Born in South Korea in 1978, Chrissy Hammond was adopted along with her twin sister Nicole and flown to their new home in Sydney at 6 months of age. Chrissy became part of a family with a history of craftsmanship and fashion. Her grand parents immigrated to Sydney after the Second World War to run a boutique fashion label; her father a businessman and connoisseur of fine jewellery and precious stones.
As a girl, Chrissy was surrounded by her grandmother’s extravagant wardrobe and eclectic taste in design and her father’s passion for immaculate craftsmanship.
With a fixation for art and creating objects Chrissy enrolled in a Fine Arts degree majoring in sculpture, laying a strong foundation for her approach to the creative process. Chrissy graduated with a BFA at COFA, The University of New South Wales (UNSW) and The University of Texas in Austin Texas USA, in 1999.
Following her interest in object design and craftsmanship, Chrissy spent over 10 years in the fashion industry, designing and hand making footwear for labels including- Paul Harnden, Comme des Garcon, Andrew McDonald; making bespoke footwear for Opera Australia and the film industry.
In 2004 Chrissy started her own successful high-end men’s footwear label “Marsu Homme” www.marsuhomme.com
In 2011 Chrissy took a break from her fashion career to concentrate on her professional art practice, making sculptural works across different mediums, her art is a mixture of inspiration and obsession.
Through Chrissy’s understanding of craftsmanship her work explores concepts of new and old, in both materials and aesthetics. She brings a contemporary twist to traditional and non traditional materials in her work.
Chrissy’s current studio practice is working with leather stretched on canvas stretchers, experimenting with traditional bespoke shoe crafting methods and painting. Using leather, paint, nails, make up, resin, cotton and antique tools to create sculptural works for walls.