Ed Curtis on the Surprises That Lie Beneath His evian® Collaboration

London-based Ed Curtis is letting go of control of his art and allowing the materials to speak for themselves. Marking a turning point in his practice – which has led him to create large-scale installations, design a clothing line and collaborate with other well-known artists – the creative’s new-found approach is proving to uncover a new sense of discovery, which he’s now bringing to a special collaboration with evian®.

The recent project, which celebrates 200 years of the brand, sees Curtis join British artists Hattie Stewart and Diana al-Shammari in designing limited-edition bottle bags. Paying homage to evian®’s longstanding connection to Wimbledon, he takes the one-of-a-kind opportunity to delve into the vibrant world of tennis iconography and push his latest process even further.

“I saw it as a breakthrough moment in my recent work,” Curtis shares on the innovative practice as we visit his studio base in Bethnal Green, London to find out more. Though his past portfolio of art appears to be crafted with freeing expression and an element of “fun”, every vibrant paint stroke and stitched fabric swatch has always been carefully considered in line with his end goal.

Take the creative’s 2023 life-sized recreation of his teenage bedroom, for example, which exploded with patterns to showcase his innate childlike imagination, or his earlier project with stylist Clifford Jago that brought color to the otherwise dull pandemic period. The message behind his projects is always kept in mind at the start of making, helping him to create intentionally.

Continuing to explain his development with textiles, Curtis says, “Before, I had been cutting out shapes and layering them, whereas with this, all of the fabric pieces are placed on top of each other.” It sounds like a small change, but the uncertainty of what will appear when pieces are cut out is what makes the results so unique.

“I have to keep layering and layering until it feels right. Sometimes that can happen very quickly but on other pieces, it can take days before I feel like I’ve reached the right point,” the creative shares while showing a duffle bag he had made just a few months ago and now hangs on show next to tapestries and garments. “It’s revealing itself and that’s what I love. I enjoy when creation happens in the moment. I just start with a bit of curiosity and let it flow.”

Applying this sew-and-cut process to the new evian® collaboration, Curtis went on to break down Wimbledon’s motifs, including strawberries, tennis balls and gingham fabric as well as the brand’s dedicated “200 Years Young” motifs, then reconstructed them in the artwork. He says, “All of the other patterns that surround this classic iconography give a mix of something very abstract alongside more recognizable symbols.”

Naturally, with the experimental factor of this new practice, the final design that featured on the bottle bag came after several iterations. Curtis explains, “There was a process of elimination and improving as I went along, trying to pick out different colors and styles. I was conscious that [the art] needed to be seen on a small object and I knew certain versions weren’t going to translate very well.”

After weeks of trialling different designs, he landed on a boldly layered masterpiece, with second-hand blue striped swatches and squiggly scraps providing a background to bold typography in the brand’s trademark pink tone. From the sketched outline on the strawberries to the frayed edges of the scissor cuts, each detail takes on a slightly raw look yet every motif has a place in the design that feels right.

As the creative’s practice evolves, one thing is certain: creating visual art solely with his hands. It’s this authenticity that has always lent a joyful spirit to his artwork, and something that will now be enjoyed for this summer at Wimbledon with the evian® bottle bag.

Take a closer look behind the doors of Ed Curtis’ East London studio via the gallery above.

You can now shop the bottle bag by entering the waitlist on evian®’s website. T&Cs apply.