SAM WILDE
Surface Design| Animation| Character Creation
Welcome to the vibrant and captivating world of British award-winning artist Sam Wilde.
Sam’s visually immersive works transport us to a world filled with captivating details and nuanced symbolism. Bursting with color and life, each work celebrates natural phenomena and the beauty of the world around us. His ideas always play with duality and have a deeper meaning when looking beyond the surface. They are often derived from nature’s underworld and the state of our earth. Disguised by vibrant design and beauty, you find a dystopian world and the strange, imaginative characters that live within it.
Sam has worked extensively with coveted brands such as Palladio Fabrics, Liberty, and Svenskt, Tenn, Sweden’s most coveted destination for furniture, design, fabrics, and lifestyle products, was initially started by the architect Joseph Hoffman, who was also one of the founders of Wiener Werkstätte.
Sam is the founder of Vespertine, a luxury brand that specializes in fashion, homeware, and interior décor, all inspired by his signature patterns. With each design, Wilde offers a glimpse into his world, inviting you to indulge in the warmth and personality of his creations.
With a background in natural sciences and a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art London, he has received recognition for his artistic contributions, including a British Design Award, Marks & Spencer Fashion Fabric Award, Svenskt Tenn Textile Talent Award, TexSelect Design Futures Award, and being spotlighted as a Saatchi Art Artist to Collect in 2022.
He has collaborated with brands such as Apple, John Lewis, National Trust, Liberty, Sanderson Design Group, Svenskt Tenn, and Turner Contemporary. His work has also been featured in Cover, Elle, Elle Decoration, Frieze, Gala Magazine, House & Garden, Viewpoint, Vogue, and World of Interiors.
Precarious Pangolins
The gentle pangolin has sadly become the most illegally trafficked animal of the past decade, with the IUCN listing all eight species under the threat of extinction.
The plight of the pangolin is highlighted in this repeating world through a metaphorical game of Snakes & Ladders. With pangolin mothers desperately clambering their way through precarious terrain and across rickety bridges whilst the next generation scrambles to cling on.
At its core, this bold world is interconnected by fireworks of foliage exploding out of giant floating fruits, disguising the subversive tone under a carnivalesque atmosphere.
Fuubutsushi River
The crisp crunch of fresh winter snow underfoot, the sweet scent of budding springtime flowers, the heady buzz of cicadas chirping in the summer’s shade and fallen leaves swirling in an autumnal breeze.
The Japanese word 'fuubutsushi', marks the moment of nostalgic anticipation we feel for the changing seasons. It’s the understanding that each precious moment in the flow of our lives is fleeting, and each of these changes will bring with them, a new season.
A love letter to both the natural history and cultural heritage of the great kingdom of Japan. The four main islands in the archipelago, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, are represented by the seasons winter, spring, summer and autumn respectively. The islands are then chronologically linked by moon brides, symbolizing the transition from one season to the next.
Each island houses ancient Shinto shrines, temples and monuments local to their region, and beside these landmarks sits a rich tapestry of endemic seasonal flora and topiary. Lastly, beneath the islands lay sleeping giant kami, represented by the animals only found in Japan, the elusive giant catfish, giant salamander, samurai crab and stone turtle.
Hubris Tree
This repeating world depicts the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil from Eve’s perspective in the garden of Eden. The word 'hubris' means to defy the norms of behaviour or challenge the gods, and is meant in an ironic sense, as Eve was inevitably going to bite into fruit that was created with the sole purpose of being irresistibly enticing.
To represent this inherent dualism, both sumptuous and nourishing fruits are intermixed with fruits that are poisonous and even deadly when consumed in large quantities. Further still, this world pays homage to Hawaii. A present day paradise, where sadly over half of the island's native flora has been overrun by invasive species.
Humanity’s arrogance may have irreversibly harmed the paradises here on earth, yet being hubristic might also be our greatest strength. Eve was born into a paradox, a place where she had to abandon her inherent nature and abide by a role that was pre-determined for her. In biting into the fruit, and defying the rules that she had no say in shaping. Eve chose to embody her humanity, and with it, embody the autonomy to make her own choices.
