Straddling the line between veneration and satire, Hattie Stewart’s cartoonish doodles take celebrity culture to task over its unachievable aspirations, as a new exhibition at House of Illustration shows.
Hot off the heals of a solo show at Hoxton’s KK Outlet, Hattie Stewart is taking her rebellious, playful illustrations to a larger venue this month, the House of Illustration in London’s King’s Cross. The show is the first of the gallery’s new series of illustrator commissions, which will see contemporary artist take over the entire of the institution’s South Gallery.
Often poking fun at mass media, celebrity obsession and unrealistic airbrushing, Stewart’s illustrations are cheeky but never malicious. It’s quite a tricky thing to be able to lampoon celebrity without making yourself seem self-righteous, but Stewart’s fun, energetic style and mischievous approach, means her work seems knowing but never spiteful. The fact that she’s been courted by brands like Adidas and Marc by Marc Jacobs and even Kylie Mingoue goes to prove she’s on the right track.
Hattie Stewart: Adversary
17 April – 19 July 2015
South Gallery, House of Illustration
houseofillustration.org.uk