Taylor Swift has been named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year, and she also gave an extremely lengthy and pretty rare interview that covered everything including some hints about Reputation (Taylor’s Version). While the Love Story singer didn’t explicitly reveal when she’d be dropping Rep TV in the interview itself, fans have turned their attention to a mosaic portrait of Taylor featured in TIME by artist Jane Perkins which appears to be packed with Easter Eggs.
Easter Eggs in Taylor Swift’s Time magazine interview
Taylor Swift is closing out 2023 on a high note, becoming the first entertainer to ever earn TIME‘s prestigious Person of the Year title on December 6. To capture this creative spirit of TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year, TIME commissioned London-based artist Jane Perkins to create a portrait of the singer featuring dozens of Easter eggs.
Perkins’ artwork is typically crafted from found materials whose shape and color lend themselves to the specific vision for each project. Her previous portraits include Adele, Princess Diana, and Frida Kahlo. She told TIME magazine, “I am a ‘re-maker,’ taking inspiration from found objects and working them into something new. I work with materials that have a history, often things that have reached ‘the end of the line’ which even charity shops cannot sell—broken or unfashionable jewelry and items unsold for a long time.”
Perkins spent three weeks researching and sourcing the materials and four weeks creating it. The artwork features more than 35 secret items. To create the final image, whose glittery, colorful buttons and beads evoke the song and video for Bejeweled and the costumes seen on concert goers at the Eras Tour, she worked on a firm inverted box frame, using combinations of paper collage and paint beneath the items.
“I work intuitively, building up a composition that feels pleasing. Items get moved around many times before I am happy with the result. I loved making this piece,” she said.
The list of the hidden items include a red scarf, Cowboy boots, Snake, Butterfly, Newspaper,Guitar pics,Heart,Mirrorball/disco ball,Champagne bottle/flute,Heart-shaped sunglasses,Cardigan,Thread/string,Clock set to,midnight,Woods/trees,roses,The number 13 (2),Stars,Cat,Glitter/sparkle,Red lipstick,Sunflower,Flowers,Snowflake,Red lips,A nod at NYC,Seagull,Puzzle piece,Dice (totaling 13),Jewels,Diamonds,Friendship bracelets,Acoustic guitar,Scrabble pieces,Beads with secret,message,Smile,Sneakers and a Moon.
Repution, Taylor’s Version is on its way
TIME straight up wrote an article letting everyone know that there are hidden clues and fans pretty much immediately noticed a toy snake which is the symbol of Taylor’s Reputation era, placed next to a watch face with the hands at 12 and 7.
Taylor Swift also spoke a bit about Reputation to TIME, saying “It’s a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure. I think a lot of people see it and they’re just like, Sick snakes and strobe lights.” She added that Rep TV would be like a fire, and joked about her re-recordings, “I’m collecting horcruxes. I’m collecting infinity stones. Gandalf’s voice is in my head every time I put out a new one. For me, it is a movie now.”
The iconic singer also revealed that she was hesitant to re-record her albums and wasn’t sure whether she wanted to embark on her Taylor’s Version quest. Swift recalled, “I’d run into Kelly Clarkson and she would go, ‘Just redo it. My dad kept saying it to me too. I’d look at them and go, ‘How can I possibly do that?’ Nobody wants to redo their homework if on the way to school, the wind blows your book report away.”
“It’s all in how you deal with loss,” she added. “I respond to extreme pain with defiance.”
