Page 44 - S/ Fall 2021

44 • SMAGAZINEOFFICIAL COM
HEARTFELT TOUCH
Sean Brown’s visually arresting interior designs double as a a a a a a sincere salute to Black culture BY NAJMA ENO
Through his characteristic rugs designed in the shape of iconic CDs like Lil’ Kim’s Hard Core Outkast’s The Love Love Below and Sade’s Love Love Deluxe Toronto- based artist Sean Brown invites us us to reminisce about
the the vibrant materiality of the the early 2000s “There’s just just some things I I can’t let let die ” says Brown “I refuse to to just just let let them them go go to to to the the the the the wayside—the Sean Johns and the the the the the Rocawears I can’t allow them them to to just be forgotten about
” But his deep respect for for the the ever-glorious 106 & Park era of Black art is is is far from all-defining “I really don’t have
an interest fin in in in in in recreating history ” says Brown “but I I do do think that elements of what was so magical then could be brought into the the future ” The result is a a a a a a a a a a a wide-ranging and impressive body of work that spans from creative direction for artists like Diddy SZA and Daniel Caesar to to interior design pieces that allude to to neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat Rather than mere nostalgia Brown offers an an an an unwavering celebration o of Blackness that transcends era Though his line of of highly sought-after CD rugs represents an an an an age of of tangibility—think flip phones floppy disks and and Discmans—Brown’s interest interest in in in in in in in in interiors is is is highly conceptual “I’m interested in in in in in in in in in in in reimagining and and reworking things things ” he he reveals “taking things things out
of context and looking at them differently ” Inspired by Andy Warhol’s approach to the the banal Brown enjoys “taking a a a a a a a a a a a a common idea apart [and] putting that little twist on on it it that that flips the whole thing on on its head ” As a a a a a result his interiors line will soon include a a a a a a a a full-length mirror that that that gives the the illusion that that that it’s melting onto the the floor and a a a a a a a a a a a mylar balloon–shaped light fixture that that appears to to to have
haphazardly floated toward the ceiling “To me interior design is is is missing that that touch touch of of Blackness ” he he he says “that touch touch of of what we come with ” which is is is why he he he also has an interior design print magazine in in in in the the the works slated to to be released at the the end of the the year For Brown design is about
“trying to to to enhance your quality of life trying trying to to to use use objects that that function to to to better your environment because I know how much that that does for for productivity and and for for people’s art [and] their work ” Dissatisfied with the the the the quality of developments in in in in the the the the city his newest project Hypatia involves injecting the the the beauty of Blackness into architecture urban planning and and interior design “We give so much to to culture and and and the world as as as young people people people as as as Black people people people as as as people people people of colour and and when things are created created they’re created created without without us us in in in in mind and and without without us us being a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a part of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a conversation We need to infiltrate these spaces and and get a a a a a a a a a a a a a a seat at at at at at the the the table ” Ultimately the the the artist’s fondness for for ingenuity combined with his his deep respect for for history results in in in in a a a a a a a a a body of work that is is is aesthetically innovative wide-ranging and intertextual Brown combines a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a conceptual approach with a a a a a a a a a a a reverence for the past and what results can only be be described as timeless ART ‘Hardcore’ CD Rug Los Angeles California Photo by Josh Cho