’s attention and enthusiasm. This way we’re raising awareness and giving to good causes.

 

 

Which artists and designers inspire you yourself? 

John Waters changed my life, and Vivienne Westwood is the queen of the punk/feminist T Shirt. I live for Amanda Lepore and Thierry Mugler fashion shows from the 1990s on youtube.

 

Why do you think the East End gay scene is so inspiring and receptive still of creativity in art and fashion?

I think the East End gay scene is a lot newer and smaller than other gay scenes so people are even more connected. There are a lot of young artists who are hungry to be noticed and venues that are happy to showcase talent. Everyone is quite supportive of each other for the most part. It’s great to feel that you are in the middle of something.

Where can we usually find you out and about partying? 

Most weekends you can find me in Vogue Fabrics, if I’m drunk enough I’ll probably be dancing on the bar.

And finally, what’s next for you both as an artist and a designer? 

I’ll be part of an exhibition called Drawn Together opening February 20th at the Dalston Print House Gallery, I’ll also be doing a pop up shop with Fringe Queer Film & Arts Fest in the spring, and have a few more East London collaborations in the works amidst planning the next release of Victory Brand and getting the word out about the Piss on Putin campaign!

www.victorybrand.co.uk

 

 

 

Advertisement

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here