Salvation Magazine Issue 1 - Magazine - Page 18
Home and Alone
The Gothic aesthetic is experiencing
something of a renaissance. The Internet
makes visual introductions, delights us
and feeds us. As it becomes easier to buy
and sell with makers and creators of the
unique and fantastical across the world,
items that may have been hard to find for
the discerning Goth-about-town’s curio
cabinet or relic collection are now available on Etsy and similar; to be lovingly
packaged and delivered straight to the
door of your crypt, at the click of a button or two. It is easier than ever to decorate your abode with the whimsical, the
magical, the spooky, and maybe even…
the unique.
T
he Modern Goth aesthetic of Victorian gothic and occult symbolism,
with splatters of modern horror and
classic historical decadence, can enhance a
variety of crafts yet most mainstream interior designers have dismissed this as fanciful, unnecessary, and time consuming. The
over saturation of the minimalist, futuristic and uniform needs the juxtaposition of
a sumptuous and dramatic atmosphere to
survive, and let’s face it, after pandemics,
war and more, who doesn’t fantasize about
collapsing onto an aptly named fainting
couch and being prescribed Laudanum?
If you are looking for glamorous but
macabre, shiny but dark, one-of-a-kind
pieces to create instant atmosphere for
your séance, then peruse Kt A Go-Go!
Both slightly morbid yet strangely playful, these unique pieces come from the
hand of Kt – no technique or medium
seems to allude her and a passion for
what she does shines through like the
lustrous lacquer on the hearts at the centre of her sunbursts.
We spoke to Kt about what makes her
black but gleaming heart tick. Growing
up in an artistic house, with a mother
who is a painter, Kt loved making things
from an early age. Later, as a self-confessed night owl, the 9-5 was hard to sustain once out of school; especially for an
alternative teenager in London presented with the lure of Goth and Rock clubs
like ‘ The Slimelight ’ and ‘ The Ballroom ’.
Kt admits that she regularly stumbled
into her shifts at her first bookstore job
straight from the festivities of the night
before. In her early 20s, Kt got into tattooing, eventually opening her own studio ‘ Tattoo A Go-Go ’, in central London.
Striving to create art on her own terms,
Kt also made and painted small pieces
16/Salvation
to sell in the studio; but found increasingly that there was less and less time
left over after creating other people’s
tattoo designs to create her own art; “I
couldn’t properly express myself because
you can’t just pick and choose what you
want to do, you have to pay the bills, and
there’s a finite amount of people that
want tattoos of the kind of stuff I’d really
want to tattoo.”
I was making, and I burned myself quite
badly with a glue gun!”
Kt is always adding a new skill or element
to her pieces. Often, there is an interactive element, like opening fronts, hidden
things, 3D elements, lights, or moving
parts; “I enjoy all the elements of making
art, I like to do a bit of woodwork, a bit of
painting, a bit of sticking stuff together, a
bit of casting; it keeps me interested. For
Inspired by satanic and religious iconog- me the most important thing is variety. I
raphy, anatomy drawings and the roman- can think of a new thing to make, make
ticism of death in Victoriana; Kt knew a few of them or sometimes only one of
she didn’t want to create mainstream them and then I’m thinking ‘right I’ve
popular art; “I have no interest in paint- done that now, so what’s next?’
ing pictures of people’s dogs or scenery,
imited only by an allergic reaction
my Mum’s very good at that, but it’s not
to resin (which resulted in a Fredfor me.” She never dreamed she would
dy Kruger style, chemical peel type
be able to make a full time living purely from her art. Maybe, because of her reaction on one side of her face), there is
refusal to dumb down her style, aligned no medium that Kt cannot turn her hand
with an overwhelming desire to create to (now favouring Gypsum based medium
objects that reflect her inner world; she for casts and models to avoid further rehas achieved her dream after all. Al- actions). Having recently tried glass cutthough she isn’t religious; Kt is a fan of ting and soldering, Kt has recently startdramatic religious art and architecture. ed making silicone moulds from her own
She finds the imagery, the opulence and sculptures, and plans to create some lathe
the associated power it holds taps into turned wooden bases and freestanding
collective obsessions with death and giv- pieces next. Her favourite pieces so far ining life meaning. Anatomical diagrams, clude an opening gibbet cage with a skelthe Victorian Era and Pre-historic his- eton inside; “which I very much enjoyed
tory are major influences too; “I know a because lots of people didn’t know what it
huge amount about Jack the Ripper, and was and we had a guessing game on Insdinosaurs, which I must admit hasn’t tagram”. Kt also creates miniatures - tiny
been ultimately useful in day to day life!” detailed museums and dioramas; a stand
A curious fact; her tattoo studio was on out one being The Séance Room, which
the route of some of the walking Jack the featured working LED lights, a removable
Ripper tours, which she says was defi- glass front, and moveable pieces within it.
Even a doll’s house received the Kt treatnitely a factor in choosing the location!
L
A
t the start of 2020, tattoo shops
closed their doors for some time,
due to the pandemic. Kt utilised
this time to put a few of the items she
had created up in her Etsy shop and was
astounded by the positive reaction. Kt’s
online shop has gone from strength to
strength, and she has expanded to create
some exceptionally wonderful, detailed
and expertly executed pieces ranging from
small ornate crucifixes, to larger complicated pieces with moving parts, lights and
more. During the first Lockdown, she featured on Keith Lemon’s ‘Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft’ – a craft based TV
show that features a wide range of makers and mediums. Kt won her episode, although she remembers; “They had to cut
out a lot of things, it was a family show,
and unfortunately there was a fair amount
of bad language on my part when the antlers kept falling off the giant stag sculpture
ment being refurbished inside and out;
with trailing ivy, cobwebs, working lights,
miniature skulls on the shelves, and a
four-poster bed!
“I clearly I have issues with being told
what to do, which is why I don’t often take
commissions, even if it would be far better business wise to just make what people
want. I’ll do a batch of sunbursts or wheels
of destiny and I won’t want to touch them
again for 6 months, and usually only return to making them after extreme badgering.” This does mean however that we
are constantly treated to new pieces as
Kt expands her repertoire. The Etsy store
(etsy.com/uk/shop/Ktagogoart) opens at
6pm GMT every Friday with the previous
week’s new creations, and you can follow
@kt.agogoart on instagram for behind the
scenes treats and sneak peaks at the upcoming listings!
IC
IF I W
Decoration,
Introducing a LondonRedemption sensibilities
