The artist Fafi has taken a unique to art world success-- exploring femininity through stereotypes and using them to her advantage. Without compromising her foundational ideals, she's locked toy manufacturing deals with Sony and Medicom, created countless illustrations for Vogue, Elle and The Face, created collaborations with Adidas, M.A.C, Hennessy, Swatch, Samsung and Le SportSac, and been the subject of many solo and group shows in the most respected galleries around the globe.
Her presence during the 2013 Miami Art Basel at Wynwood walls, “Women on the walls” (curated by Jeffrey Deitch), brought her to the fore of the event with two pieces. One showcased her iconic Fafinettes, the other was a flower installation "SALOPE” which added a new medium and dimension to her public art. After becoming a mother, her next move was animating the Fafinettes in music videos for Lily Allen and Mark Ronson’s , and co-directed ‘Do Do Do’ for Ed Banger act Carte Blanche. She's also directed Azealia Banks, M.I.A. and others in short films and music videos.
Her first comic book ‘THE CARMINE VAULT’ released in April 2012 on the Rizzoli Books imprint, which lead to a world tour in major cities around the globe, gathering her friends and throwing parties from Mexico city to Tokyo and L.A to London. The Fafinettes are now a part of an entire universe of creatures, homes and vehicles, and exist in video, text, digital, and other mediums. It’s a dreamy and peculiar place, and one that could only be created by Fafi.
All of this is to say that the world of Fafi is expansive, creative, multidimensional, multimedia, and unstoppable. Which made for a fascinating discussion with Jeff Staple as part of Pow! Wow! Long Beach. The evening was presented by Imprint.