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OUR DUKE STREET
ARTIST WINDOWS

OUR DUKE STREET
ARTIST WINDOWS

Our Duke Street windows at Selfridges London have become a destination to discover the work of up-and-coming artists we admire, including some of our past and present Picton Studios artists-in-residence (our studio-flat in London which supports up-and-coming artists with a six-month-long free tenure). To celebrate the launch of Super Culture, we teamed up with three incredible artists and friends of Selfridges, who’ve created works inspired by community, pleasure and new realities. Find out more about their work below, and meet our current Picton Studios artist-in-residence, Emma Witter.

SUPER CULTURE PRESENTS: PICTON STUDIOS

Watch the art film below to meet our past and present Picton Studios artists and to discover how our 6-month live-in residency has allowed their creativity to flourish

Jesse Pollock 

The Bold Tendencies artist has created a window inspired by a pleasure garden as a long-standing site of nonconformism and the countryside as a site for sensuality, deviance and pleasure-seeking. 

Stacie Woolsey 

The former Picton Studios artist-in-residence has designed a window inspired by her alternative learning programme, ‘Make your Own Masters’, which aims to tackle the lack of access to postgraduate education in the UK. 

Hamed Maiye 

The former Picton Studios artist-in-residence has created a mini series of mixed-media drawings using pigmented body prints and charcoal scans to express the beauty of darkness, destiny, and the new realities we wish to carve.

MEET OUR CURRENT ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE AT PICTON STUDIOS 

Emma Witter on bones, exciting 
collaborations and artworks inspired
by the golden era of shopping. 
Emma Witter on bones, exciting collaborations and artworks inspired by the golden era of shopping. 
‘A Union Shall be Thrown’ by Emma Witter and Shinta Nakajima. Created for the FUMI Gallery 

Made using: copper sheet, electroformed nickel silver, crystal resin, crushed eggshell, powdered freshwater pearl and artificial bone. 

Tell us about your journey to becoming an artist…

I studied performance design and practice at Central Saint Martins, and through some very alternative prop-making using food, I found myself falling in love with telling stories through objects. My sculptural practice expanded slowly from my kitchen table to a working studio as I built up my experience through exhibitions and residencies – most notably my year at Sarabande: The Lee Alexander McQueen Foundation. 

 

What do you love about working with bones? 

Bone is the underdog of materials – I can’t shake the feeling of wanting to celebrate and stand up for it. Bones have been used throughout centuries to create tools, buttons, instruments, hair accessories, divination tools, soaps, sweets, the list goes on… We overlook this byproduct, but it’s such a fantastic resource.


I have felt incredibly fortunate to be an artist-in-residence at Picton Studios…it’s allowed me to think freely and creatively. I’m so grateful for that.

Emma Witter
Tell us about working with waste from the Selfridges Foodhall…

I find food so visually stimulating! I struck up a conversation with one of the butchers and they kindly kept some cool bones aside for me. I’m currently repurposing other beautiful ‘lost’ things from the store, such as corks and eggshells, to make works inspired by fashion accessories, the history of retail spaces, and the golden era of shopping.  

 

What methods do you use? 

I boil down the bones and submerge them into bleach or vinegar, sometimes salting them. I then organise them into shape and size and start to experiment sculpturally using mini tools, brass wire, and glues to assemble my pieces together. I finish off with a fine layer of matt painter’s acrylic to strengthen and protect the delicate, porous bones. 

 

How has your time been living and working at Picton Studios?

I have felt incredibly fortunate to be an artist-in-residence at Picton Studios. To be situated in W1, within walking distance of so many galleries and Selfridges, has been really inspiring. It’s a generous amount of time, and the rent relief on both studio and home has been incredibly resuscitating… it’s allowed me to think freely and creatively. I’m so grateful for that.

MEET OUR PAST ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE AT PICTON STUDIOS

Discover the work of Stacie Woolsey and Hamed Maiye, the forward-thinking artists Selfridges has supported through the Picton Studios artists programme. 

Meet Stacie Woolsey

Meet Hamed Maiye