This? week? I? attended ?the Light? and? Architecture? symposium? at ?the? Kolding? School ?of? Design ?in ?Denmark. The event played ?host to? one of the forerunners in innovative Textile Design speaker ?Reiko? Sudo ?co? founder? and? director ?of? NUNO ?fabrics.??
The company have been granted numerous accolades and were recently given the Mainichi? Design? Award, viagra 100mg cure the Roscoe? Prize? and? the? Japanese? Interior? Designers’? Association? Design? Award.? The? talk? focused? on? NUNO‘s? last project?? designing? fabrics? for? the? Mandarin? Oriental? Hotel, side effects ? Tokyo.?
The? project? aim for the Mandarin Oriental was to convey? Japan’s? changing? seasons? and? is? inspired? by the natural elements? of? wood? and? water.? Reiko? explained how? they? applied? traditional? Japanese? handcraft? and fused it with unconventional? materials?. She? took? the? audience? on? a? beautiful? journey? of? Japanese? landscapes? through? the? forest? in? rainfall,? sunshine,? day? and? night.? All? elements? provide? inspiration? for? the? hotel’s? interior? design fabric?, from? the? root? and? texture? of? a? tree,? or? the? way? the? raindrops? bounce? from? leaf? to? leaf,? reflecting? rays? of? sunshine? across? the? forest? floor.? This? allowed? the? audience? to? visualise? the? source? of? inspiration? behind? each ?fabric? and? imagine ?the ?textural ?quality ?of? the ?cloth? without ?the? sense? of ?touch.?
After? introducing? her? inspirational? source for the fabrics, Reiko went on to? explain the methods of ?production.? For? example? to? recreate? the? beautiful? opalescent? sparkling rays? of? sunshine,? gold? embroidery? was? stitched? onto? transparent? fabric.
?The atmosphere? of? forest? at nightfall? was? created by? stitching? shiny? metallic? midnight? blue? against? ink? stained? handmade? paper.? This? extra? consideration? to? detail? brings? an ?experiential ?quality ?to ?the ?fabric ?emulating ?a? certain? ambiance.?
Reiko? was? a? truly? inspirational? speaker;? her? efforts? have? allowed? her? to? stay? true? to? Japanese? traditional? handcraft? whilst? experimenting? with? new? materials? to? create new? possibilities. ?This? visionary? approach? and? impeccable? attention? to? detail? project? an? original? yet honest? representation? of? Japanese ?culture.
Femke De Jong’s illustrations are multi-layered and intensively reworked collages, prostate they often explore the seemingly oppositional subjects of man and machine. She kindly agreed to answer a few of our questions and send us some lovely images to eyeball.
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
I am originally from the Netherlands and I lived in Amsterdam for about 10 years before I moved to Bristol 6 years ago. I come from a family of ‘makers’, especially my gran and my mum. I have always been interested in the visual arts, like all kids I spent a lot of time drawing and making ‘stuff’. I used to sit in the attic, reading old books, and especially loved the pictures in my dad’s science encyclopedias.
Also, I was kept back for a year in Kindergarten, the teachers there thought it would be good for me to play for another year.
How would you describe your work?
Surrealist collage, textural, playful, eclectic mishmash, a whiff of antiquety, whimsical.
What mediums do you use to create your illustrations?
A composition of drawings, collage (digital and hand-rendered) of elements and textures, layered up in the computer. I often scan hand-rendered drawings or textures in and work from thumbnails and ideas I make first. When inside the computer, I sometimes print out things again and then work into these prints. I try to keep that ‘organic’, hand-rendered feel in my work.
Collage is a strong element to your illustrations. What is it about using this technique that interests you?
Working with collage gives me a lot of freedom, to mix different elements and ideas, to get to a ‘concoction’. When I was little I wanted to be an inventor, and in a way I still ‘invent’ illustrations.
Would you say you have certain themes which you visit in your illustrations?
I have always been interested in science, and often include mechanical bits in my illustrations.
I sometimes use it as an metaphore to emphasize the ‘clunky’ relationship between man and machine, or eg. the human doesn’t take responsibility for his/her actions, and acts as if he/she is programmed to do so. Themes like science, and environmental issues interest me.
Do you think that the fact that you were raised in the Netherlands has affected your work in anyway?
I think my view is from a more ‘Dutch’ angle. I moved here about six years ago and even though I dream in English, Dutch normality is still present in the back of my head. Dutch sayings and expressions often pop up, and I find them visually stimulating. I think they drive a lot of the ideas in my work.
I really appreciate the British sense of humour for it’s absurd and macabre satire, like Monty Python and League of Gentlemen.
Is there a Dutch and an English illustration style?
The Dutch love their very bright colour palette, which is a little too bright for my liking. My colour palette seems to go towards more muted colours.
A lot of illustration in the Netherlands seems to me to be direct, conceptual and design led, and more minimalist whilst British illustration seems to be more romantic and eccentric.
In England, there is a big affection and tolerance of the eccentric, whilst in the Netherlands there is a saying: ‘Act normal, you’re mad enough as you are.’
How do you like living in Bristol? Have you ever considered living in london like many creatives do?
I live with my boyfriend in a fairly central bit of Bristol. Bristol is a lively student city, there are always plenty of things to do here, as well I know a lot of fellow-illustrators here, like the collective ‘Hot Soup’. I’m actually thinking about living more in the countryside than we do now, so London would be a step in the other direction. Eventhough London is a very good place to be for creatives, and I have concidered moving there in the past, I now use the internet to plug myself, and visit London once every month/two months.
What are you working on at the moment?
This week I am working on a book cover, an editorial and an image that will appear in the book Lucidity.
What inspires you?
Many things. I’ve been called too eclectic before, but when a friend went to Amsterdam with me, she said: “I understand now where you come from, this place is like one of your collages”. Amsterdam is a melting pot of many cultures, colourful, lively and noisy. There’s lots of nooks and crannies, like an old curiosity shop.
In Amsterdam there is an independence in attitude, and the freedom to be expressive. I love walking around antique shops and flea markets, to get a feel of the old times.
Who are your favourite artists?
The Russian Avant-Garde constructivists like El Lissitzky and Rodchenko for their composition. Henrik Drescher, for his independent style and Paul Slater, because of his absurd and surrealist humour. Also Svankmajer, for his nightmarishly unsettling surrealities. I love Eastern European animation the grimness and absurdity they find in everyday topics. The world around us is sometimes unsettling and by depicting the world in a surreal way and making fun of it, helps.
How long do you usually work on one image?
It depends. For an editorial I usually work on the ideas and the roughs for a couple of hours, and then a bit longer on the finished piece.
When there’s a deadline, things always get done. When I don’t have the deadline, I revisit work more and things can take longer.
Have you done any commissioned work?
I have done are a book cover for the Bristol short story prize, which they used for the front cover of their quarterly mag. A CD cover for Furthernoise and some editorials for Management Today and Resource.
What would your dream project be?
In this order: A cover for New Scientist, to design a range of book covers, a series of books for older children.
Any project where I get a lot of freedom, eg. by working with an art editor who isn’t afraid to take risks.
To see more of Femke’s work you’re just one click away from her website. You can also buy a few of her things here.
Saturday saw a hoard of eager revellers descend on the Fym Fyg Bar in Bethnal Green for all the fun of the fair, this well vintage fair that is! You could tell news of the event had travelled far on the grape vine as bargainistas formed a snaking queue outside that, alas, fellow intern Sabrina and I fell victim to. After an exasperating wait we finally entered the vintage emporium, and it certainly was a visual feast as soon as you entered. The first sight to grab my attention was the stunningly nostaligic tea shoppe brought to us by the delightful ladies at Lady Luck Rules Ok! I couldn’t help being hypnotised by the endless array of cakes and beautifully clad tea ladies adorned in 50′s get ups! But determined to embark on my bargain hunt I managed to draw myself away from the alluring cupcakes and straight on to the stalls.
Highly reminiscent of a sweet shop rabble on a Saturday afternoon everyone was grabbing at the £5 a bag stalls, eagerly stuffing as much in as physically possible. There was a certain skill to this I established, you had to adopt a Tetris style approach to utilise the space to its full capacity. There certainly was enough to satisfy every nostalgic whim, I trawled through rows and rows of 50 and 60s aprons and pretty shift dresses, and then straight on to all the glamour and cabaret of the 70′s and 80′s in all their glittery excesses.
The Vintage Kilo stall, it has to be said, was my beeline and alas I was disappointed. I think most of Shoreditch had my idea so subsequently it descended into a cattle market, making it all too difficult to delve out those bargains. Maybe I am still a mere vintage fair novice; I think I was dealing with the pros.
The Jewellery was a real treat, I unearthered some stunning brooches, hat pins and charmingnecklaces, it really was a treasure trove of shimmery trinkets perfect for us magpies. There was also beautiful millinery ablaze with feathers and gems galore, taking us on a whirlwind tour through the roaring 40s to the swinging 60′s. I wished I could pull off some of the more flamboyant styles!
After more then sufficient vintage indulgence I decided it was definitely time to let my stomach do the talking and succumb to some well deserved tea and cake at Lady Lucks pop up tea shoppe. The décor was delightfully twee and had been consciously laid out to reflect individual decades spanning the 50s to the 80s. We were escorted right back to the 50s table which was brimming with vintage board games. The staples included Sorry, Bingo and Scrabble all definitive games from the era in my book! So after taking in the décor I launched straight into a hearty cup of tea and my delectable chocolate cup cake while my partner in crime went for the carrot cake.
So in all the consensus was a definite thumbs up for the affordable vintage fair, it’s safe to say I was vintaged out by the end! Keep your eyes out for the next one guys, it’s 25th April in Lincoln, well worth a visit!
Altermodern: Tate Triennial 2009
A multi media visual exploration of Altermodernism. Curated by Nicolas Bourriaud, there the co- founder of Palais de Tokyo in Paris, he describes Altermodern art as art made in today’s global context, a counter reaction to commercialism. The selection includes some of the best current British artist, alongside international artists who are working within similar themes.
Tate Britain Mill bank London SW1P 4RG
3rd Feb – 26th Apr 09 Daily 10am-5.50pm
BRIDGE 2 WORLDS
The launch and celabration of Indian modern art, curated by Radha Binod Sharma.
The show will feature works by 22 comtemporary Indian artist, some of whom have never exhibited outside of there own country.
Menier Gallery 51 Southwark Street London SE1 1RU
31. Mar – 9. Apr 09, free admission 11am – 6pm daily
The Mail Me Art Project
Run by Darren Di Lieto
The exhibition showcases a vast collection of artistic work sent in the form of mail by both professional and amateur artists of all ages from across the world as part of the 2007 Mail Me Art project. All of the work submitted to the Mail Me Art project is exhibited and available for purchase.
Red gate gallery
209a Coldharbour Lane Brixton London SW9 8RU
Friday 3rd to 9th of April 2009,
Gallery Opening Hours: Sat, Mon, Tues, Wed: 2.30 pm – 6.30 pm
Last day of Exhibition: Thurs 9th of April: 11.00am to 5.00pm
Sock Exchange
Through video, events and one-on-one engagement, Sock Exchange invites you to transforming your humble and odd socks into an exquisite art experience.
Also come sit and knit with other fellow knitters/makers. Show non-knitters how to knit their own sock and spread the sock appreciation.
Exhibiting alongside residents from Eyebeam’s Sustainability Research Group, Stefan Szczelkun, Melanie Gilligan.
Fact Gallery, Liverpool L1 4DQ
6th Apr – 12th Apr 09, Free admission 10-6pm
Categories ,Altermodernism, ,Ann Baranova, ,Art, ,Blanka Tubel, ,Darren Di Lieto, ,Nicolas Bourriaud, ,Painting, ,Radha Binod Sharma, ,Sock Exchange
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