Alexandra Jonscher (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist exploring the dynamics of digital technology, social media and the Internet. Working across painting, sculpture, text, and installation, she uses virtual encounters and online networks to inform the production of her work. Key questions she investigates relate to how we navigate a networked reality as mutable bodies and questions the authorities that dictate algorithmic systemisation. In 2020 she launched a bespoke painted clothing label Dylan Alexander as an offshoot of her creative practice.
Hey Allie! Tell me a bit about yourself and your background.
I’m an emerging artist, curator and creative producer based on Gadigal and Wangal country, also known as Sydney. I’m originally from Chicago in the USA but have grown up in Australia. I’m a Scorpio/ENFP, lover of cats and racoon memes, and among other things work in public art, produce radio, make art and of late have my own label called Dylan Alexander that combines wearable art with upcycled clothing.
Alexandra Jonscher, IRL, 2019, Document Photography
When did you decide to incorporate fashion into your artmaking?
It was completely unintentional but something that I was really curious about for a long time. I was recovering from a tonsillectomy, and I was bored at home trying to occupy my brain (I can be a bit restless like a Labrador puppy when I’m bored), so I took some spray cans to a pair of pants that I didn’t like the fit of anymore. I ended up liking what I’d made and thought it would be cool to make a full look, then another, and then another. After that I made dozens and dozens of pieces that are now Dylan Alexander.
Alexandra Jonscher, Seen, 2019, Document Photography
I love your designs - so unique and fun! How has being an artist affected your choices as a designer?
It’s completely informed what I make. I don’t really think of myself as a designer as such because I see everything through the lens of art and painting. I find my label is an offshoot of whatever I’m working on in my studio at the time. For example, my practice had mostly been focused on painting up until the middle of 2021, so Dylan Alexander felt like a natural extension of practice to find new ways to paint.
And, how has fashion shaped your artmaking?
Now they’ve formed this really fun interaction for me where if I don’t like something in one context, I can recycle it and transform it into another. It’s great because it’s minimising waste and also more fun to create weird and new stuff. This year I got into casting with resin, so now I’m looking at making a new collection informed by that practice. I see fashion like wearable painting and sculpture, and where turning something into something wearable or for the body actually adds a whole other dimension to it.
What is the best (and worst) part about combining the two?
The best is when you’re making some bespoke and unique that is also accessible for people. I don’t think all art should be limited to just being seen and experienced in a white cube gallery context. I love that my art practice can bleed into fashion and it’s not diminishing the work, but making something wholly unique and original. I however am not a fan of taking a photo of an artwork and printing it on a T-Shirt and calling that a mix of art and fashion. That’s more merchandise.
@dustytheband wearing DA, shot by @staticidentity, garments styled courtesy of @practice.studio
What have you learnt about the fashion industry in such early days?
I’m still very new to the fashion industry, but in the work I’ve done so far I’ve learned it’s all about finding people you creatively gel with, who are inspired by your vision and ideas, and supporting those around you to also build on their ideas. When you get a community of creative people working together, cool stuff happens.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Hopefully with a few more exhibitions under my belt and some new evolutions of Dylan Alexander! I’d love to still be chipping away at growing the label while refining my art practice, as well as developing my career in the arts more broadly. I like to wear a few hats at once and see what adventures they bring.