WELCOME TO LAUREN HALSEY'S NEIGHBORHOOD
GQ India|April - May 2024
The red-hot 36-year-old artist has achieved global success with a very local approach: applying imaginative, laser-like focus to a few square blocks of her hometown. In doing so, she renders and reflects what it's actually like to live and work in-and never, ever leave-South Central Los Angeles.
JASMINE SANDERS
WELCOME TO LAUREN HALSEY'S NEIGHBORHOOD

ENTERING Lauren Halsey's studio, which sits on a lowkey corner in South Central LA, there is the feeling that the quasi-industrial space has been subsumed by Halsey's creations. The studio does not merely house art, but has become art. On the unsurprisingly sunny Saturday when I visit, the layout bursts and gleams, in contrast to the concrete surroundings outside. On broad tables, palm trees made of acrylic, resin, and feathers loom over glittered, wood-mounted cutouts of Halsey's heroes, who often happen to be local heroes. The scene has come alive, bustling with bodybuilders, members of Halsey's family, and celebrities like the rapper MC Eiht, whom I recognize from Menace II Society. Everyday denizens commingle with the well-known, imparting not just an image, but the texture and intimate thrills of Cali life.

Halsey is inconspicuously dressed in a hoodie and sneakers, and discusses her practice with nonplussed clarity of vision and purpose. Her voice is smooth, lilting: "The work will reference South Central, as it always does," she tells me. "What I love about these is I can really get into a hyperspecificity. Down to, like, my cousin's car or the doughnut shop on the corner." Halsey turns and points to those figures, which will later be rendered into massive murals with a combination of spray paint graffiti and photography. They seem to preside over the whole scene, contributing to the sense that the work is in memory and recognition of those who are dead yet remain present. Halsey's partner, nearby, spatters glitter onto a photograph.

Esta historia es de la edición April - May 2024 de GQ India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición April - May 2024 de GQ India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE GQ INDIAVer todo
The 30 Best Watches Of 2024
GQ India

The 30 Best Watches Of 2024

Rounding up the best shapes, materials, complications and sizes from this year's horological novelty treasure chest.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
Wes Lang's Heroes of Love...
GQ India

Wes Lang's Heroes of Love...

Last month, LA-based artist Wes Lang unveiled The Black Paintings, a monumental series of works that play like storyboards to a raucous midnight horror movieand a spiritual quest. Here, GQ collaborates with the artist on a fashion story that brings his stylish characters off the canvas.

time-read
8 minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre Dame
GQ India

The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre Dame

In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY."
GQ India

"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY."

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter talks business, legacy, art, and family

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Wedding Singers
GQ India

The Wedding Singers

Madboy Mink's dynamic duo, Saba Azad and Imaad Shah, redefine festive style.

time-read
5 minutos  |
October - November 2024
A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face
GQ India

A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face

As collectors look to make their grail watches stand out, they're turning to unique vintage bracelets and paying thousands on thousands for straps on the secondary market.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Fluidity of Cartier
GQ India

The Fluidity of Cartier

Why Gen Z stars are obsessed with this historic maison.

time-read
2 minutos  |
October - November 2024
A Princess with Passion
GQ India

A Princess with Passion

From restoring monuments to reviving hereditary crafts, Bhavnagar's Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil has her sights on the future.

time-read
6 minutos  |
October - November 2024
THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ
GQ India

THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ

The Coachella-slaying, multi-language-singing, genre-obliterating members of Ateez are quickly becoming load-bearing stars of our global pop universe.

time-read
10 minutos  |
August - September 2024
DEMNA UNMASKED
GQ India

DEMNA UNMASKED

He's the most influential designer of the past decade. He's also the most controversial. Now the creative director of Balenciaga is exploring a surprising source of inspiration: happiness. GQ's Samuel Hine witnesses the dawn of Demna's new era, in Paris, New York, and Shanghai. Photographs by Jason Nocito.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
August - September 2024