Whether constructing giant UFO’s for a space-inspired story in British Vogue, perching Coca Rocha on a giant glove, or framing Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter in a TV screen out in the countryside, set designer Shona Heath has always indulged
Whether constructing giant UFO’s for a space-inspired story in British Vogue, perching Coca Rocha on a giant glove, or framing Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter in a TV screen out in the countryside, set designer Shona Heath has always indulged her flights of fancy to the fullest effect, creating beautifully barmy worlds with each new project she undertakes. In many ways, set designing is a return to her childhood. “I learnt all the things I needed to do for this job from my mum without even realising: making dolls, stain glass, etching – nothing felt like I couldn’t try it or have a go. That’s really stayed with me; I don’t for a minute think I can’t do it.”
After graduating from Brighton University with a degree in Fashion Design in 1997, Heath found herself gravitating towards the craftiness of set-building. “I think it was a natural progression because I was interested in costume more than fashion. I was interested in showpieces and I was interested in making special pieces for photographs. Image making was always my end goal. The more I followed that path, the more I got drawn into the set and background because in a way, often the clothes can be advertising-led, whereas I felt the things I could do with a set were less dictated to by advertisers.”
While her whimsical and painterly tableaux vivants may recall a gloriously offbeat, colour-saturated take on the baroque elegance of Cecil Beaton, inspiration can strike from anywhere. “I’ve got a photographic memory and normally the first port of call is things I can think of in my head. Now, even though I fight against computers, I do a lot of my research on the internet. You can get crazy, random images, which I really enjoy. I like to have a few odd things that don’t make any sense and take off on different tangents. I’m not very consistent or thorough in my research; I’m sort of random and frivolous.”
It’s that sense of frivolity and surrealism that has led to enduring collaborations with the photographer Tim Walker and fellow Brighton University graduate, AnOther’s fashion director, Cathy Edwards. Citing a shoot with Edwards and the legendary photographer Paolo Roversi for AnOther as her favourite, Heath recalls, “I made these huge papier maché masks for the shoot and was really honoured that Paolo liked the idea of shooting with them. The way he shot was so fantastic: he painted with coloured torches and we were in the dark while he shot it. It looked really eerie and I liked how the fashion and photography changed the masks.”
Although she and her husband recently welcomed a new arrival to their family, Heath has just taken on her biggest challenge yet: a short film with Tim Walker. “That’s a whole new world and we’re learning about it together,” she muses. The theatre is next in the sights for the ever-inventive and prolific Heath. “I would absolutely love to make a set for a play. I feel like a fraud because I’m not really into theatre, but I’m into the visual aspect. I’ve got books on old theatres and on old Russian theatre sets which I absolutely love. I’m always fascinated by photography though – it adds a mystery and another layer of magic to what you’ve created. The thing I most want to do though is to produce images for a stage show. I always think they’re terrible!”
Kin Woo writes for Dazed & Confused, Ponystep and Androgyny magazine and is a contributing editor for Dazed Digital. He has produced films for international artists Phoenix, Patrick Wolf and Lissie Trullie
