Articles > October 2010 > Yolanda Bartram
|
|
Yolanda BartramSpecial effects
Award-winning body artist Yolanda Bartram is confident she can change common conceptions about her art form.As far as after-school jobs go, Yolanda Bartram’s was pretty outstanding. The Dutch teen would stand stark naked save a pair of flesh-coloured underwear for hours while her body artist mother transformed her into a living, breathing and often performing work of art. The mother and daughter duo toured the Netherlands and beyond together, entering competitions that pit their skills against some of the world’s most inventive body artists. Yolanda adored the work, the lifestyle and the art form itself, soon deciding to take a more active role in it. Taking brush to flesh for the first time at age 15, she found her modelling experience an invaluable asset. “Being aware of what the model is experiencing makes me a better painter,” she says. “Modelling at competitions also allowed me to see what other artists were doing and I learnt a lot. When you’re an artist yourself, you have no idea what the others are doing until the very end.” Yolanda particularly enjoys the storytelling aspect of the art form which, at its best, fuses elements of painting, sculpture and theatre with exquisite craft. To make the flamboyant cast of characters, she dreamed up a reality, however, she knew she needed professional training. She completed courses in make-up artistry and airbrush painting, shared ideas and techniques with fellow artists and began to set big goals. When the family moved to Wellington in 1999, Yolanda studied fashion design at Massey University, confident she’d acquire the knowledge and skills required to create sophisticated costumes and props. She and her mother Nicole Heydenrijk, who, by this stage, was considered one of the Netherland’s top body artists – were dismayed to discover body art was virtually unheard of in Wellington. Undeterred, they decided to raise its profile themselves. “My mum and I started our company, BodyFX, in 2001 to promote body art in New Zealand,” she explains. The pair ran makeup courses from their studio in central Wellington and created inevitably eye-catching exhibitions for events such as the Cuba Street Carnival. Their attention-seeking tactics worked and they found themselves completing projects for film, TV and theatre, and private, community and corporate events. The corporate sector has proved enthusiastic about body art’s wow/shock factor at parties and product launches. One of Yolanda’s most popular tricks is to make models look like sculptures or table centrepieces. “You should see the look on guests’ faces when [the model] hands them a drink,” Yolanda laughs. Now based in Auckland, Yolanda is recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading body artists. She’s won a swag of awards at home and abroad, including first place in the special effects category of the 2010 World Bodypainting Championships in Austria (she nabbed the top spot in the facepainting special effects category last year). She’s had major wins in the NZ Body Art Awards since their inception in 2006 and twice been highly commended in the World of WearableArt Awards’ Bizarre Bra category. Her entry into the 2004 WOW Awards – a garment with two strategically-placed broken taps entitled ‘Out of Order’ – is typical of her subversive, subtly humorous style. Yolanda cites her career highlight as her win at this year’s world champs in Austria. She and Brazilian airbrush artist Alex Hansen spent more than seven hours on the day of the competition on their entry ‘Armageddon Day’ – a commentary on the correlation between war and religion. Part-man, part-WWII fighter plane, the model sported a prosthetic propellored helmet and brightly-painted body armour adorned with religious symbols (including a prosthetic Buddha). Typically, Yolanda spends several months preparing for overseas competitions. “Most have a theme so there is a lot of planning and designing to do beforehand,” she explains. “Special effects entries often have props and prosthetics which need to be done in advance. Getting them overseas in suitcases is a challenge at times. I get some funny looks at customs.” BodyFX has also proved a major success story. When Nicole moved to a lifestyle block in Wainuiomata in 2006, Yolanda and Kiwi husband Julian moved to Auckland with their two pre-school children and set up a studio there (Nicole has since set up a second studio and production facility in Wainuiomata). Nicole and Yolanda, co-directors of the company, began selling their own range of foam and latex special effects prosthetics (aka 3D tattoos) in their studios and online, and now export them – together with their unique ‘Beautility Belt’ for makeup artists – around the world. Over the past few years, BodyFX built up an impressive international client list, which includes Air New Zealand, The Body Shop, Jägermeister, Saatchi & Saatchi, Telecom, Tourism NZ, Vodafone and The Lord of the Rings film crew. It even has a glowing reference from the Cirque du Soleil. Yolanda’s work frequently sees her fly to exotic locations which she says has enabled her to “make amazing friends all over the world”. A favourite recent gig was travelling to Sydney last year to paint Australian flags on a bunch of promo girls for the launch of Richard Branson’s Virgin Australia airline. “Being invited to Korea and China to judge competitions and do demo body-paints are pretty much up there as well,” she says. The business is still very much a family affair. Yolanda is trying to convince Julian – an independent contractor who helps out with sales and PR for the company – to come on board full-time and her younger sister Myrthe appears to have inherited the bodypainting gene. Even the kids, Layla (5) and Sam (4), are in on the act, occasionally acting as models. Yolanda has also formed a close business partnership with Auckland photographer Bret Lucas. She acts as the in-house make-up artist at his Penrose premises, Fstopstudios, and promises they have an exciting but, as yet, top-secret new venture in store. Describing body art as a “lifestyle and passion” rather than a job, Yolanda finds inspiration in everything from nature to film to novels and says she is constantly designing in her head. As she sees it, the only downside of her career choice is that, in New Zealand at least, body art is not treated as a serious art form. “The lack of support in New Zealand has been disappointing,” she says. “I have not fully overcome this, but with acquiring fame overseas, I know New Zealand will appreciate me and my work soon enough. I am promoting the country wherever I go.” Determined to achieve still greater success as a body artist and expand the business, Yolanda says her greatest challenge lies in ensuring she devotes enough time to her children. “The opportunities given to me at the moment are too good to ignore but I also want to be there for my kids. I will have my cake and eat it too by sharing it with my family. I hope my kids will grow up to be proud of their mum and understand they can achieve big dreams as well.” Yolanda is setto compete in the New Zealand Body Art Awards at Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre on 2 October. The themes for 2010 are ‘Incredible India’ and ‘A Play on Words’. www.bodyartawards.co.nz Title:The body beautiful
|