Mark Wickstead
“I love you more than you can possibly imagine”
If you have walked by our store front windows this month, you may have noticed our glass plastered with love. Mark “Sparky” Wickstead has been collaborating with the lab this holiday and sharing his many talents.
We asked him 10 questions about his work, likes, and inspirations.
1- How did you begin your career? I joined a track club when I was 11. I studied art history at university. But really, I feel that I’ve just started. All I did before was think about this stuff.
2- What inspires your creative process? Pop music, my friends, pop culture, swimming, mathematics, everything.
3- How do you see your work evolving in the next 5 years? They’re just squares, but… the more I do, the better I get. I’ll do them forever.
4- How does the Vancouver culture and lifestyle inspire or effect your work? Vancouver is filled with attractive people. I think that we’re a good looking, healthy city with interesting people. I like feeling good, I like wearing nice clothes. I enjoy doing a mad amount of exercise, putting on my newest “cool dude” outfit and …painting, or seeing bands or getting drunk.
5- Whats your style? Retired athlete/uncertain ninja, I always wear the wrong stuff…
6- Artist you admire? Giorgio Moroder cos it’s spare and quiet and beautiful, Takashi Murakami cos it’s sensory overload and eye candy, Bill Drummond from the KLF cos he’s a restless genius that fucks with pop culture, James Murphy from lcd soundsystem cos… I dunno… he’s just… right, Ron Terada and Steven Shearer cos they live here and they’re so smart! And… Autechre.
7- Favorite place to travel and why? I’ve been to London, Tokyo and New York. I love them all. I like the visual stimulation, energy and creativity that busy places have to offer. Small towns freak me out, yuck!
8- What are you reading? Listening to? Been reading magazines! Been listening to David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust, Beach Boys – Pet Sounds, Autechre – Quaristice, Elvis Costello – This Years Model, Culture Club – Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, The Cure – Seventeen Seconds, Japan-Quiet Life, The XX, Prince, Thompson Twins, Japan, Wire, Gang of Four, PiL, Lemonade – Diver, The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street, Scott Walker – Tilt, George Micheal, The Pet Shop Boys, Joy Division, Animal Collective, Felt, Cindytalk, Flock of Seagulls, Fleetwood Mac, The Jam, Grizzly Bear, etc…
9- Last meal before you die and who would it be with? Dunno… some sort of extreme, experimental Japanese seafood, tapas with loads of friends and wine.
10- Where will you go from here? I’ll keep painting squares in my cool dude outfits, hanging out with people I like and getting turned on by all the interesting stuff around me all the time.
Graphic Tees inspired by Sparky are available at the lab while quantities last!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] Mark Wickstead. This seemed familiar….but I couldn't place it. Then it dawned on me: it was Sparky, the amazing runner and trainer I have worked with on and off for years! Sparky is always filled with random information and has an incredible zeal for life: one day he is salsa dancing, the next learning how to juggle, and always is filled with amazing music suggestions. The guy is like a walking rolodex of random awesomeness – he used to ask me movie trivia while I was doing burpees (anyone who knows him knows what I'm talking about). Still, I was blown away by my pal the extreme athlete creating something that seemed like such a departure from his life in sport. For more on Sparky's story, check out the awesome lululemonlab blog here. [...]
[...] Mark Wickstead. This seemed familiar….but I couldn't place it. Then it dawned on me: it was Sparky, the amazing runner and trainer I have worked with on and off for years! Sparky is always filled with random information and has an incredible zeal for life: one day he is salsa dancing, the next learning how to juggle, and always is filled with amazing music suggestions. The guy is like a walking rolodex of random awesomeness – he used to ask me movie trivia while I was doing burpees (anyone who knows him knows what I'm talking about). Still, I was blown away by my pal the extreme athlete creating something that seemed like such a departure from his life in sport. For more on Sparky's story, check out the lululemonlab blog here. [...]