Designing narratives
by Alyssa Jaffer
Being a designer is more than a calling — it’s an identity. Just ask Simone Brewster, London-based painter, interiors architect, jewellery-maker and entrepreneur. We spoke to Simone about her experiences as a business owner, craft artist and the role of art in telling stories about the Black community.
Designer and entrepreneur Simone Brewster: her work is led by her desire to realise ideas and to use them as a way to engage.
“What design really does is get us to ask questions about the world around us and what we can do to it. In this way, I am definitely a designer,” said Simone. After she earned her Master of Architecture from The Royal College of Art and realised gig jobs weren’t for her, Simone set out to bring her own designs into the world. She has since found not only success and creative independence, but also her own expression as a Black female artist.
“When I looked at what was missing in design, it was the absence of a voice. There was no lack of beauty, talent and wonderful craft in the world — but when I looked around, there were no stories in the objects coming from my perspective. A Black female view. The voice of a Londoner with Caribbean parents, that grew up in a multicultural society. Someone who loved architecture and design… I felt that it was time to fill in some of the gaps that history had left open. This is where my work lives,” said Simone.
She recalled the powerful moment she knew she was an artist: “It was during lockdown. I couldn’t do anything really. I was at home, no studio in sight and still wanted to create and use that energy.
“I had the time to reflect on my body of work and saw that it was defined by its movement; a movement from one discipline to another, united by my search to create, to challenge, to make beauty, to empower women. Once I realised that all my work was led by my desire to realise ideas and to use them as a way to engage with people, I realised that no matter what — I was an artist first.”
Rings by Simone Brewster, courtesy of the artist.
Simone also manages her own company. “Although I’ve been working as a creative for many years, it’s only more recently that I believe I’m getting a handle on how best to use myself in my business,” said Simone.
“I’m realistic in what I ask from my business and myself. Every day, there’s another role that I am being asked to take on, another challenge or task that requires my time and focus. The reality is that I have to prioritise. Once I started focusing on what I wanted to achieve and used my work as my voice, the other issues of running a business fell into place. There are always going to be things that you don’t like doing, but sometimes you have to focus on the bigger aim: who you want to be and what you want to achieve, and then use that vision to overcome how you feel right now, or any other obstacle that arises.”
With the UK government actively encouraging artists to retrain for more technical skills, Simone shared her advice for those struggling to keep their craft alive: “Instead of retraining, the focus should be on analysing existing skills and diversifying. Creatives have a wealth of skills that they accrue throughout their careers. We should all be inspecting what skills we have that we can better utilise to generate income.”
Looking more closely at Simone’s impressive breadth of work, her most meaningful piece is Negress & Mammy, a chaise lounge and side table pair.
“The Negress and Mammy became an ode to the hidden, unspoken history of Black people within western society. Although functional and usable as furniture, it’s very much a piece of art asking us to think and question,” explained Simone.
Negress & Mammy by Simone Brewster, courtesy of the artist.
“Everything we own, every piece we use to adorn our spaces, portrays some message about ourselves. I wanted The Negress (chaise lounge) and Mammy (side table) to talk about the history of slavery. A history that literally birthed the wealth of nations and used bodies to do it.
“I created a seat composed of deconstructed Black female forms. Breasts and limbs are recomposed to act as the supporting structure to the seat or the surface of the table. This platform of disjointed bodily members talks of pain, of womanhood, of being in plain sight and yet not seen. I think there is much of the Black experience in this.”
Tropical Noire by Simone Brewster, courtesy of the artist.
Maid Table by Simone Brewster, courtesy of the artist.
Beyond her art, Simone uses her blog and social media as platforms to discuss visual depictions of Black bodies. With 2020 further bringing issues of systemic racism to light, she shared how art plays a role in telling the stories of the Black community:
“In many ways, art has been the salve to the pain of the Black community. Of course, there is a wealth of wonderful art that was made in the African nations prior to enslavement. However, much of the art was made without permission. It was made as an honest release."
Ending on a positive note, Simone is hopeful for the future. “Today, so much more art is made and shared for ourselves. People within the Black community are writing, singing, sculpting to bring our shared experiences to each other and open a dialogue within the community. The benefit of social platforms is that everyone else gets to see and hear these experiences too, and connect in that way.”
Simonebrewster.co.uk
@simonebrewster_london