‘We are so conditioned to strive for perfection,’ says make-up artist David Gillers
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Courtesy of @jnx_mua
NAME DAVID GILLERS
AGE 30
LOCATION London, England
STAR SIGN Gemini
GUILTY PLEASURE A cheeky McDonalds.
“The fundamental of human flourishing is to practice the art of non-conformity and self-contemplation,” writes make-up artist, David Gillers, below an Instagram post. This thought-provoking caption describes a powerful project between Gillers, and film platform Nowness; a half-formed, seemingly ravaged and beautifully shattered 3D scan of a human face, sculpted to suggest the appearance of white-powdered false eyelashes offsetting a midnight eye-shadow. The poignancy and precision of these words from the self-confessed lover of noughties make-up, hand in hand with the explosive freedom and sensory experimentation hallmarking his artistic approach, amplify the cry for liberation and joie-de-vivre seeping uncontrollably from each of his looks. He’s previously described his aesthetic as ‘ugly beauty’, yet it seems more apt to credit his electric employment of colour and movement as a challenge to the very existence of stereotypical ‘beauty’ altogether.
Gillers spent lockdown creating The Corona Chronicles, a series of vivid self-portrait make-up looks that offered a distorted reflection of the strange, unsettling everyday. The close-up shots used blazing hues and coloured lines to portray the uncertainty and insecurity proliferating in the pandemic, providing an interpretation of life’s imperfections through the very art of imperfection itself. In daring to capture the waxing and waning that constitutes normality, Gillers inadvertently catapulted himself through the industry’s stratosphere at a rate that is anything but normal. His advice for young, aspiring make-up artists? “Prepare to work a lot, and more often than not for free. It will inevitably get better!” With an impressive array of editorial credits already under his belt, Giller’s limits appear to be limitless…
Briony Sturgis: What first got you into make-up?
David Gillers: It’s always been in the back of my mind ever since my goth teenager days in high school. Back then in Latvia, there was no opportunity and the financial situation wasn't that great. It kind of went on the back burner. Then I moved to the UK and found a full-time job as a waiter. I spent five years in that place, watching beauty videos on YouTube, and trying things on myself as I worked full time - that was how I lived for a couple of years. I was buying products, playing with textures and colours, trying things out and teaching myself the basics.
BS: Where do you find your inspiration?
DG: It’s a tough one – there’s no one specific place I draw inspiration from. I see potential for it to come from anywhere; music, films, posters, campaigns…people you see on the street or emotions you feel in the moment.
BS: You’ve previously described your aesthetic as ‘ugly make-up’. What does that mean to you?
DG: In my mind, it’s make-up that looks slightly undone, deconstructed, messy or tacky. In the world of beauty, we are so conditioned to strive for perfection and balance. I am trying to challenge that by showing beauty’s different side.
BS: Biggest pinch-me moment?
DG: Hands down, when I was asked to do Ashnikko’s make-up for the Brit Awards last year!
BS: Which project was, technically, the most challenging for you?
DG: I think it’s always the first one, just because you lack experience, communication skills and set-etiquette knowledge. It’s like walking on eggshells throughout the whole day.
BS: Dream face to paint?
DG: Melanie Gaydos. I mean look at her - she is mesmerising!
BS: It’s June 21st and you’re hosting a post-lockdown dinner party. Who’s on the guest list?
DG: No guests! Just me and Chromatica on repeat, all night long!
BS: What was the first item of make-up you ever bought?
DG: I think it was one of those 120 colour palettes from eBay with a suspiciously low price. It worked fine for me back then.
BS: What was the last?
DG: Lime Crime Chroma Eyeshadow Palette. The colour story just called my name and I knew I had to have it.
BS: Weirdest thing you own?
DG: Excessive pictures of other people’s faces on my phone. If I lost my phone and someone took a peek inside, I feel like they would have many questions!
BS: Biggest fashion faux-pas?
DG: I don’t have one. I feel like if you like a certain look, more power to you. Slay it, serve it!
BS: Describe lockdown for you in 3 words…
DG: Despair. Hope. Renaissance.
BS: What was a moment where you thought, ‘I’ve made it’?
DG: I don’t think I’ve had it yet. I feel that I am just in the very beginning of my journey. There’s so much more to do before I can say that I’ve truly achieved something.
BS: And finally, any last words?
DG: Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.