Pleb Profile: Penelope Grabowski

We first met Penelope from Steak Zombies at the London Designersblock back in September of this year. She was dressed up in one of her creations and was painted head to toe in yellow paint. We invited her into the studio for a cup of tea and to tell us about her work... here's what the website has to say...
'Steak Zombies look at fashion from the arts point of view. They research new formats of fashion and offer, with their work, rather food for thought than readymade fashion products. Their art of fashion is based on stories and fairy-tales' Steak Zombies is an embraces formats such as plush characters and accessories, stage-outfits and theatre costumes as well as character-based real-life-costumes.'

One of the most interesting aspects to Penelope's work is her involvement in blurring the lines between production and performance, perhaps stemming from the Berlin warehouse performance scene which, in recent years has been responsible, not only for major music / fashion cross over's but also

helping to forge new takes on theatre / performance and fashion.

Penelope is very much at the forefront of this movement, asking 'Why not' of her prescribed disciplines?

'How would it be if I challenged a tattoo artist with his airbrush to collaborate with me, live at a fashion show and to use the catwalk like it was a conveyor belt, working with the models as they walked down it?

I had no idea how it would end up, if everyone would laugh, but in the end people had so much fun watching me sowing it was a success

It was basically bringing the manufacturing status of into the performance, the process leading to product.' Penelope also turned the results of performance into a shop; the products of performance became commodity.

As well as making performance out of production Penelope has been proactive in finding commercial outlets for her work, primarily the Steak Zombies sow on patches which are available throughout Europe. In order to gain these retail outlets Penelope embarked on a tour of Europe taking in Barcelona, Paris, Zurich, London as well as her native Berlin.

Using a combination of  Easyjet and staying at friends houses she was able to keep costs down whilst finding the right places for her work by actually being able to visit the retail outlets herself, adding a personal touch to her promotion. 'I just went in and said "Hi! I have a product can I sell." And it worked'. Were there cultural differenced in approach? How did this style of business work?

'It was difficult in Barcelona, they said that the people here do not sow, its not as punky as Berlin or London, however Paris was good' The business transaction was achieved by adding between 50% to 100% commission on each item, as stocks ran low, Penelope would invoice the shop and post more items out, Berlin and London remain the best sellers for her products 'That's why I live in London now!'. However this success has brought its own issues

'The shops are asking for a new collection and also I only have one pair of hands!

The work on Steak Zombies is something that is an ongoing project; there are plans for animation, plans for more in-depth characters, 'dolls for adults' and a whole for the characters. Penelope has recently won the backing of a business partner who is over seeing development of the project, this helps keep the project in focus. Aside from the personal projects the latest work to involve Penelope was an animation for the World Wildlife Fund to make public the fact that there are 8 species disappearing on earth. This work was obtained through Panlogic,

(www.panlogic.co.uk) ,one of her freelance clients.

 Penelope explains 'The brief was to create an engagement piece for the visitors to the WWF website where they can playful get information about the habitat and the reasons why the Bengal tiger is in danger. My duties were to illustrate the habitat and the animals starting with a very dark, sad and empty scene and how it looks after rebuilding the forest. While the user is planting trees and refreshing the water the same time he gets information.'

Have a look at the animation and save the planet

We wish her luck with her projects, have a look at her profile, she's told us that she's looking for collaborators in London to work on a major performance in the spring of 2007, so if you want to get involved put her in you plebnet and email her!

 

Also, if you would like us to profile you, email us at info@designersarewankers.com

 

And if you are interested in working in simalar performance / graphics environemts you might be interested in this project that requires some help:

Dandelion & Burdock are looking for male and female models to feature in a photo shoot related to a music-video production for Berlin-based artist Schneider TM in early january.We are a young studio creating animation, video, illustration and graphic design. This shoot would be an amazing opportunity to add some professional photographs to your portfolio and to have your picture shown at the next exclusive Victoria & Albert Museum Friday Late  Event. Based on the theme of reflections, we are expecting a great number of visitors as the display coincides with the second late show of United Visual Artists "Volume"installation which has been a huge success in November.We will require the model to lie in a bath of black liquid. Some images of of the project can already be seen in the photography and  moving image tabs at http://www.dandelion-burdock.com (for-you section). dandelion & burdock can cover travel expences and will cater for the  one day shoot. If you are interested and would like to know more, please email:

nils@dandelion-burdock.com
m.: 07939061566