In a year in which many soccer lovers have been giving the World Cup the red card, an innovative initiative entitled Goalissimo, sees artists and designers tog out for a unique celebration of the beautiful game at Hen’s Teeth in Dublin.
“The World Cup is one of those few events that genuinely brings folks together in a positive way, but we can’t ignore the incredibly dark side of this year’s event and what has happened in the build up to the competition in Qatar.”
Goalissimo features the work of 13 artists from around the world, each of whom has used their national jersey as a canvas to help create the Hen’s Teeth dream team, while re-imagining their nation’s shirt. All profits from sales of the shirts will be donated to Amnesty International’s Campaign for Migrant Workers in Qatar.
The colourful lineup for their starting squad features: Mexico – Hola Lou # 1, England – Kelly Anna London # 2, USA – Vlad Sepetov # 3 , Brazil – Monga # 4, Cameroon – Sophie Douala # 5, Argentina – Seb Curi x Macarena Luzi # 6, Netherlands – We Are Out of Office # 7, Belgium – Specht Studio # 8, Germany – Eike König # 9, France – Marylou Faure # 10, South Korea – Jaemin Lee # 11.
And on the bench you’ll find illustrators Gav Connell (Ireland) on the exhibition identity (Artistic/Curator’s licence and all that) & Yeye Weller (Germany) on the scarves.
Explaining the thinking behind the initiative, Greg Spring, founder & creative director of Hen’s Teeth says, “The World Cup is one of those few events that genuinely brings folks together in a positive way, but we can’t ignore the incredibly dark side of this year’s event and what has happened in the build up to the competition in Qatar.
So it felt like the right time to do a show like this with some of our favourite artists from around the globe and hopefully raise some much needed funds for Amnesty’s campaign for compensation for the migrant workers who have been impacted.”
For several years, Amnesty International has documented and exposed the labour abuse and exploitation of low-paid migrant workers in Qatar. Since 2010, thousands of migrant workers have died suddenly and unexpectedly in Qatar, yet even though there is evidence of links between premature deaths and unsafe working conditions, the Qatari authorities have failed to investigate the underlying causes of these deaths.
As part of their awareness campaign, Amensty are demanding that Qatar properly deliver and enforce promised labour reforms, and continue to call on FIFA and Qatar to establish a compensation fund for abused migrant workers and their families.
Goalissimo runs until 17th December. You can read more about the artists involved below.
The collection to support this worthy cause launches at 3pm on Saturday 3rd December at Hen’s Teeth, with jerseys available to pre-order online from 3-17 December. All profits from sales of the show will be donated to Amnesty International. #payupfifa
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
CURI LUZI – Argentina
CURI LUZI is the combination of Sebastian Curi and Macarena Luzi’s practices. Their work has a collage feeling, product of combining both individual styles resulting into a mix of vibrant colors, funky patterns, abstract shapes and cartoonish drawings to create an aesthetic that feels both plentiful and fun. Also a couple, both artists bounce between clothing collaborations, textiles designs, commercial illustration, murals, paintings and silkscreen editions . Commercially savvy, their work has been highlighted by brands like Apple, Nordstrom, ZARA, Vogue, The New York Times, Nike, Warby Parker, Venmo, Uber and others.
Eike Konig – Germany
Eike König (born 1968 in Hanau) studied Graphic Design at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. He is the Art Director of Logic Records and has been running his own office for visual communication, HORT, since 1994.
He has held various endowment and visiting professorships at German universities, including Bauhaus Universität Weimar, HfG Offenbach and Hochschule Mainz University of Applied Sciences. The work by HORT is regularly published in the leading international publications on the subject area. In 2011, Lead Academy named Eike König Visual Leader of the year.
Gav Connell – Ireland
Gavin Connell is a Dublin-based graphic designer and illustrator. He takes a lot of inspiration from vintage comic books, cartoons, graffiti and his passion for music. These influences mix together to create his poster style. His posters mainly consist of playful characters and bright colours.
Hola Lou (Luisa Salas) – Mexico
Designer, Artist, and muralist based in México City. Lou bases her graphic-style minimal abstract compositions on music, travels, and day-to-day scenes; All of these are inspired by a modern approach to the diversity of her Latin roots and Caribbean influence. Lou has collaborated with brands like Nike, Apple, Spotify, Complex, LinkedIn, and more. Her artworks and murals have been exhibited globally and her digital works are represented by the exclusive platforms SuperRare and Nifty Gateway.
Jaemin Lee – South Korea
Graphic designer. He graduated from Seoul National University and founded his design studio fnt in 2006. As an art director, he plays a crucial role in managing the visual aspects of many projects. Various cultural events and concerts worked with him, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Seoul Museum of Art, the National Theater of Korea, and the Seoul Record Fair Organizing Committee.
He served as the director of Typojanchi 2021: International Typography Biennale — A Turtle and a Crane (Culture Station Seoul 284, Seoul, 2021) and took part in several exhibitions such as Korea: Design + Poster (Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, 2017), and Korea Now! Craft, Design, Fashion, and Graphic Design in Korea (Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 2015). His work has been selected for the Graphic Design Biennale of Chaumont: International Posters Competition, the Hong Kong International Poster Triennial, and the Graphic Design Festival Scotland: International Poster Competition, etc. He has been an AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) member since 2016 and a full-time dad of three beautiful cats.
Kelly Anna London – United Kingdom
Kelly is known for her powerful, silhouetted figures with a strong focus on movement, sport and wellness. She started her early years as a dancer and gymnast. Going on to study Fashion illustration and print design for apparel and footwear before taking the leap to go out on her own.
Over the last few years, Kelly has designed trainers, painted murals all around the globe, curated exhibitions, and even embellished popcorn packets. Her success has been solidified by the collaborations she has worked on, from designing her own collection with Nike A.I.R to working with numerous clients such as BMW, Penguin and so many more. Also having some of her prints worn by Justin Timberlake and Beyonce. Alongside her work, Kelly has spoken at 16 of the biggest art and design festivals across the globe, most notably as a headline act at USBYNIGHT in Antwerp and GDFS in Scotland.
Monga Design – Brazil
Monga D. is a two-guys design studio based in Brazil. On a cruise in search of their dreams, they need people who believe in their potential and trust in their process to create awesome and beautiful things.
Sophie Douala – Cameroon
Sophie Douala (she/they) is visual artist and creative director specialised in story telling and creative campaigns. Within her practice and personal experiences, she seeks to explore the interplay between a formal visual language and its emotional cognitive affect. Yaounde / Paris / Berlin
Stephanie Specht – Belgium
Stephanie Specht (Antwerp, Belgium, °1982) is working as an independent graphic designer since 2006. After graduating from the Royal Academy for Fine Arts in Antwerp in 2004 (Graphic Design) she’s lived and worked pretty much everywhere (Cape Town, Brussels, Princeton, New York, Antwerp). Every single one of these experiences shaped her as a creative person. Aside from all client jobs she works on many personal projects and creates all visual communication for the Royal Academy for Fine Arts in Antwerp. The integration of intuition in her work is significant. The ability to reinvent herself from time to time is of high importance, when the need for change is there she wants to act upon it. Freedom is the most important element in her life. Someone once said she has a very fine hand for purposeful raw candid simplicity. She likes to apply this style to identity design, posters and book design.
Vlad Sepetov – USA
You might not know his name, but you’ll know his work. Vlad Sepetov is the young visual artist designing some of the most loved album covers in music for Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Jay Rock.
We are out of office – The Netherlands
Winneke de Groot and Felix van Dam are two artists working together under the name: ‘We are out of office’. They’re very DIY in their approach to art, skilled as screen printers, painters and illustrators. They run a small studio including a screen print and risograph workshop based in a cherry orchard just outside Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Their work is inspired by little rarities and memories they pick up in daily life. They use a wide range of media covering print, painting, sculpture, textile and more. Their style is recognisable, has a bold and colourful aesthetic and reflects their graphic background.
Yeye Weller
Yeye Weller is an artist from Münster, Germany. “I love the colors, humor and balance. These are the three necessities for my work. I don’t have a smart message or a device for freedom, my illustrations comes as they are: happy, colorful and stupid,” says Weller. From doing small illustrations in his tiny studio in the small German town of Münster, selling 50 pieces of his hand-printed magazines, to working with huge clients like Warner Bros, New York Times and Dunkin’ Donuts.
Marylou Faure – France
Specializing in character design, bold colours and graphic compositions, French Illustrator and Artist Marylou Faure aspires to create artwork that invokes joy with her cheeky and playful style.
With the intention of tackling the issues she cares about, Marylou’s career has seen her working on many personal and collaborative projects with global brands that focus on social and ethical issues.
