Artist Turns Bomber Jackets into Patchwork Quilts

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Artist Turns Bomber Jackets into Patchwork
Quilts
Kevin Holmes (/author/kevinholmes) — Apr 26 2016
Simon Mullan, Men Down, 2015. Image courtesy of the artist
United States
Flight jackets, or, bomber jackets, depending on where you live, have long been a part of
contemporary fashion, both on-screen and off—be they on the backs of skinheads or the back of
Ryan Gosling. London-based Austrian artist Simon Mullan (http://www.simonmullan.com/) has
taken this iconic jacket and turned it into quilts as part of an upcoming exhibition
Die Fläche (The Surface) at new gallery PM/AM (http://www.pmam.org/) in Marylebone, London.
Referencing the jacket's ties to subcultures—mods, punks, neo-Nazis—military groups and its
links to the US Air Force of the mid-20th century, Mullan creates large and small textile quilts
from the disassembled nylon garments. Turning, for instance, the famous orange lining into a
patchwork collage. There are also "skinned" versions for a series called Naked Bomber, where the
jackets appear as stripped back remants of the subcultures they were formely part of. It all forms
his Alpha Serieswhich subverts, through the more delicate act of quilting, the powerful qualities
of masculinity and military prowess associated with the jackets.
"For the ongoing series Alpha, the artist toys with the objects semiotics," notes PM/AM
(http://www.pmam.org/artists/simon-mullan/). "The familiar item of clothing, a uniform,
adopted by ring wing militants, Hollywood actors and Ukrainian rebel alike—are cut up into
pieces and then roughly stitched together in large fabric collages. This metaphorical stripping,
destruction, and then patching back together provides an unconventional portrait of a collective
identity, whilst simultaneously revealing its literal and figurative fragility."
Simon Mullan, Indian Summer, 2016. Image courtesy of the artist
As well as fashion, Mullan also uses other everyday items in his work in the exhibition, bathroom
tiles. For Popularis, the mundane material is used to create abstract and minimalist compositions
exploring social class.
"Fascinated by mechanical, industrial and construction skills, the artist transforms common
bathroom ceramics into abstract wall art and sometimes alternative environments. The artist
challenges the viewers preconceptions, collapsing concepts of high and low culture and blurring
notions of class."
Simon Mullan, Jim, 2016. Image courtesy of the artist
Simon Mullan, Marius, 2015. Image courtesy of the artist
Simon Mullan, Navy, 2016. Image courtesy of the artist
Simon Mullan, Heat, 2015. Image courtesy of the artist
Simon Mullan, Naked Bomber, Pinks. Image courtesy of Belmacz Gallery
Simon Mullan's Die Flächeruns April 29 to May 30, 2016 at PM/AM, 259-269 Old Marylebone
Road, London NW1 5RA. Click here (http://www.pmam.org/artists/simon-mullan/) to learn more
about the artist. Related:
Dutch Designers Just Launched an Anti-Surveillance Coat
(http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/anti-surveillance-coat-netherlands)
Let the Sun Charge Your Phone in This "Solar Parka" (http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/let-thesun-charge-your-phone-in-this-solar-parka)
This Camera-Studded Jacket Catches Your Assailants In The Act
(http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/this-camera-studded-jacket-catches-your-assailants-in-theact)
Kevin Holmes (/author/kevinholmes)
Tags: Simon Mullan (/tag/Simon+Mullan), Fashion (/tag/Fashion), bomber jacket (/tag/bomber+jacket), flight
jacket (/tag/flight+jacket), quilts (/tag/quilts), PM/AM (/tag/PM%2FAM)
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