We’re delighted to announce that two new works by contemporary artist, Poppy Faun are now available.

With Seize the Day and The Time is Now, Faun both gives us a glimpse into the ethos of her creative practice and reminds us of the life-changing magic of living in the present moment.

In today’s blog, we chat to Faun to learn about the inspirations behind these new works, and how she discovered wonderful things can happen in the midst of great change.

 

The Power of Now

While the surrealist rock and roll aesthetic that defines Faun’s stylish oeuvre remains, with these two new prints we see Faun usher in a new era - one that celebrates the whirlwind of creation and emphasises empowerment.

As with many great artists, Faun’s new pieces have emerged from a time of upheaval. She tells us:  

 

“I spent a few weeks completely immersing myself in this new body of work, moving through the emotions of a big change in my personal life, and working out what it was that I wanted to say. My entire studio and flat was covered in things that I’d ripped from magazines and books, and there were a lot of words and thoughts in there. What I found was that everything that was coming out of me was all very positive, despite it emerging from a dark time.”  

 

Seize the Day

This positive and liberated outlook is apparent in the first of Faun’s new releases, Seize the Day - a typographic work inspired by an advert in a vintage edition of Playboy, urging the reader to ‘Turn It Up.’

 

“I wanted to create a typographic series that communicated that positive change is possible. Words are powerful. You can change someone’s day, or your own day, with a simple sentence. I’d been searching for a bold font that would make people take notice, and when I saw the advert I knew I'd found it.”

 

 

When working on the piece, Faun realised that her chosen statement, ‘Seize the day then let it go’ was not only a powerful reminder to make the most of each day, but was also representative of the creative chaos of her artistic process.

“When I’m working, I’m totally tuned in to what I’m looking at, how it’s making me feel, and what feels right. I realised that the present moment is all you can control, and it’s about doing what you can in each moment to create the things you want to create and say the things you want to say.”

 

 

The Time is Now

These powerful affirmations also feature in her second new release, The Time is Now. With statements like, ‘I’m alive’ and ‘There’s no right time, only now’, Faun urges us to keep moving forward and to appreciate the learning curve.

 

“You have to remind yourself every day that things change. That it’s possible to go through bad things and come out even better. Focus on doing the best you can now, and the change you want will come.”

 

 

Life is Beautiful

The Time is Now also includes a number of repeat motifs from Faun’s work that immediately set it apart as a work by this rising star.

Alongside 70s architecture and furniture, the piece features the TV set that’s cropped up in such works as Temptation and The Good Life, and is used by Faun as a symbol of the power that the digital world wields over us.

In filling her TV screen with a beautiful cloud-strewn sky, Faun reminds us not to experience the world through our screens, but to instead: “Actually go out, enjoy nature, enjoy real people, live your life. Don’t miss out on the beauty around you by looking at things through the filters of your phone and tv.”

 

The Wonder Years

One element you’ll spot across Faun’s oeuvre is her inclusion of numbers. Either they’ll crop up within the piece itself, as seen in The Time is Now or her new original, In For the Win, or they’ll appear in the title of the artwork, as with Flower Child, 1972 and Control, 1976. 

We asked Faun about the significance behind these numbers... 

“So many of the magazines and books I find imagery in really shout about the year they’re living in. They’re so proud and excited by the present moment. This is what really grabbed me when I first started collecting 70s postcards and ephemera, I was completely wowed by how unfiltered they were, how they captured a moment and how much life you could feel in them.” 

“It confirms that we need to remember to revel in the details of where we are today because one day we’ll look back on our lives now and realise how alive and beautiful everything was but we were too busy to notice. We should try to appreciate every moment of our lives while it’s happening.”

 

Seize the Day and The Time is Now are available now.