teamkitten, so pop it hurts!
When asked to describe her work, Kat Cameron does so with the wry smile & cheekiness that typifies her artwork... "hmmmm, I guess the obvious answer would be as if an elephant tip toed through fairyland and ate cupcakes, apples, chewed bubblegum, watched some anime, had a tea party with fetish girls, visited red riding hood, had his fortune told by a lucky cat who told him he would fall in love with a bunny with large ears and big round eyes only to end up with a really bad tummy ache. The elephant then spewed up all of this goodness and re-arranged the pieces into nicely structured patterns with his big elephant paws. Thank you, Mr Elephant."
The One Eyed Doe by TeamKitten
Kat, who goes by the name TeamKitten, has a large portfolio of work ranging from illustration & graphic design commissioned by some really big names, right through to sweet, personal gocco prints and patterns. Like many artists, she can't remember a time when she didn't appreciate illustration, but even 10 years ago, didn't expect she could make a living from her art.
The TeamKitten web site is bursting with Kat's colourful, vector illustrations, and you'd be forgiven for thinking she's perfected her signature style. Through her eyes, the TeamKitten approach has been in development for years, and remains a work in progress.
Little Red by TeamKitten
The influence of Japanese pop culture is immediately apparent, as is Kat's fantastic imagination and eye for colour & composition. As an artist, she is prolific - but there is always a new twist with every artwork. Each piece is intricately detailed and devilishly good. Her doe-eyed characters tempt you to join them in technicolour worlds, where everything is sugary sweet but punishment awaits!
Kat's love of all things Japanese probably started when her family had a Japanese exchange student stay with them while Kat was in grade 7. She kept giving Kat cute presents of hello kitty and keroppi and she was hooked from there. Having since travelled to Japan herself, Kat says, "What's not to love? Everything from no smoking signs to food packaging is just all super kawaii1! The cuteness is just ingrained in their culture and everyday life and for me that is really appealing and inspiring."
Much of Kat's commercial work is commission-based, and through her agent in London, she's had amazing opportunities to work with big-name clients such as Coke, Cadbury, Daihatsu and Emirates Airlines. With these jobs, Kat finds she has the most freedom in the beginning, "then it gets tighter and tighter on the client's end when it gets closer to what they really want". It's interesting that most of her work is seen in Europe, rather than in Australia. If Kat was to find an agent in Australia, she could show her friends that she actually does work for other people! Many clients contact her directly via the TeamKitten web site - demonstrating that her portfolio really speaks for itself.
TeamKitten commission for Coke
In 2007, Coke commissioned TeamKitten to brighten the streets of Ireland for Springtime using massive billboards with cut-outs, and posters in bus shelters accompanied by the sounds of spring (with birds chirping etc). It was a great job to land, and Kat loved working for Coke. The brief and concept came from Dylan Davis from McCann Erickson in Dublin, and the impressive results were displayed during Springtime in 2007 and 2008. Not surprisingly, it's a job Kat's Mum loves telling people about!
Until recently, Kat exhibited her work regularly, but since the birth of her son Tyler Jasper, her presence in the art world diminished just a little. She describes Tyler as her "most recent masterpiece" - a collaborative work with partner in crime, Josh (www.kid9.net)! As she's constantly surrounded by art, Kat’s never too far away. Both she and Josh contributed work to last weekend’s "One Off’s - Sneaker Art Show" (at Neveland, Coolangatta) and are participating in the upcoming group show at the Sneak & Destroy shop in Mermaid Beach (Gold Coast), opening Saturday night, 12th December.
Initally, Kat was hesitant to begin customising the nice, clean pair of Supras provided as her canvas for "One Off's". She was surprised at how much she enjoyed painting on them once she overcame here initial fear of "painting on a shoe"...
As well as preparing her exhibition pieces, Kat is currently working on designs for a children's label called Neshiko. She says the briefs are really cute & can't wait to put little Tyler in some of them!
Kat's designs lend themselves to creating patterns, and it's easy to envisage large TeamKitten pattern prints on wrapping paper or fabric. This is something Kat dreams of too! She has lots of sets of stationery made up, "it's just getting the money or finding the right company to license it", she explains.
Zombie High School by TeamKitten
As for fabric, Kat has had some designs printed onto cotton and "it's just amazing seeing it, feeling it, touching it in real life - as opposed to just paper or computer!" With her busy schedule, she's yet to follow up these ideas - something for us to look forward to in the future, perhaps… Recently, Kat worked with Groove Accessories on a range of gumboots. "They turned out super cute, and come out around December and February - just in time for music festival season!!"
When asked to name her favourite artworks, Kat finds it hard to narrow down the choice. She likes her collection of girls and also her pattern works. Suggesting the variation in styles is due to her Gemini personality, Kat mixes it up to avoid boredom… "balance is the key :)".
Visual restlessness is probably what keeps TeamKitten artworks so engaging. Kat's sleek, shiny worlds vibrate with energy and her characters' wide eyes follow you around the room… maybe with a cheeky wink!
Footnotes
1. The rise of cuteness in Japanese culture emerged in the 1970s but the term "kawaii" is specific and implies that the subject is precious & innocent, as well as cute.
