Dr Noki NHS is not exactly an optimist. On a trip through the East End district in London where he started out, he said, “Humanity’s being played out to its genetic intentions; we are destructive people.” Envious, petty, whatever; you name it, Dr Noki’s calling us on it. That being said, it’s not all gloom and doom, as he continues, “We also love, have empathy. I suppose I try and put empathy into my work.”

From the beginning, designer and artist JJ Hudson (a.k.a. Dr Noki), was reinterpreting brands through mashups, cross-stitching subcultures. For him, there’s no mainstream to breakthrough to; he’s concerned with a longterm art project, one which “plays the destructive game” in a positive manner. The constant overtones of rebirth and new interpretations are reified in a memorable 1998 cover shot for i-D and his installation in London’s Fashion Space Gallery, as part of an exhibition on bootlegging entitled The Real Thing. The search for a community by way of his art is evident in a series of collaborations with couture embroiderer Jenny King, including an upcoming drop entitled City Moth Squad’s, released via MatchesFashion.com in June.

Leading a survey of Shoreditch, Dr Noki talks us through his very specific approach to art and fashion, capturing life in all its complexity.