Grace Miceli is the artist, curator and designer behind @ArtBabyGirl, whose playful drawings both recall tweenage doodles done in sparkly notepads and stick two fingers up at the pretentions and inaccessibility of the art world.
“I started working in this style when I was about to graduate college and realised I was pretty clueless in regards to my identity and ambitions as an artist. Working in this amateur style was an attempt to unlearn some of the art school bullshit I got so accustomed to and just have fun. I want to create pieces that are funny, colourful and inclusive. Most of the items are unisex and range in fit, from baggy long sleeves with Drake lyrics to thongs with cherries on the crotch – it’s a mixture of my interest in streetwear along with wanting to make accessible and wearable art”, says Grace about her approach to fashion and art.
Thereby, she is not fixated at any kind of labels: “I’m not setting out to be a feminist label. I’m a feminist, of course, but that’s not the only adjective that can be used to describe me and my work. I think it’s important to view artists as people making things – being viewed through a feminist lens isn’t always necessary. I like to think of my clothing as my band merch, except I’m not in a band, I’m an artist. So I guess people who wear it are fans of the art that I make, and I’m glad that they can own it in an affordable form. Whoever is wearing my clothes is in on the joke.”
