Elephant Cosmetics is a collaboration between Mr. Twist and Nadia Martinez. 

 

 

 

Mr. Twist is a new artist, in the sense that his work has never been publicly shown. Hitherto he has been writing books and articles, taking photographs, painting pictures and – under the name Mr. Twist & Sons – designing men’s jackets.

 

Because he is less modest than artists like Banksy, it can be revealed that Mr. Twist is in fact, the artistic persona of Mark Dixon, and moreover that he has no sons.

 

The inside story of Elephant Cosmetics is one of collaboration. Collaboration is a very big word. It is a polite word which is intended for public digestion – superficially it sounds like there is going to be agreement, that the two people are working together because they have a similar view. But the reality is that Mr. Twist suddenly found himself having to persuade someone else of the merit of his ideas. He thought that was enough of a challenge. But soon he discovered that collaboration involved not only having to explain hi 

ideas in the hope they would be accepted but also having to listen to someone else’s with her hoping that they would be accepted too.

 

 

 

 

Nadia Martinez is a Connecticut and New York-based Honduran multimedia artist. After studying at the National Academy of Fine Arts in New York, she has been working in sculpture, painting, printmaking and mixed media.

 

Her work has been shown in the United States and internationally in solo and group exhibitions at Zorya Fine Art, Greenwich and other art galleries and museums around the country, as well as abroad at Art Basel Week, Miami, Salon Supercable de Jovenes XVI con FIA, Caracas, ArtLima, Lima, and Museo del Juguete Antiguo, Mexico. She has won several scholarships including The Albert Hallgarten Traveling Scholarship and has been an Artist-in- Residence at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Her work is in collections such as the Art Bank Program of the US Department of State in Washington D.C., and other private collections in the United States, France, Peru, and Venezuela. Nadia also teaches sculpture at the National Academy School, New York. 

 

 

 

 

Elephant Cosmetics wishes to trumpet…

Joanna Bergin, Veronica Boswell, Francesco & Valeria Ceretti, Catherine Chantelot, Eric Chiu, Jason Cooper, Erik de Bourbon-Parme, Anton Fresson, Vanessa Galloway, Sophie Ketley, Billy Liu, Bo Ma, Thomas Naylor, Barbara Pansadoro, Edwina Sandys, Francesca Ugolini, Maria-Giovanna Villari and Halyna Yurkevych.

Joanna came up with ‘Babarmani', Thomas came up with ‘You Grow Moss’, Barbara invented the product name ‘Collapsen’, Anton suggested some brand names which may be revealed in a future exhibition, Catherine and Halyna were at Mr. Twist’s side in the Rajastan, Jason told a very good elephant joke which we have since forgotten but which provided amusement at the right moment, Sophie is an expert in the sort of jars and vessels elephants like to buy, Francesco, Vanessa, Billy, Eric and Bo helped make the idea into a reality, Valeria, Francesca, Erik and Ronnie chimed in with suggestions and Edwina, Mr. Twist’s mother and

an artist, was his first inspiration in art and Maria-Giovanna was his first ‘believer’.