Mark Brazier-Jones: “It is like a reboot button to recentre oneself”
OFFERING EMERGING AND established artists the opportunity to showcase their works, Secteur Privé eschews the impersonal aesthetic of the typical white-cube gallery experience.
It instead delivers a ‘living spaces’ ethos, which offers a more open and intimate experience, so art lovers are afforded different ways of engaging with the work.
For its inaugural show, founder Ayman Daouk – whose day job is in the London financial industry – has selected the metaphysical works of master craftsman Mark Brazier-Jones. Where Do I Begin is an exhibition of new mystical sculptural pieces reflecting the artists’ belief in the alchemical power of art to transform the everyday.
Embellished with crystals, esoteric symbolism and sacred geometry, the talismanic works have been crafted with the attention of bringing the viewer to an increased state of enlightenment. It’s always good to aim high.
The two collaborators struck-up a friendship when Daouk started collecting Brazier-Jones’ art. As a collector, Daouk found himself yearning to play a bigger role in nurturing artists’ careers – and to stage exhibitions of his own.
Eventually it occurred to him that all the things he wanted to do were the basic functions of a gallery, while incorporating more organic elements, such as how to show the work to maximise the experience for potential art enthusiasts and buyers.
Following many conversations with his partner and co-founder, Colette Gibson, on how they could genuinely engage and excite fellow art fans, together they founded Secteur Privé. Having decided that nobody’s home looks like a gallery, they came up with the “living spaces” ethos that they felt had the potential to transform four walls into a memorable moment for artists and collectors alike.
As such, their first production, Where Do I Begin feels more like an occasion than an exhibition. The word ‘immersive’ is much used today and many multisensory galleries allow patrons to digitally step through room-upon-room of art. But while the virtual world offers some benefits, a Secteur Privé soiree has the immersive elements in the sense that every detail has been considered to enhance the artist's vision.
To channel the energy of Brazier-Jones personal cosmos, iconic furnishings and venerable designs from Brazier-Jones’ four-decade career as an artist and craftsman have been transported to a luxurious central London apartment location. Meanwhile, new shamanic-inspired works take the centre-stage. Handcrafted ceremonial objects chime to charge the vibration, while furnishings from his archive provide the framework and context.
As many of the artists’ chairs are luxury items designed for decorative purposes rather than sole practical use, plush sofas have been brought in for guests to relax and chat among the art. Even the canapés and beverages offered to guests have been purposefully curated, from botanical-infused cocktails and water that has been positively charged by the frequency of 528 hertz (known as the “love” frequency).
His new pieces entitled Manifesting Machines channel the energies of the natural world. “I decided to apply myself as both an artist and scientist to develop machines that might help us either communicate through dimensions or interact with the etheric forces”, he explains. “The collection consists of domestic artefacts that are both practical and decorative. Their function can range from structuring drinking water to acting as a background focus for meditation.”
For this show, he has created esoteric chimes that reproduce the 528 hertz frequency, that he calls ‘Ding Dings’ for use around the home. “I also have ‘Ding Dings’ around the house and in the garden,” he says. “It is easy whenever passing to simply strike the chime and receive the benefit. It is like a reboot button to recentre oneself.” Each Manifesting Machine has been crafted according to a vibrational resonance, serving a practical purpose for spiritual or meditational practice as well as functioning as sculptural artefacts.
The career of Brazier-Jones itself has enjoyed many ‘reboots’ and periods of reinvigoration that mark his journey. Following art school, he carved out a career in the music business, as a set designer of pop videos for David Bowie, Elton John, Kate Bush, Spandau Ballet and Queen.
While doing so, he met with a group of friends, including Nick Jones, Tom Dixon and later, André Dubreuil, with whom he co-founded a post-punk, ‘creative salvage’ movement. His rough-and-ready approach to furniture made from found objects alongside staging club nights in disused warehouses were precursors to his finely attuned prowess as a handmade craftsman of furniture, lighting and design.
As testament to his contribution to design and making, his work also features in seminal museum collections around the world including Victoria & Albert in London, Museum of Art & Design in New York and Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as well as many important private collections globally.
In transcribing his holistic understanding and practices to his art, Brazier-Jones registers Where do I Begin, an exhibition of the sculptures and objects that were seven years in the making, as a pivotal moment in his personal and creative journey.
'Where Do I Begin' will run until 22 January at Secteur Privé. For enquiries email create@secteurprive.co
