Aesthetica Issue 95

Aesthetica

THE ART & CULTURE MAGAZINE

www.aestheticamagazine.com

Issue 95 June / July 2020

POWERFUL NARRATIVES

A NEW CONVERSATION

TAPPING INTO NATURE

Lina Bo Bardi offers vital lessons for rebuilding and reconnection

Photographs that transcend wider cultural and linguistic boundaries

Decolonising the art world with radically performative imagery

Japanese artist Makoto Azuma highlights the beauty of plants

UK £5.95 Europe €11.95 USA $15.49

DESIGN AS RESOLUTION

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Welcome Editor’s Note

On the Cover Millennial pink has become a global design trend. Diane Villadsen’s photographs are a visual sensation that explore this, feeding our appetite for candy coloured compositions and geometric styling.

The images focus on shades that are both peaceful and alluring. (p.58) Cover Image: Diane Villadsen. Model: Miki Hamano.

Location: San Francisco, CA. (2017).

This moment in time is extraordinary. Every day, I take a long cycle ride around the city of York, UK, where I live, watching as all my memories unfold in front of me in the most cinematic way. All of them are so transient but so meaningful right now. Around each corner is a yet another recollection: restaurants I frequent; where I get my hair cut; where I got proposed to. These activities are all on hold.

I consider myself lucky. I have everything I could need during this lockdown – food, a lovely home, family, friends and the brilliant Aesthetica team. Everyone I know is healthy and that is absolutely the most important thing. There are times when life can feel almost normal, but then something like this happens, and you remember that there is nothing familiar about the situation. Still, I am maintaining a positive attitude. This moment will pass. Society must recalibrate, pressing the re-set button and trying harder to create a fairer and more connected world. I know it’s incredibly optimistic, but that’s how I roll.

Perhaps, we can use this time to actually do something about the climate emergency?

This issue is entitled Recalibration. It’s about realignment and hope. As humans, we need to understand our place in the world and the fragility of this ecosystem. A major retrospective of Lina Bo Bardi was due to take place in Chicago, so we survey the importance of this, looking at Bo Bardi’s philosophy on architecture and rebuilding. As cities and urban spaces need to change, her oeuvre teaches us about how we must always interrogate the present in order to preserve the future. Meanwhile, South African photographer Athi-Patra Ruga asks us to decolonise the art world and deconstruct power structures. The work is simply arresting; it is calling for an end to the pageantry of nationalism and its rhetoric.

We also bring you contemplative photography that traverses genres, styles and boundaries. These are works that will inspire and bring a moment of joy. Meanwhile, our cover photographer Diane Villadsen soothes our souls with millennial pink and a good sense of humour. Stay safe, and enjoy!

Cherie Federico

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Art 14 News A new podcast explores the lives of five sculptors; London Festival of Architecture moves online; Carnegie Museum extends a survey of An-My Lê.

20 10 to See Institutions across the world have expanded their digital content, including interviews, gallery tours and virtual gardens. Log in and get creative.

24 Design as Resolution How can architecture create a more inclusive and connected world? Lina Bo Bardi offers vital lessons about how to rebuild and repurpose.

30 A Visual Playground Anna Devís and Daniel Rueda's images redefine the conventions of structural photography with an aesthetic inspired by metropolitan living.

42 Towards the Horizon Six N. Five develops the idea of “non-spaces” that captivate the attention, providing a visual oasis that is neither real or artificial; inside or outside.

52 Powerful Narratives World Photography Organisation outlines the principles behind successful visual storytelling through technical and conceptual innovation.

58 Colour and Motif Diane Villadsen builds on our appetite for candy coloured compositions. Dreamlike tones move from blush pink and lemon yellow to soft lilac.

70 A New Conversation Through bold costume, colours, pageantry and performance, Athi-Patra Ruga asks meaningful questions about how to decolonise the art sector.

76 Body as Performance Photographs from Nana Yaw Oduro provide the manifestation of thought and emotion, expressed through bright colours and physical movements.

86 Tapping into Nature Humanity's interactions with nature are swiftly being rewritten. Makoto Azuma investigates this idea through large-scale botanical installations.

92 Reality Usurped KangHee Kim distils the everyday, transforming it into something altogether different and utterly fantastical – encouraging imagination in viewers.

104 Portraits in Isolation Julia Keil’s self-portraits reference works from the worlds of film and fine art to express familiar experiences whilst living in global lockdown.

Class of 2020

Film

Music

116 York St John University This year, graduates will not get Degree Shows, so we've teamed up with York St John University to present a showcase of 12 students in print.

122 Taking New Direction Boys on Film returns with thought-provoking and pulsating array of queer stories told by a host of extraordinarily talented filmmakers.

124 Return to the Homeland Lil Halima transitions from bedroom song-writing to studio work alongside seasoned professionals – an impressive career start for the 21-year-old.

Books

Artists’ Directory

Last Words

126 Spontaneous Forms Last year, Bernar Venet unveiled the greatest piece of his life. The 79-year-old is celebrated for the use of mathematical lines and curves.

139 Inside this Issue Practitioners included in this edition are focused on the realisation of the self, exploring a sense of connection with other people and the wider world.

146 Anna Radchenko The artist and filmmaker reflects on how the home – generally perceived as a safe haven – gradually begins to feel smaller and tighter.

Aesthetica Magazine is trade marked worldwide. © Aesthetica Magazine Ltd 2020.

The Aesthetica Team: Editor: Cherie Federico Assistant Editor: Kate Simpson Digital Content Writer: Eleanor Sutherland Digital Assistant: Saffron Ward

Advertisement Enquiries: Megan Hobson (0044) (0)844 568 2001 advertising@aestheticamagazine.com

ISSN 1743-2715.

All work is copyrighted to the author or artist.

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without permission from the publisher.

Advertising Coordinator: Megan Hobson Marketing Coordinator: Hannah Thomas Artists’ Directory Coordinator: Katherine Smira

Artists’ Directory Enquiries: Katherine Smira (0044) (0)844 568 2001 directory@aestheticamagazine.com

Published by Cherie Federico and Dale Donley.

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Rana Brgum, No. 332 Marcol, 2012. Credit: Modus Operandi.

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Through the Glass Ceiling SCULPTING LIVES “Although sculpture is definitely having a moment in terms of greater visibility (with well-attended events such as the Fourth Plinth, Frieze Sculpture Park and the enduring popularity of Yorkshire Sculpture Park) it still gets less attention than other art forms. However, humans have such a visceral response to sculpture – it is in our physical space after all.”

Jo Baring, Director of the Ingram Collection of Modern British & Contemporary Art (quoted above), and Sarah Turner, Deputy Director for Research at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in London (part of Yale University) launch Sculpting Lives. This new podcast series focuses on five key female practitioners that have made outstanding contributions to the landscape of sculpture, comprising Dame Barbara Hepworth, Elisabeth Frink (RA), Kim Lim, Phyllida Barlow (RA) and Rana Begum (RA). Through insightful interviews, Baring and Turner give listeners access to the “intimate soundscapes of both public and private worlds” – featuring curators, friends and family of the artists.

The first episode looks at Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975), visiting the places in which she lived and worked, whilst exploring why she remains such a powerful influence in the sector today. Episode two foregrounds Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993), who was born into an army family, with a childhood overshadowed by WWII. This experience of conflict, and other upheavals of the 20th century, led her to

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ask fundamental questions about the nature of humanity. In “Sculpting Lives dives an art world increasingly dominated by abstraction, Frink into the complex remained resolute in the commitment to a consistent sense challenges that these of style and use of material: working figuratively with bronze. artists have faced over Moving into the late 20th century, the third episode exam- the last 100 years, ines the absence of ethnic minorities in public institutions providing commentary through the lens of Singapore-born Kim Lim (b. 1944). De- on the landscape today. spite a successful career, including having 80 works in UK Each 45-minute public collections, the artist has been left out of the histo- episode navigates the ries of 20th century British Art. This episode asks challenging uneven ground of questions about how we can realistically widen the param- building a career.” eters of diversity in the sector, and under whose terms?

The final two episodes look at Phyllida Barlow (b. 1944) and Rana Begum (b. 1977) respectively, bringing listeners firmly into the 21st century through big names that have pushed the boundaries of material, whilst considering the complexities of biography, race and identity.

Sculpting Lives dives into the complex challenges that these five artists have faced over the last 100 years whilst providing commentary on the landscape today. Each 45-minute episode navigates the uneven ground of building a career. Sculpting Lives Podcast, Whilst universities and galleries are closed, it has never been Ongoing more important for practitioners to consider new ways of getting their work out there. Baring and Turner address this with instagram.com/ a well of inspiration. Grab some earphones and listen in. sculptinglives

Expansive Programming LONDON FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE restored 1932 Villa Winternitz in Prague – the last project of “As we spend more time Adolf Loos, the Czech-born pioneer of modern architecture. at home, the priorities Led by architect Adam Gebrain and Josef Winternitz’s great- for many people's grandson David Cysar, the tour reveals the tumultuous living situations are history of the villa and its owners. See what it's like to walk being forced to change, through Loos’ Raumplan – a spatial concept that divides a from the value being building into interconnected multi-level spaces – featuring a placed on outside complex interior that contrasts with the villa’s austere façade. locations such as Meanwhile, Anise Gallery, London, presents an exhibition gardens and balconies, that explores humanity’s capacity to transform both domestic to the importance of and work spaces. The project invites artists and architects, genuine living spaces.” writers and photographers to bring the outside in through the use of a homemade camera obscura. Also on show is a six-video installation from Israeli artist Jasmin Vardi. These films blur the boundaries between presence and absence, dealing with the practices of management, control and use of institutional influence over the individual. A hospital arena, brought to the screen by Vardi, is ultramodern and sterile. All patients, maintenance and medical staff are missing.

Moving into themes of beauty and hope, peace and London Festival reconstruction, there’s a screening and talk by young Syrian of Architecture Online, architects who graduated from Aleppo University during 1-30 June the war. The films share heart-warming stories from zones of conflict, sending messages about the resilience of the londonfestivalof human condition as we try to rebuild cities after conflict. architecture.org

Dulwich Pavilion 2017. Image couretsy of Joakim Boren.

“The lockdown has definitely affected the dynamics of where and how we live. As we spend more time at home, the priorities for many people’s living situations are being forced to change, from the value being placed on outside locations – such as gardens and balconies – to the importance of ‘genuine living spaces’ and natural lighting inside. This raises important questions about how we can live in healthier ways: both mentally and physically. The issue of energy, and how we are powering our buildings with increased indoor activity is definitely also part of this important conversation.”

London Festival of Architecture returns, directed by Tamsie Thomson (as quoted above). The programme comes in digital format, from 1 to 30 June, asking pertinent questions about the worlds of domestic, industrial and commercial design.

The theme for 2020 is Power, encouraging wider dialogues about the radically changing landscape. Thomson expands: “There is a lot of scope to explore political power and how this has shaped our architectural landscape, not just in terms of a physical built environment, but also on a social level. There’s a balance of power in terms of stakeholders and the growing collective of people taking back public space.”

Whilst the physical festival has been pushed back to later in the year (dates to be confirmed), there’s an expansive online programme of screenings, exhibitions, competitions and talks, including the first ever virtual tour of the recently

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Graciela Iturbide, Mujer Ángel (Angel Woman), Sonoran Desert, 1979; Gelatin silver print, 13 x 18 ⅜ in.

Collection of Elizabeth and Michael Marcus; © Graciela Iturbide; Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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Pioneering Women Artists NMWA AT HOME “We need connection and community now more than ever,” says Susan Fisher Sterling, Director of National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C. NMWA @ Home is part of a quickly developing digital art revolution, launching an online portal that explores the work of pioneering women artists and advocates for more inclusive representation.

The virtual resources include an extended online exhibition of Graciela Iturbide (b. 1942), who is widely considered as one of the greatest contemporary photographers in Latin America. Her black and white images capture elements of daily life in Mexico – crafting a rich tapestry of culture, tradition and modernity. “Photography for me is a ritual,” she notes. “To go out with the camera, to observe, to photograph the most mythological aspects of people, then to go into the darkness, to develop, to select the most symbolic images.”

The collection highlights pictures of indigenous peoples, including the matriarchal society of the Zapotec people of Juchitán and The Seri in the Sonoran Desert. Human relationships are key to the presentation, with fiestas and ceremonies taking centre stage. Birds and plants are recurring motifs as “symbols of solitude, freedom and independence.”

In 2005, Iturbide was commissioned to photograph Frida Kahlo’s belongings – the results of which can also be seen online. Visitors can further explore the painter’s life in Mamacita Linda: Letters between Frida Kahlo and her Mother

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– a poignant display that reveals the human being behind “Each of NMWA's the icon. From the archive, Organic Matters: Women to Watch digital shows, talks (originally launched in 2015) foregrounds contemporary and resources focuses practitioners that engage with the natural world. Similarly, on the connections No Man’s Land is a collection of irreverent and provocative between people, places works focusing on the female body. Delita Martin: Calling and the environment.

Down the Spirits is the latest show to go live. Featuring audio The institution makes commentary, it delves into Martin’s (b. 1972) engagement a powerful and timely with time and family – linking past and present generations. statement about NMWA’s website is full of other sources of inspiration. Fresh standing together.”

Talk is a series of conversations with thinkers and innovators, expanding on topics such as Art, Power and the Vote – 100 Years After Suffrage; and Women in the Creative Economy.

There are interviews with the likes of Carrie Mae Weems and Judy Chicago, answering questions such as: “Can an artist inspire social change?” Works by Weems and Chicago are also part of an expansive online collection, which is searchable and free-to-access. Images are available through Google Arts & Culture, with additional profiles offering key information about photographer Berenice Abbott, sculptor Louise Nevelson and artist filmmaker Shirin Neshat.

Each of NMWA’s shows, talks and resources highlights the NMWA Online, importance of connections between people, places and the Ongoing environment. The institution makes a powerful and timely statement about standing together; there's plenty on offer. nmwa.org

A Sideways View of Conflict ON CONTESTED TERRAIN audiences the opportunity to consider the impact of conflict “Lê photographs and how it continues to shape cultural narratives. This is a landscapes because theme that transcends time and is more relevant than ever.” of their timelessness Featured series include Small Wars, which was shot over Whilst individuals and the course of three years from 1999-2002. Lê documented even entire societies the layered cultural practice of military re-enactment, may come and go, participating in Vietnam War stagings in Virginia and North the land remains a Carolina. Also included are pieces from the 29 Palms series, constant. In this way, for which Lê documented marines training at a military base the pictures measure in Twentynine Palms, California, prior to deployment for time on both human the Iraq War in 2003. Additionally, the Events Ashore series and geological scales.” highlights the artist’s travels aboard Navy vessels over the course of eight years, detailing US military efforts across the world. Sleeping soldiers, grenade explosions, mechanised assaults and landing zones feature heavily.

It’s unsurprising that the images also depict bold, sweeping geographies; seascapes, desert sands and forestry are central to each of the compositions. Leers explains: “Lê photographs landscapes because of their timelessness. Whilst individuals, and even entire societies, may come and go, the land remains a constant. In this way, the pictures measure time on both Carnegie Museum of human and geological scales. These activities have unfolded Art Online, Ongoing on a topography that dates back millennia and has hosted many other historical conflicts.” This survey is perhaps one cmoa.org of the most important to come out this year. vimeo.com/403717590

An-My Lê, Rocket-Propelled Grenade Ambush, 2003-2004, printed 2018. Gelatin silver print.

Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, Gift of Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe.

“My life has been completely affected by American foreign policy. The US were the perpetrators, but they were also the saviours.” An-My Lê (b. 1960) has been widely celebrated for producing photographs that balance a sense of duality and contradiction. She asks questions about accountability, responsibility and intimacy in scenes of conflict.

Lê spent her early life in Vietnam before relocating to America, and has, over the last 35 years, produced a huge body of work that examines many nuanced aspects of combat. From training manoeuvres and historic re-enactments, to humanitarian aid efforts, missile testing and protests, Lê’s subject matter looks at all sides of war without clear political or social commentary. Famously, she has stated that she’s “not a war photographer” – finding it “more interesting and much more slippery to work with a side-glance view.”

Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, opened the first comprehensive survey of Lê’s political works on 14 March.

After gallery closure, the exhibition has, like many others, moved to digital format, including a virtual tour on Vimeo.

Beyond attracting visitors to the museum, moving the show online maintains an open dialogue with an exhibition that needs to be seen. Dan Leers, Curator of Photography, notes: “Our focus is on being a responsive museum, which features artists who serve as agents of change and help us understand complex issues with nuance and humanity. Lê’s work offers

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Cuadra San Cristóbal in Mexico City by Luis Barragán.

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An Interactive Schedule DIGITAL DESIGN MUSEUM The Design Museum, London, opened its very first Designs of the Year exhibition in 2007 – in the same year that the iPhone was launched. Since then, 13 years have passed and society has transformed. Social media is everywhere. News feeds provide notifications round-the-clock. Smart devices are in our homes. Cameras are in our pockets. We are always switched on. How often do we take a moment to pause and look back? During this period of distancing, Design Museum launches a digital programme curated to do just that.

One of the institution’s online initiatives delves into the archives – capturing snapshots of the world from the 1980s to today. The gallery takes viewers back to where it all began with Art and Industry – a 1982 show which was held at the Boilerhouse Project: Design Museum’s first location within the V&A. It made the case for the serious study of industrial design, and was met with shock when a petrol pump was displayed on a white plinth. Since then, the institution has continued to push boundaries, opening shows such as Commerce and Culture (1989) and Fear and Love (2016) – the latter of which explored ethical questions about the potential of sentient robotics. Digital audiences can browse this history, reflecting on the past 40 years of design.

Moving to the present-day, Design Museum hosts a weekly talk with renowned names in the industry. Examples include fashion designer Stella McCartney in conversation with

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David Adjaye – an architect renowned for buildings such “News feeds notify as the National Museum of African American History and us round-the-clock.

Culture in Washington, D.C. In 2019, Design Museum held a Smart devices are in retrospective of his work, asking the question: how can build- our homes. How often ings, rather than words, be used to tell stories? Additional in- do we take a moment terviews – which can be streamed on Instagram TV – feature to pause and look the notable and sustainable fashion designer Christopher back? During this Raeburn and London based artist Morag Myerscough, whose period of distancing, work is characterised by bright colours and exciting forms.

Design Museum Bold tones and exuberant patterns are also defining factors launches a digital in the work of Camille Walala, whose murals and environ- programme curated ments stimulate the senses and inspire joy. She is one of the to do just that.” practitioners taking part in #ArchitectureFriday, an imaginative learning initiative that shares ideas from those at the forefront of contemporary creative practice.

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson – best known for immersive, sensory installations – is also co-founder of Studio Other Spaces. He joins architect Sebastian Behmann in a conversation about the subtle boundaries between art and construction. Meanwhile, Design Museum encourages both adults and children to hone their skills interactively – hosting fashion workshops with McCartney, drawing sessions Design Museum Online with Myerscough and more. As Josephine Chanter, Director Ongoing of Audiences, notes: “Ultimately, during this crisis, we want to find some solace in the optimism of design.” designmuseum.org

Productivity from Home I SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING ELSE RIGHT NOW

Motorway © Evi Kalogiropoulou.

Somerset House invites audiences to reflect on their com- Purgas (28 July) brings artists together to meditate on the “Somerset House invites monalities and shared experiences through a programme aural influences that have shaped their identities. audiences to reflect on Phones, computers and social media are being used now their commonalities aptly titled I Should Be Doing Something Else Right Now. The London-based centre is recognised as being home to a more than ever – they are what keeps us connected. Somerset through a programme vibrant community of artists. Now, it invites visitors to join House looks further back to 1968, when internet pioneer aptly titled I Should in virtually – to take part in live streams: to read, listen and, Douglas Engelbart demonstrated key elements that would Be Doing Something most importantly, pause. As part of this, creative practitioners shape modern computing. Mother of All Demos, launching Else Right Now. have been sharing their work online as part of Transmissions 6 July, commemorates this moment through talks and Visitors are invited – a weekly commissioned platform taking a DIY TV show films. It is complemented by Defrag, a brand-new podcast to join in virtually, format – as well as responding imaginatively to the title of – launching 21 June – that investigates the role technology to read, listen, plays in the development and consumption of art. and, perhaps more the programme, thinking about indoor productivity.

Looking to the future, initiatives such as Upgrade Yourself: importantly, pause.”

Over the next few weeks, Somerset House blends a variety of disciplines and formats whilst dipping into the Peer Exchange offers digital sessions for young people aged archives. Examples of this include a re-appraisal of Malick 18-30 looking for routes into the creative industries. Set Sidibé’s (1935-2016) photography – which was the subject against a backdrop of remote working and self-isolation, it of a physical exhibition in late 2016. The show highlighted explores how to build skills in virtual spaces – inspiring the images of modern Mali from the 1960s and 1970s, which are next generation’s resilience and adaptability.

Upcoming speakers include Akil Benjamin, of design defined by a sense of youthful energy. Now, inspired by his work, DJ, presenter and African music expert Rita Ray presents studio COMUZI, who presents a workshop on developing The Sounds of Bamako. The talk celebrates the eclectic songs a practice and a variety of revenue streams – transforming played in clubs and parties across Mali’s capital – the very visions into reality. Other speakers include Eloise Hawser, a locations captured in Sidibé’s black and white images. Ray research-based artist interested in the emotional impact of Somerset House Online offers a selection of tracks whilst discussing the stories architectural, mechanical and electrical infrastructures. She Ongoing behind the compositions. The summer arts programme also unearths that which is hidden in the landscape – revealing has music at its core: Imran Perretta’s Listening Party with Paul how urban design shapes collective existence. somersethouse.org.uk

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10 to See RECOMMENDED VIRTUAL CONTENT

In the last few weeks, a number of institutions, both large and small, have been expanding their strands of digital content, including interviews, podcasts, extended tours and even virtual sculpture gardens. Switch on and connect with 10 galleries from across the globe.

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Whitney From Home Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

whitney.org The Whitney has a huge bank of online resources that are accessible to all, including behindthe-scene clips from popular exhibitions and online collections with over 25,000 artworks.

Study the works of Georgia O’Keeffe and Judy Chicago through American Sign Language, or listen to podcasts on Sol LeWitt and Ed Ruscha. Each Friday, Whitney also presents a series of artist films on Vimeo. The latest examples include Alex Da Corte’s Rubber Pencil Devil, which comprises 57 short films centred around icons from pop culture.

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We Will Walk Turner Contemporary, Margate

turnercontemporary.org Turner Contemporary has planned a virtual tour of We Will Walk – Art and Resistance in the American South. The show reveals the little-known art shaped by the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Sculptures, paintings and installations, produced by more than 20 African American artists from Alabama and the deep south, consider issues of race, class and resistance. Some are in dialogue with the protest era, whilst others evidence the impact of terror and segregation. Civil rights photographer Doris Derby provides soundbites.

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Body Architect NGV, Melbourne

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ngv.vic.gov.au On 20 June, NGV launches a virtual tour of Lucy McRae: Body Architect, which encourages conversations on the future of human existence through the areas of biology, beauty and health. The online exhibition features seven of McRae’s videos that combine storytelling with speculative science, as well as alluring digital images created in collaboration with Dutch textile artist Bart Hess, which feature balloons, tights, grass and bath foam. The works ask questions about the capabilities of future bodies, such as a potential for colour-excreting skin.

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Read, Watch & Listen Barbican, London

barbican.org.uk A mix of podcasts, playlists, films, videos, talks and articles enables audiences to continue to enjoy Barbican's rich and varied output. In-conversations include artist Richard Mosse and writer / academic Anthony Downing on Incoming – a three-channel installation that charts the unfolding migration crisis across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe – discussing a new era of closed borders, halted migration and widespread fear of contagion. All podcasts can be accessed from Barbican’s Read, Watch & Listen website page or via Spotify.

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Beside Itself Hauser & Wirth, Menorca

hauserwirth.com Hauser & Wirth has initiated large investments into Virtual Reality. Beside Itself is the latest development in the gallery’s programming as an exhibition model “of the future” – outlining a new venue in Menorca, which will open in 2021. The primary goal is to expand the possibilities of the gallery, creating technology that will help artists to visualise the spaces where exhibitions will be presented, whilst reducing the amount of travel and transportation across the globe. Featuring Louise Bourgeois, Jenny Holzer, Roni Horn and more.

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Media Networks

Tate Modern, London

tate.org.uk Tate has an extensive list of online shows and themed displays available in browser-view.

From an examination of Living Cities to a spotlight on Materials and Objects, the gallery brings together a wealth of stimulating artworks from the last 500 years. Media Networks, a collection from Tate Modern, raises contemporary questions around feminism, consumerism and the cult of celebrity. Each of the names in the 13 “rooms” respond to the impact of mass-media and new technologies, including Guerrilla Girls, Barbara Kruger, Cildo Meireles and more.

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The Broad From Home The Broad, Los Angeles

thebroad.org #TheBroadFromHome's Infinite Drone series presents an immersive environment of light and sound in the spirit of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away. Move into Kusama’s expansive spiritualism, paired with electronic, ambient and pop music. There’s also a new video series, titled Interplay, available via YouTube, which connects contemporary poets to artists from the Broad collection, such as Cy Twombly and John Baldessari. The pieces demonstrate the bond between visual art and literature.

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Reimagining Victory IWM, London

iwm.org.uk Reimagining Victory is a new online series, available from 30 June, which explores the state of war and peace in relation to 21st century conflicts. With 2020 marking the 75th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day, this playlist includes artists, politicians, peacebuilders and academics who question the concept of victory and what it really means to “win” a war today. The episodes examine the impact of Covid-19 on conflict zones and the creative ways that societies pull together to create harmony. The series is accompanied by an interactive gallery of games.

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Uniform Fondazione MAST, Bologna

mast.org The concept of work has been thrown into complete disarray in the pandemic, with few industries managing to continue, and all forced to change structures, planning and physical output. Urs Stahel, former Curator and Director of Fotomuseum Winterthur, has curated over 600 images dedicated to the depiction of work uniforms, from construction and health to education and transport. Images from 44 photographers consider the role that uniforms play within society – distinguishing class, background, experience or level of service.

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Sculpture Garden

MoMA, New York

moma.org Since opening in 1939, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden has been one of New York’s most prolific green spaces. It was conceived as an outdoor gallery for changing installations that would bring nature, architecture and art together in a new way. In 1953, the garden was redesigned by Philip Johnson, the first director of the architecture department, who imagined the space as a “roofless room” with four distinct, marble-paved areas. Visit the garden online as, across the globe, we “museum from home.” A true digital oasis.

1. Sam Contis, Blue Thumb, 2015, printed 2017. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Henry Nias Foundation 2018.65. © Sam Contis. 2. Dr. Doris A. Derby, L.C. Dorsey, Civil Rights worker from Shelby, North Bolivar County Farm Vegetable Cooperative, Mississippi. Modern silver Gelatin print from negative,1968. © Doris A. Derby. 3. Installation view of Lucy McRae’s Body Talk, album cover image, 2010, on display as part of Lucy McRae: Body Architect at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from 30 August 2019 – 9 February 2020. © Lucy McRae Photo: Tom Ross 4.Incoming, Installation View. Richard Mosse in collaboration with Trevor Tweeten and Ben Frost, the Curve, Barbican Centre, 15 Feb - 23 Apr 2017. Photo by Tristan Fewings / Getty images. 5.ArtLab, Hauser & Wirth Menorca exterior view created in HWVR. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. 6. Cildo Meireles, Babel (2001). Tate © Cildo Meireles. 7. Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, 2013, wood, metal, glass mirrors, plastic, acrylic panel, rubber, LED lighting system, acrylic balls,and water. The Broad collection. 8.© IWM Ground staff at an RAF bomber station in Britain celebrate VE Day, 8 May 1945. 9. Weronika Gęsicka, Untitled, from the series Traces.© Weronika Gęsicka. 10. Left, Museum Tower, 1982, architect, Cesar Pelli & Associates; center, The David and Peggy Rockefeller Building, 2004, architect, Yoshio Taniguchi; foreground, The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, designed 1953, architect, Philip Johnson. Photo © 2005 Timothy Hursley.

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art

Design as Resolution Lina Bo Bardi HOW CAN ARCHITECTURE CREATE A MORE INCLUSIVE AND CONNECTED WORLD? BO BARDI'S STRUCTURES OFFER LESSONS ABOUT HOW TO REBUILD AND REPURPOSE.

In 1951, Lina Bo Bardi (1914-1992) built the Casa de Vidro, or Glass House, in the hills of what is now São Paulo’s wealthy Morumbi neighbourhood. Perched in the remnants of the Atlantic Forest, its long glass walls are not only surrounded by greenery, but actually wrapped around an interior courtyard of trees that Bo Bardi planted. Nature rises through the heart of the house, growing upwards through the centre of the structure, embracing pillars and staircases.

In Brazil today, deforestation of the Amazon has been legitimised by President Jair Bolsonaro. On a wider scale, the decimation of natural habitats and the destruction of biodiversity is, as researchers believe, creating conditions for new viruses to pass onto humans. At a time when the future of cities is uncertain – when doors are locked to the outside world – the legacy of Lina Bo Bardi (Née Achillina Bo), raises important questions about how architecture needs to change. Against a backdrop of the climate crisis and a global pandemic, how can we plan to live with the organic world in a more inclusive way? How should we live with each other?

A touring retrospective celebrating Bo Bardi’s career, titled Habitat, was planned before the Coronavirus outbreak, due to open at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, on 13 June. “The idea for her was not to provide solutions but to encourage people to ask questions and to see difficult situations,” says Julieta González, curator of the show. “I think that we could all benefit from such an approach in the face of the crisis that we are living through today.”

Bo Bardi’s legacy goes beyond design, spanning cultural theory, museology, pedagogy, anthropology and theatre.

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However, the many strands of her practice are united by the fundamentals of community, survival and shelter. González notes: “Lina was an advocate of sustainability – of paying attention to local resources, both material and human. Her problem-solving approach empowered individuals and provided the tools for dealing with material hardship by making do with whatever means were available.”

This way of thinking was shaped by Bo Bardi’s direct experiences with war. In 1939, she left the Rome College of Architecture and moved straight to Milan. There, she worked as an architect, illustrator and editor at a time when, in her words, “nothing was built, only destroyed.” In 1943, the offices she shared with designer Carlo Pagani were blown to bits by an aerial bombardment. She would continue to see many more ruins in the years to come, not least in 1945, when she toured the south of Italy with Pagani and the photographer Federico Patellani, whilst documenting the devastation that they encountered along the way.

What can be built from ruin? How do we take devastation and decay and turn it into something meaningful, hopeful and helpful? Bo Bardi took these important questions to Brazil in 1946, a matter of months after she married the critic and curator Pietro Maria Bardi. She soon moved to São Paulo when her husband was invited to establish a museum of art in the city. In Brazil, Bo Bardi found a new starting point for architecture – one born from the memory of shelled-out buildings and makeshift refuges that she had witnessed in Europe. She reflected on structures in which the lines between inside and outside were tested and broken.

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MASP, Avenida Paulista, 1968 © 2020 Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museo Jumex, and Prestel Verlag, Munich • London • New York.

“The Casa de Vidro was her first major architectural project, drinking from the well of Italian and American modernism.

The house comes from a pre- or postapocalyptic vision – a treehouse habitat where the walls are nearly transparent.”

Previous Page: Lina Bo Bardi on the staircase of the Glass House, 1952 © 2020 Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museo Jumex, and Prestel Verlag, Munich • London • New York.

Left: Exterior view of the Glass House, 1951 (Photo: Henrique Luz) © 2020 Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museo Jumex, and Prestel Verlag, Munich • London • New York.

The Casa de Vidro was Bo Bardi's first major architectural project, drinking from the well of Italian and American modernism that was prevalent at the time, but there are hints of something else at work. The house comes from a pre- or post-apocalyptic vision – a treehouse habitat where the walls are nearly transparent between the inhabitants and their surroundings: between civilisation and wild forests.

“When designing her house, she wasn't just looking at the humans that would occupy the space,” says the architecture historian and theorist Beatriz Colomina, who, as part of the Habitat exhibition, co-authored an essay on Bo Bardi alongside the architect and theorist Mark Wigley. “She was taking account of all these other species. Plants, of course, are hugely important. This notion of paying attention to the non-human in architecture makes her totally contemporary.”

Wigley adds that this approach is political: it flattens a hierarchy, subverting a perceived order between “us” and “them.” He continues: “Bo Bardi crafts a philosophical position of another hospitality, in which you don’t privilege the human over the non-human, which then creates all sorts of transgressions of typical behaviour about gender and about technology.” It is this way of thinking that sets the Casa de Vidro apart from other modernist glass houses. If the likes of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House or Charles and Ray Eames’ house are open to natural light but keep plants, insects and the elements at arm’s length, Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro contends with letting them in.

These are vital considerations for architects today, and not ones with easy answers. Conceptually, it’s all well and good to open the doors to your surroundings, but how do you protect yourself from what comes in? “The ethics of

the non-human does take us directly into the Coronavirus,” says Wigley. “The concept of trans-species hospitality in her work is also about contagion. It is a philosophy of risk. So, immediately there is this question that we're all asking as we withdraw into our bunkers and homes: what would Lina do?”

Perhaps one way forward is not to limit the answers to the walls of our houses. Instead of asking how to best design our shelters, we should ask how to rebuild and repurpose the fabric of our cities, to safeguard communities whilst forging new public spaces out of pre-existing structures.

For Bo Bardi, these ideas were developed in the re-design of the Museu de arte de São Paulo (MASP). Built between 1957 and 1968, the iconic museum on Avenida Paulista is a vast glass and concrete box, suspended by four monumental pillars. The outdoor ground is minimal, with the exact same dimensions as the museum that hangs above it. Inside, the removal of barriers is even more evident. Bo Bardi hung the collection in glass panes; the public can see the interiors from the street. Within it, they can see the backside of the masterpieces. It is a porous institution fundamentally – an enormous vitrine that makes art visible in thrilling ways.

This anti-elitism would only grow in Bo Bardi’s career. The story goes that the architect’s interest in the northeast of Brazil, and its black African cultural heritage, signalled a crucial turn in her portfolio. There are those that dispute the extent of this shift. Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, for example, claim that Bo Bardi’s outlook has ultimately been influenced by her earlier experiences with war. (“We say that everything you can see of Bo in Brazil you can already see in Italy” Wigley explains.) All the same, Bo Bardi moved to Bahia’s capital, Salvador, in 1959. There she went to work

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Lina Bo Bardi, Oceanfront Museum: photomontage of the model and beach site, 1951. Impression on photographic paper, (Photo: Henrique Luz )18 x 20.5 cm.

Collection of theInstituto Bardi/Casa de Vidro, São Paulo © 2020 Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museo Jumex, and Prestel Verlag, Munich • London • New York.

transforming a 17th century sugar mill into the city’s main cultural centre: Solar do Unhão. Designed with a central focus on pedagogy, it became a home for the city’s museum of modern art as well as the Museo de Arte Popular, which was full of objects made from tin, cardboard, wood and string.

“By the time she moved to Bahia, Lina was no longer thinking in terms of European modernism and this was reflected in her work, not only in her conception of the Museo de Arte Popular in Salvador as an arts and crafts school, but also in her own design practice,” expands Julieta González.

These threads, of education, destruction, public space and renovation came together most powerfully in 1982 – towards the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil – with the opening of the Centro de Lazer Fábrica da Pompéia (Pompéia Factory Leisure Centre) in São Paulo. Now known as SESC Pompéia, this colossal community centre is built from the remnants of a steel drum factory, which was stripped and sandblasted to expose the reinforced concrete beneath.

In a move about as far from a glass house as you can get, the SESC Pompéia complex has gaping holes instead of windows, rendered deep red with sliding grills. It is hard not to see echoes of the destruction of war in its brutal openings, but even with these bold and alarmingly coloured elements, the building manages to be playful: a place of life rather than death. “There are many lessons to be learnt from that project, not only as a building but as an idea for a radical museum, a school, a leisure centre and a place for conviviality,” González notes. “The fact that it is so alive today, constantly in use and not just an iconic building of the 20th century, attests to the power of her vision.”

SESC Pompéia is a machine for community. Whilst it is

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temporarily closed during the lockdown, it is a testament to how the ruins of an old world can be repurposed for the new, bringing people together in a myriad of ways. The same can be said of Bo Bardi’s Teatro Oficina (1980-1991), a narrow, street-like theatre space for the company of the same name, built from the burnt-out shell of an earlier theatre.

Made out of painted scaffolding and simple wooden seats, its initial design came from the director Zé Celso, who experienced a vivid acid trip in which he hallucinated he was being trapped against a wall, on the run from the police. The Teatro Oficina is a theatre stripped bare. In an echo of the Casa de Vidro, the seats overlooking the stage also take in a bed of lush plants and a wall of glass windows.

It is yet another project of Bo Bardi's in which nature is not only allowed, but truly welcomed, inside, acting as a kind of healing antidote and a source of peaceful reflection.

“No one can save themselves by design,” Bo Bardi famously wrote in 1990. “Can a beautiful glass save us from thirst?

Can a very beautiful dish or a beautiful plate save us from hunger, misery, illness and unemployment?” She recognised that design alone cannot deliver complete salvation, and as we stare into the coming months and years, it is worth remembering that the true task of architecture will be to reimagine political and social structures positively.

Bo Bardi’s philosophy of flattened hierarchies, communality for humans and the organic world, rings true at a time when so much about how we live has been thrown into turmoil. Perhaps the most valuable lesson for architects, and indeed the wider world, is to work with whatever means are available: not to see difficult situations as storms to weather, but as problems that are ready and waiting to be solved.

Right: Lina Bo Bardi at the Glass House, 1952 © Niemeyer, Oscar / AUTVIS, Brasil, 2019. © 2020 Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museo Jumex, and Prestel Verlag, Munich • London • New York.

Words Thomas McMullan

Habitat is available from Prestel prestel.com mcachicago.org fundacionjumex.org masp.org.br

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A Visual Playground Anna Devís & Daniel Rueda

Architecture has radically changed the landscape of tourism, from the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing. Contemporary design draws people from across the globe to marvel at structures that scrape the sky and bend over bodies of water. Similarly, photographers have long been drawn to buildings – perfectly framing sharp angles, fluid forms and reflective façades. Anna Devís and Daniel Rueda (both b.

1990) met at the Universitat Politècnica de València in the School of Architecture. Now working as a collaborative duo, they tell stories that redefine the conventions of structural photography, with a delicate aesthetic inspired by the city. The images are magnetic and playful yet minimal, digging into humanity’s fascination, apprehension and appreciation of growing urban environments. Devís and Rueda build on spatial awareness as a form of performance. annandaniel.com | instagram.com@drcuerda | instagram.com/@anniset.

Anna Devís and Daniel Rueda Keep Palm, Miami, USA 2018.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda Stick to the Plan, Berlin, Germany 2018.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda Two-gether, Los Angeles, USA 2018.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda from the Pink a Boo! series, Alicante, Spain, 2019.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda Umbr-ella, Valencia, Spain 2017.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda Piece-ful, Doha, Qatar, 2019.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda Ballon-atic, Berlin, Germany 2018.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda C-lean, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2017.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda Teamwork, Doha, Qatar, 2019.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda Step-tacular, Paris, France, 2017.

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Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda Grey-teful, Doha, Qatar, 2019.

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art

Towards the Horizon Six N. Five

The term “supermodernity” was coined by French anthropologist Marc Augé in 1992, categorised by factual, material and spatial abundance, as well as an excess of selfreflexiveness. In the digital age, this term has become further augmented. We live in world where information is constant. A cloud of experiences, memories and knowledge exists, literally and figuratively, all around us. In isolation, this is further amplified. We move between screens and looking out the window, fantasising about the limitlessness of the outside world. Six N. Five is a contemporary design studio – directed by Ezequiel Pini (b. 1985) – that specialises in still life visuals and videos. The studio builds on the idea of “non-spaces” that captivate our attention, providing a visual oasis that is neither real or artificial; inside or outside. Chairs are empty, pointed towards a blanket of clouds.

Beds resist gravity, sitting on top of lakes. Moons rest heavy in the sky. sixnfive.com.

Six N. Five, Sweet Dreams.

Created for ICON Magazine IT. Courtesy of Six N. Five.

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Six N. Five, Escape.

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Six N. Five, Late Nap.

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Six N. Five, Sweet Dreams. Created for ICON Magazine IT.

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Six N. Five, My Weekend.

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art

Powerful Narratives World Photography Organisation THE TOOLS THAT ARE USED TO MAKE GREAT WORKS OF ART ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE THAT RECORD HISTORY. WE CONSIDER THE COMPONENTS OF VISUAL STORYTELLING.

Susan Sontag (1933-2004) once remarked that “to collect photographs is to collect the world.” Each year, the Sony World Photography Awards, headed by the World Photography Organisation (WPO), celebrates images that meaningfully connect with audiences. The 2020 shortlist invites viewers to experience the breadth of the human condition through technical and conceptual innovation.

Yevhen Samuchenko’s otherworldly salt lakes in the Kherson region of Ukraine document microscopic algae that turns the water pink. Maximilian Mann’s Fading Flamingos series depicts an environmental disaster in Lake Urmia, Iran, where the body of water has shrunk by over 80%. Hashem Shakeri’s Cast Out of Heaven project draws attention to the current US sanctions against Iran and the subsequent fall in the value of the Rial currency, causing many Tehraners to leave the capital and move to satellite towns. Scott Gray, Founder and CEO at WPO, discusses the ethos behind the competition, and how photography, as an art form, can invite audiences to further reflect upon the world in which we live.

A: Many of your winners’ galleries are available to view online. In lockdown, the use of digital resources has grown exponentially; the demand is now for consumer time. Why should viewers log in to see these?

SG: Art is part of the wider fabric of society. It is a powerful means of communication. Sadly, we weren’t able to stage this year’s awards ceremony and exhibition, but we still have a duty to our community of photographers to share their stories and introduce their work to new audiences. For

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viewers, we provide a moment of relief. With this in mind, we have launched a series of initiatives via our Stay Connected and On Screen pages, which includes an in-depth look at this year’s shortlisted and finalist projects, as well as free portfolio reviews, talks and online resources. We wish we could do more, and this is only a small gesture compared to the heroic work of frontline services and volunteers, but it’s our way of playing a part in these extraordinary times.

A: What role does WPO play within photography's wider critical discourse and developing techniques?

SG: WPO’s main ethos is to raise the level of conversation around photography and promote its appreciation. It’s a competitive and difficult landscape to navigate. Ultimately, the Sony World Photography Awards were created 13 years ago as a mechanism through which artists can get noticed by our industry-leading panel of jury, their peers, our viewers and the media. This form of validation adds value to their work, and often leads to further opportunities from publishers and gallerists. It has been a great privilege to see it grow to its current record-breaking edition of over 340,000 entries from 203 territories across the world. I believe the competition's success is mainly down to integrity – it is free for anyone to enter and judging is completely anonymous.

We acknowledge fine art and portraiture works alongside accomplished documentary and landscape photography, presenting a broad overview of approaches and techniques. We judge the image without knowing how the picture has been shot. Smartphone images are evaluated in the same capac-

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Maximilian Mann, Fading Flamingos. Tourists from Tabriz spend their weekends at the lake.

“Photography helps illustrate and define what, at times, are either abstract or far removed subjects.

There's a growing sense of consciousness on humanity's impact on the planet. We can help to make sense of the real consequences.”

Previous Page: Yevhen Samuchenko, At the Pink Planet.

Lemurian Salt Lake, Ukraine. From the series At the Pink Planet.

Left: Hashem Shakeri, Cast Out of Heaven.

ity as, say, those taken with a DSLR camera. This is crucial because we are recording how photography is changing – embracing its accessibility whilst recognising successful images devoid of how they are shot or developed.

A: How has WPO helped to develop new talent?

SG: The Awards comprise four strands: Youth, Student, Open and Professional. Photography, as a practice, is wonderfully accessible – welcoming people of all ages and from all walks of life – so these strands were created with inclusivity in mind. It was important for us to establish these individual platforms so that different kinds of work can be judged and appreciated. The ideal scenario would be to have someone go through a developmental journey with the organisation.

A great example of this would be Sam Delaware, our Youth Photographer of the Year 2016, who has since been shortlisted in 2019’s Student Competition and is also featured in this year’s Awards as a Sony Student Grant recipient.

A: Each level has a range of categories – including Architecture, Culture, Creative and Portraiture. This year, WPO added Environment to the list. Why is this important now, and what are you looking to achieve with it?

SG: We constantly review our categories to ensure that we stay relevant, whilst responding to the kind of work that is being produced across the globe. Narratives around the environment and the climate crisis are increasingly prominent in these awards, often gaining the spotlight across different strands. By introducing Environment as a brand new category, we were acknowledging these projects’ subjects as essential whilst giving them their own space in the competition.

A: How does WPO incentivise new work that might bring larger attention to the climate emergency. How can photography change the way that nature is perceived?

SG: Awards help draw attention to standout work, which, in turn, raises social awareness around key issues. A great example of this is Kieran Dodd’s Hierotopia series which came third in the Landscape category in last year’s competition.

The series highlights Ethiopia’s deforestation crisis and, on the back of its media coverage, was noticed by an official from the Embassy of Ethiopia in London who came to visit the exhibition and meet with the photographer.

A: Many works document the environment, spanning expansive landscapes – both urban and natural. What do these images teach us about the breadth and complexity of our relationship with the planet?

SG: Photography helps illustrate and define what, at times, are either abstract or far removed subjects. There’s a growing sense of consciousness surrounding humanity’s impact on the planet. Through the power of images, we can help to make sense of the real consequences. This is perhaps best exemplified in Edward Burtysnky’s photographs of the oil industry or Daniel Beltrá’s sweeping landscapes of degradation and trauma, presenting a contemporary take on the idea of the sublime in the shadows of human devastation.

A: There is often a thin line between defining documentary as reportage or fine art – shooting events as they happen on smartphones. With the images that are included in the awards, how are these distinguishable?

SG: We always look for a different approach to storytelling.

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Yevhen Samuchenko, White Spot & Black Shadow. Lemurian Salt Lake, Ukraine. From the series At the Pink Planet.

Federico Borella, our 2019 Photographer of the Year, is a very good example. His winning project, Five Degrees, focuses on male suicide in the farming community of Tamil Nadu, southern India, which is facing its worst drought in 140 years. Approaching subjects with great sensitivity, Borella uses beautifully composed still-lifes and portraits alongside documentary shots. The images invite viewers to linger and carefully examine the details. I believe this type of carefully considered work encourages quiet contemplation. These pictures deliver the message more effectively, provoking an emotional response and staying in the minds of viewers.

A: How do WPO’s initiatives support and propel artists’ careers? Can you list some success stories?

SG: We’ve had some remarkable projects over the years, including Maroesjka Lavigne, who won our 2016 Landscape category for the series Land of Nothingness, depicting the Namibian desert – one of the least densely populated places on Earth – in a subtle palette of pastels. Following her win, she was picked up by Robert Mann Gallery, New York, who published a book of her work. Tania Franco Klein, who uses staged images to explore contemporary issues, first won the National Award for Mexico in 2017 and was then shortlisted in the Creative category in 2018. She has since exhibited in galleries and art fairs all over the world. Alys Tomlinson – our 2018 Photographer of the Year – is now represented

by HackelBury Fine Art, London, and a book of her winning series Ex-Voto, was published by GOST in 2019. The work encompasses formal portraiture, large format landscape and detailed still-life images of the “ex-votos”: offerings of religious devotion, found at pilgrimage sites across Europe.

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A: What are some of the standout works from 2020?

SG: There’s much to be proud of in this year’s finalists in the Professional competition. Examples of significant series includes Hashem Shakeri's Cast Out of Heaven – a beautifully shot project that looks at the lives of those forced to move out of Tehran and resettle in inadequate housing projects. The Future of Farming, by Luca Locatelli, is another expertly shot body of work that documents high-tech agrofarming systems which are being built to accommodate an estimated 10 billion people in 2050. Meanwhile, Chang Kyun Kim's New Home sheds light on the little discussed story of the Japanese Internment Camps in the USA, in which thousands of citizens and residents of Japanese descent were imprisoned during WWII. Project 596, by Florian Ruiz, imaginatively presents landscapes of Lop Nor – a former salt lake in China previously used as a nuclear weapons test site. Finally, Disassembled Memory by Fangbin Chen is an emotive and nostalgic project in which the photographer depicts – in catalogue-like structures – the disassembled parts of his childhood bicycle, in order to preserve memories.

A: What’s the best piece of advice or inspiration that you can offer to photographers working today?

SG: Edit, edit, edit! Carefully consider the images that you choose to help tell your story, and always keep your audience in mind whilst doing this. Also, try and get your name and work out there as much as possible. Awards are a great way of gaining instant recognition and visibility.

However, self-publishing, grant and residency applications, independent fairs, exhibitions and a strong digital profile are also important aspects of building your brand.

Right: Maximilian Mann, Fading Flamingos.

Words Kate Simpson

worldphoto.org

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Colour and Motif Diane Villadsen

In 2015, Apple released a Rose Gold iPhone. In 2016, Pantone named Rose Quartz its colour of the year. Since then, Marc Jacobs, Gucci and Balenciaga have brought out collections with desaturated tones. Millennial pink has become a global design trend, taking over Tumblr pages and Instagram accounts with pastel layouts and contemporary branding. Diane Villadsen’s photographs are a visual sensation that explore this idea, feeding our appetite for candy coloured compositions and geometric styling. Dreamlike tones move from blush pink and lemon yellow to baby blue and soft lilac – soothing palettes found amongst painted walls and cut up fruit. The images focus on colours that are both peaceful and alluring, adhering to principles from the wider visual world.

Villadsen is a fashion and portrait photographer based in San Francisco Bay. She has spoken at Adobe Live Stream and Today At Apple. dvilladsenphotography.com.

Model: Tiffany Guo (Stars Management) Styling: Diane Villadsen Hair & Makeup: Vanessa B. Lee Courtesy of Diane Villadsen.

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Model: Tiffany O'Neil Forde. Styling: Diane Villadsen. Hair & Makeup: April Foster Courtesy of Diane Villadsen.

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Model: Andrea Kapenda. Styling: Diane Villadsen. Hair & Makeup: Sarah Hartgens. Courtesy of Diane Villadsen.

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Model: Tiffany Guo (Stars Management). Styling: Diane Villadsen. Hair & Makeup: Vanessa B. Lee. Courtesy of Diane Villadsen.

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Model: Miki Hamano. Hair & Makeup: Amy Lawson. Photo & Styling: Diane Villadsen. Courtesy of Diane Villadsen.

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Model: Tiffany O'Neil Forde. Styling: Diane Villadsen. Hair & Makeup: April Foster Courtesy of Diane Villadsen.

art

A New Conversation Athi-Patra Ruga THROUGH BOLD COSTUME, COLOURS, PAGEANTRY AND PERFORMANCE, RUGA'S WORKS ASK MEANINGFUL QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO DECOLONISE THE ART SECTOR.

Athi-Patra Ruga (b. 1984) is a South African visual artist alism and rising group mentalities. Unfortunately, we live in a who addresses the history of colonialism to offer a new, sad state of consciousness, grounded on the principles of “us” humanist vision for the future. Through bold and colourful and “them.” In spite of this, there’s an even stronger fightback compositions, each of Ruga's fantastical images explore from artists, humanists and lovers of individuality, who are sexuality, queer identities, cultural hybridity and post- combatting this false sense of evolution. In an “Imaginarium” colonial landscapes. Performance, photography, video, of sorts, I present the fictional state of Azania – a name that textiles and printmaking come together to present characters, is heavily associated with the hopes and dreams of struggles or “avatars” that parody existing socio-political constructs. from pre-1994 black South Africans. It is a word that offered Ruga has exhibited at Sean Kelly Gallery, Seattle; Louis hope for the future – a geographic location that has been Vuitton Fondation, Paris; YBCA, San Francisco; Tate Modern, written about since 40 AD. I would even call my photographs London; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; Somerset House, a utopian exercise – redressing South Africa’s sense of loss London; and most recently with Hayward Gallery for the Kiss from having its cultural identity interrupted by inhuman exMy Genders exhibition (12 June - 8 September 2019). His ercises like colonialism and segregation. Like Zion or Trump’s work also appears in both private and public collections such “Great America,” we tend to hark back to a golden age and as the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, Washington D.C. layer it with imagery – as well as dangerous courses of action – to achieve the desired state of “societal purity.” What is this A: Your images are Fantasia-like, tapping into ritual and idea of America that needs to be great again? Utopias are a concept that need to be defended by their creators – utilising procession. How do they create their own mythology?

A-PR: It is through the act of looking. When I compose an the polarised notions of “us” and “them” in order to maintain image, I make a point to draw attention to certain elements power and influence over people. Armies and border conthat create a clash between reality and fantasy. The resulting trol are called in to reinforce these ideas. This rhetoric plays works are a nod to the vernacular and the Occidental: staid out in The Future White Women of Azania series (2010-2017), ways of looking at and making things “beautiful.” I consider which displays an intersectional struggle. I had to carve and a range of ways in which western societies survey art through fight for a kind of safe space. The result is Azania. accepted means of communication, such as academia.

A: Your background is in fashion; how has this informed A: How do your images undermine utopias, building the styling and use of material in the images?

A-PR: First of all, I attended Belgravia Art College in East progressive worlds that question power structures?

A-PR: Globally, we are living through a resurgence of nation- London to study painting and art history. This, coupled with

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Athi-Patra Ruga, Umesiyakazi in Waiting (From the Exile series, previously Miss Azania 2015), 2019. Archival Ink-jet Print on Photorag Baryta.

161 x 205 cm. Edition of 10 +2 AP. Photographer: Hayden Phipps. © Athi-Patra Ruga. Courtesy of Athi-Patra Ruga and WHATIFTHEWORLD.

“These images are about procession and pageantry; this comes through in the choreography of heroic poses and sacred compositions. Then, there's also a nod to the traditions of African studio photography.”

Previous Page: Detail, Athi-Patra Ruga, Night of the Long Knives I, 2013. Archival Ink-jet Print on Photorag Baryta. 150 x 190 cm.

Edition of 5 + 2 AP. Photographer: Hayden Phipps. © Athi-Patra Ruga.

Courtesy of Athi-Patra Ruga and WHATIFTHEWORLD.

Left: Athi-Patra Ruga, The Future White Woman of Azania 1, 2012. Inkjet print on Hahnemühle photo rag.

80 x 120 cm. Edition of 5 + 3 AP. Photographer: Hayden Phipps. © Athi-Patra Ruga. Courtesy of AthiPatra Ruga and WHATIFTHEWORLD.

further studies in Fashion History, gave me a range of disciplines to work with. I now approach textiles – and conversations around clothing – as a means of communication. In South Africa, there are many cultural groups who have elevated costume to be a kind of non-verbal form of communication. This is evident, and perhaps blown out of proportion, in my photographic works. Azania, and all of its avatars’ fates, exist in the realm of costume and decoration; I present large-scale tapestries that reference medieval wall hangings in which function meets with storytelling.

A: Why do many of the figures remain faceless?

A-PR: I have learnt that removing faces is a way of allowing the audience to project themselves, or rather their identities, onto any of the given avatars. I use a range of materials to achieve this, from hair to balloons. Historically, my queer, black and femme identity has been veiled by society’s lack – or inadequacy – of acceptance. Like many others, I have been rendered as an alien: omitted. From the perspective of performance, the characters are reflective of “alien” beings.

The choreography, as well as the stilettos and the hidden face, tells the story of navigating the world with difficulty.

A: Each piece is meticulous, with bold sets, props and styling. How do you plan projects from start to finish?

A-PR: My series are a result of very focused craftsmanship – which is the cornerstone of my studio. The sets are designed and stitched together in Cape Town. Each of the elements is delivered separately and then we install the sets within a day.

I collaborate with those working in film design, allowing for a larger sense of scale that envelops the audience.

A: How do each of the objects help to build up a wider sense of storytelling? What is their relevance, as singular subjects, and as part of a larger collective?

A-PR: These images are about procession and pageantry; this comes through in the choreography of heroic poses and sacred compositions. Then there's also a nod to the traditions of African studio photography. We ramp up the decoration and start introducing objects that initiate a sense of conflict and visual tension. Nature becomes staged. Fauna is tamed.

These are primitive arrangements of “the negro” posing with “the animal” as a way to explore the idea of “feral” characters.

I play with the idea of primitivism and levels of “civilisation.”

A: You have described your works as “colourful yet frightening” – containing many textures and layers. How do your images convey meaning through detail?

A-PR: The stories I tell are through colour; it allows me to deal with the heaviest of topics, such as death or civil clashes, from the outside world. Colour has the ability to not only pacify the audience, but it allows me to enter into new places.

As I’m typing this, I am in isolation. I find that the presence of colour can also highlight where it is lacking – where it is missing. We regard colour only when it enters our eyes and it usually elevates our mood. However, it can also highlight the reality that the world isn’t all that colourful in actuality.

A: Many of your works have violent titles. How do you choose these and what do they signify?

A-PR: With all the “festivities” that are unfolding in the work, I often think back to the main reason I started to create. I wanted to explore how nationalism is bolstered by

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Athi-Patra Ruga ...A Vigil for Mayibuye, 2015. Archival ink-jet print on Photorag Baryta. 150 x 190 cm.

Edition of 10 + 2 AP. Photographer: Hayden Phipps. © Athi-Patra Ruga. Courtesy of Athi-Patra Ruga and WHATIFTHEWORLD.

pageantry, for example, by the idea of the Beauty Queen – a notion that plays on the femme body. Figures that walk down ramps, in order to represent a nation, are probably part of a patriarchal construct. Night of the Long Knives signifies a bloody historic event. It qualifies an image that might otherwise be described as “festive.” The title drags us back to reality; it allows viewers to toy with utopias and consider how society might be lacking. Imagine watching an episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and then immediately switching channels to a report on gender-based violence.

A: What projects have you produced since lockdown?

Are you building on any previous ideas?

A-PR: I am presenting a saga in two parts at the WHATIFTHEWORLD Gallery in Cape Town (and online) titled Interior Exterior / Dramatis Personae. This trans-media piece includes a series of stained glass windows that deify unexpected characters: those who wouldn’t usually be presented in the grand moral tales of traditional stained glass. This includes avatars that I have been performing as over the last 15 years. In this work, they are being deified for who they are in an Azanian set of moral tales (contradictory utopian nationalistic ideals). My stained glass subjects range from muscle leather-men – inspired by Irma Stern – to François “Féral” Benga: a Senegalese dancer from the early 1900s. He used to do drag performances of his colleagues. The second part of the piece, Dramatis Personae, is introducing my new avatar: Nomalizo Khwezi. The figure is presented in tapestry-form, peeking into her psychology, which is made up of tropes from Xhosa literature, specifically those that are published in the 200-year-old Lovedale

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Press, stretching back to the turn of the 20th century. Titles like Ingqumbo yemiNyanya (The Wrath of the Ancestors) and Ithemba liyaphilisa (Hope Heals) are upended as they have had a strong hold on respectability politics in my Xhosa society. This work forms part of a larger trans-media series entitled The Lunar Songbook. Last year, I was accepted into the Locarno Film Academy and attended masterclasses led

by John Waters and Bong Joon-ho. This is part of a feature film in development, which I started there.

Right: Detail, Athi-Patra Ruga, Night of the Long Knives II, 2013. Archival Ink-jet Print on Photorag Baryta. 150 x 190 cm. Edition of 5 + 2 AP. Photographer: Hayden Phipps. © Athi-Patra Ruga. Courtesy of Athi-Patra Ruga and WHATIFTHEWORLD.

A: What do you hope viewers take from your images?

Is there something you aim towards in each project?

A-PR: I hope that audiences have experienced the highest levels of technique and storytelling. This is coupled with the desire that I have allowed them the courage to face scars and wounds using the platform of an objective place. The end goal, for me, is that I dignify the imaginations and identities of communities which are black, femme, queer and alive.

A: What role should artists play in 2020? What has been your takeaway from the global lockdown?

A-PR: Never has there been a more important time for a new generation of artists. Lockdown has proven that the arts are not some rarefied activity for collectors. The arts aren't esoteric. Film is a magic collaboration. Music carries our souls along. We call for these media to celebrate the health workers who are taking care of lives. So, let this be a time to reflect on the fact that we have entered a new era that will demand that you know your purpose as an artist. Document this time as much as possible, so when we reflect on this crisis, we will think of new opportunities. Strive to be in service.

Words Kate Simpson

instagram.com/athipatra whatiftheworld.com

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Body as Performance Nana Yaw Oduro

Nana Yaw Oduro (b. 1994) is a conceptual photographer based in Accra, Ghana. Oduro’s images are deeply inspired by poetry and spoken word from the likes of Leonard Cohen and Charles Bukowski, amongst others. Based on a creative process that transforms words into visuals, these images explore boyhood, masculinity and identity. The photographs are a visual manifestation of movement, thought and emotion – expressed through bold colours that juxtapose against black bodies. Bare backs stretch outwards toward the sun; oranges nestle within overlapping arms; knees dip into stretches of open water. Bright yellows, greens, reds and blues draw the viewer into silent narratives. The figures express emotions through subtle positions and gestures: kneeling, hiding or leaning into abstract landscapes. They reveal an “action” of sorts – like the first line of a story. Oduro asks the viewer to fill in the rest. instagram.com/the.vintage.mason.

Nana Yaw Oduro, Joshua. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nana Yaw Oduro, Fruits Are For Boys. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nana Yaw Oduro, Camel Heart. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nana Yaw Oduro, Present Burden. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nana Yaw Oduro, The Prayer II. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nana Yaw Oduro, Take It Easy, But Take It. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nana Yaw Oduro, God Body. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nana Yaw Oduro, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nana Yaw Oduro, Pounding Heart. Courtesy of the artist.

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Tapping into Nature Makoto Azuma HUMANITY'S INTERACTION WITH NATURE IS BEING REDEFINED. MAKOTO AZUMA HIGHLIGHTS THIS, JUXTAPOSING ANCIENT TRADITION WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES.

On 21 June 2016, Makoto Azuma (b. 1976) set 2000 flowers on fire at the Oya Stone Mine in Tochigi, Japan. Burning Flowers incorporated the incineration of gymea lilies, dahlias, gloriosas, cockscombs, gerberas, heliconias, proteas, roses and more. The piece used mostly red blooms; the colours of the petals intertwined with the reds and oranges of the flames that consumed them. It was one of the artist’s most dramatic projects to date, but it was also typical of his style.

Azuma creates fantastical, mind-bending installations that connect to the beauty of the natural world whilst drawing attention to differing levels of manmade intervention.

Azuma tests the limits of sculpture and installation. He has sent flower arrangements into space (In Bloom #1: Exobiotanica 1 – Botanical Space Flight, Nevada, 2014) and dropped them to the bottom of the ocean (In Bloom #3: Sephirothic Flower, Suruga Bay, 2017). He has frozen plants in blocks of ice (Iced Flowers, Saitama, 2015) and laid them out by the thousand to wither and die. He has sent flowers drifting out to sea and arranged them in artisan vases (In Bloom #2: DAGAT & BULAKLAK, Negros Island, 2015). His practice is spectacular, unusual – and very particular – so it’s surprising to find out it all started off by accident.

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Azuma’s first passion was music; in 1997, he moved to Tokyo with the hope of pursuing a career in the industry. Whilst waiting for this to take off, he took a part-time job in a flower shop, and discovered an unknown love of botany. It seemed an unlikely sidestep, but for Azuma, it felt like a natural career move because music and plants – he suggests – have much in common. “Both

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are ephemeral, momentary and unique. Just as there are as many kinds of red roses, a piece of music is always different depending on the mental state of the musician and the environment in which they are playing.”

By 1999, he was managing a boutique flower shop in Tokyo’s central Azabu-Juban district. In 2002, he opened up his first personal venture: Jardin des Fleurs – a collaboration with the photographer Shiinoki Shunsuketo – which was based first in the upscale Ginza, and now in the fashionable Minami Aoyama district. Azuma thinks of the project in terms of a “laboratory.” In the space, he carefully controls the light, humidity and temperature – as well as the volume of the music inside it – to create the optimal environment. In his ethereal “garden,” he has worked with many high-profile brands such as Dries Van Noten, Hermès and Boucheron.

Evidently, this is no ordinary flower shop.

Being an artist and being a florist are viewed as “equal” to Azuma, but he adds that work at Jardin des Fleurs involves a triangular balance between “creativity, customer requests and material.” Gradually, he felt compelled to embark on personal creative endeavours, sparking an intimate dialogue with plants. In 2005, he started producing installations that display and manipulate botany in cutting-edge ways.

Early series include Shiki, which included suspending Bonsai Trees in stark isolation. In 2007, he created Mominoki Moeru (Burning Fir), in which he set a tree on fire. In 2008, he founded AMPG (Azuma Makoto Private Gallery) in order to further experiment with new ideas – working out of an old print shop in Tokyo. Azuma made and exhibited one work

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Azuma Makoto, Sequia y Sombra, in Argentina, 2018. Photograph by Shiinoki Shunsuke/ Courtesy of AMKK

“Azuma says that the technology doesn't matter – the point is always to find new ways to showcase organic beauty and to encourage people to appreciate and therefore respect the natural world.”

Previous Page: Azuma Makoto, Shiki 1 × Landscapes, 2015 Photograph by Shiinoki Shunsuke/ Courtesy of AMKK. Left: Azuma Makoto, In Bloom #4: EXOBIOTANICA II — Botanical Space Flight, in Nevada, 2017. Photograph by Shiinoki Shunsuke/ Courtesy of AMK.

a month at AMPG from April 2007 to March 2009, before disappear without ever being known as their habitat comes launching Azuma Makoto Kaju Kenkyujo. AMPG proved under increasing threat from manmade industries such pivotal, laying the foundations of his practice and fostering as logging and mining. In 2018, he paid tribute to these a spirit of invention. “All my works are experimental. mysterious other lifeforms with an 80kg hanging sculpture, Sometimes I end up using radical methods; sometimes constructed at a former school In São Paulo.

Here, Azuma also references much older Japanese they are incredibly common.” For the artist, there are no particular “rules” for successful creative expression, but the traditions, looking back to the ancient art of flowerintention must be exact: to always respect life and spark a arranging, which was popularised in the 16th century but conversation with it directly. “I believe that as long as you dates back to the 7th century. The occupation draws on have that kind of soul, the flower will answer in return.”

Buddhist ideas, and even earlier philosophies. The idea of These kinds of conversations have involved using the “listening” to the natural world is part of the Ikebana tradition latest technology such as freezing plants by soaking in which gods or spirits inhabit all things. “I have never been them in liquid nitrogen. Using this approach In Block aware of it directly, but I am born and bred Japanese, so I Flowers (Tokyo, 2016), for example, he isolated stems he believe this way of thinking is deeply ingrained. Japanese had picked or grown and fixed them within a particular people liken trees to gods and venerate [some] as sacred moment in time. He has also built displays with obvious, trees called Goshinboku. They believe that deities exist and even exaggerated, human intervention. In Fighting everywhere, so they approach nature with a feeling of awe Flowers (Shanghai, 2017), Azuma installed plants in a wire and reverence. Without respect for nature, the process of mesh cube measuring 2.5 metres high, evoking concepts of changing life into artwork does not happen. I think that imprisonment by using a material usually implemented to sense of tension adds even more power to my work.” make fences. The installation was overwhelming.

Azuma emphasises all stages of life cycles, including At other times, his work is stripped-back and gestural: decay, and shows a keen awareness of the fact that the simply laying flowers down to dry out and decompose, plants will die, adding a further layer of performativity to or handing them out, for free, to passers-by. Azuma says each piece. He instils the concept of “Mono-no aware”: a that technology doesn’t matter – the point is always to find wistful appreciation of life that’s made bittersweet by the new ways to showcase organic beauty and to encourage fact that all beings must eventually pass away. First conpeople to appreciate and therefore respect the natural ceptualised in Japanese literature 1000 years ago, this world. In June 2013, he travelled to Belém, near the mouth concept underlines the tradition of gathering to admire of the Amazon, to find out more about the plants and ephemeral cherry blossoms (lasting only a week). The acflowers there, many of which have yet to be discovered ceptance of transience and death also underpins a slightly and documented. Sadly, some of these unknown flora will grislier Buddhist tradition known as “Kusozu”: paintings of

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Azuma Makoto, Botanical Sculpture: Sequía y Sombra (Drought and Shadow), in Argentina, 2018. Photograph by Shiinoki Shunsuke/ Courtesy of AMKK.

Afterall, if people want to look at flowers they only have corpses which depict the process of decomposition.

Fragility is central to Azuma; his work is always destined to go outside. And, for as long we can remember, flowers to wither and die in the end. “The life cycle of a flower is so have been used to mark important rites of passage: births, short, which is why the very lifetime of a flower is even more weddings and funerals. It’s an impulse that the artist has precious and heavier than a those of a human being.” He directly explored, with the 2016 installation Burning evokes the precarious situation of the planet, as we hang in Flowers dedicated to his friend and theatre director Yukio the universe, 100 seconds to midnight as registered on the Ninagawa, who died the month before. Ninagawa had also Doomsday Clock. In Bloom #1: Exobiotanica 1 - Botanical asked Azuma to provide the flowers for his hospital room, Space Flight, for example, shows the Earth floating in space and later to take responsibility for tributes at the funeral.

In June 2018, Azuma produced Botanical Sculpture: just behind the arrangement. Whilst we're facing Covid-19 Prayer for Fukushima, a sculpture installed in a high school and the climate crisis, this perspective is crucial.

Even though these artworks will eventually fade, fall in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the nuclear apart or simply disappear, photographs will document their disaster; his ongoing artworks Flowers for Peace in Hirosingle-use existence – images which remain “durable and shima and Nagasaki involve leaving flowers at memorials fixed,” as Henry Fox Talbot posited in The Pencil of Nature to those who died in the atomic bombing of these cities. back in 1846. Azuma’s works are always shot by the same “Flowers accompany human life. In Japan, we can find fosphotographer – his business partner Shiinoki Shunsuke – sils of flowers in ancient Jomon period tombs [which date who, rather than just documenting the plants and flowers back 10,000 years]. People back then treated plants as in these otherworldly environments, takes shots that emu- something holy – that is not something that can be exlate Azuma’s complex approach. “I always try to capture plained by reason, it’s more like a feeling hidden in us."

This is an ancient instinct, but it’s also increasingly necesthe moment of flowers acutely,” explains Shunsuke. “To achieve this, I use various angles, lighting and methods of sary to life in the 21st century. Our daily lives – and the shooting to express beauty and mystery.” media – are dominated by the Covid-19 virus, but in the Azuma’s art can be interpreted not just in terms of background, slower, yet perhaps more lethal, issues conJapanese culture, but also in light of wider human impulses tinue. Mass consumption, deforestation, plastic manufacsuch as the urge to cultivate and harness the wilderness, turing and toxic emissions are still burning through our which is inevitably juxtaposed with the yearning to be out, resources, pushing us closer to global species extinction. appreciating the beauty of forests, oceans and parks. Never Right now, we need art that makes us think about what we has such a point been amplified, with the lockdown forcing value the most. “As times have changed, the needs of flora humans to be inside their homes and allowing – if the and fauna have increased and broadened. And I can forememes are to be believed – nature to flourish and rebloom. see that these needs will become even stronger.”

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Right: Azuma Makoto, Shiki 1 × Landscapes, 2015. Photograph by Shiinoki Shunsuke/ Courtesy of AMKK.

Words Diane Smyth

Flower Art is published

by Thames & Hudson thamesandhudson.com azumamakoto.com

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Reality Usurped KangHee Kim

KangHee Kim (b. 1991) distils the everyday, refining and transforming it into something altogether different – and utterly fantastical. Kim asks viewers to think beyond the possibilities of the lens and see the world in new ways: where up can be down; left can be right; fences can be portals; and motorways can pave the way to the sun. Bold, blazing blues characterise the featured images as skies take centre stage. Billowing white clouds roll into focus and engulf phone wires, cut through wire, peek through walls and dance across the surface of empty bus seats. Each composition is perfectly framed – creating doorways, borders and hinge points between one space and the next. Kim has worked with the likes of Samsung, The New York Times, The New Yorker, VCSO and ICON Magazine, and has been featured in TIME, Forbes, Ignant, Hunger TV, Aperture, British Journal of Photography, VICE and more. Kim is represented by Benrubi Gallery, New York. kanghee.kim.

KangHee Kim, from Street Errands.

Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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KangHee Kim, from Street Errands. Courtesy of the artist and Benrubi Gallery, NYC.

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Portraits in Isolation Julia Keil

Artists have been playing with the idea of identity and caricature for years. Claude Cahun (1894-1954), Cindy Sherman (b. 1954) and Juno Calypso (b. 1989) are amongst the most prominent figures to do so, morphing themselves into a catalogue of different contexts.

In the 21st century, the idea of having a fixed portrait no longer exists. Since the rise of the smartphone, faces change on a daily basis, subject to new kinds of choreography, masquerade and performance. In lockdown, with limited resources, this concept is further heightened. We are completely isolated whilst being constantly connected through the camera lens. Julia Keil’s (b. 1986) self-portraits reference films and works of fine art to express these familiar experiences. She appears, lounging on a sofa in the living room after a birthday party; peering into an Amazon package like a Pandora’s Box of consumer goodies; and combing unruly hair with a Pre-Raphaelite sense of liberation. juliakeil.com.

Julia Keil, Day 18: Girl with an egg earring.

Inspired by Girl with a pearl earring by Johannes Vermeer.

"As I didn’t have any big pearl earrings, I improvised with what I did have: a pair of egg earrings, a bathrobe and a blue towel."

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Julia Keil, Day 9: Contained & Connected.

Inspired by Lady Lilith by Dante Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelites.

"I spontaneously exchanged the mirror for my phone – a sign of self-reflection and communication, allowing us to stay connected."

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Julia Keil, Day 22: Only Stories Left Alive.

Inspired by: Only Lovers Left Alive, directed by Jim Jarmusch.

"I watched this film the night before taking the photo and felt it reflected the current climate, with few going out in the daylight."

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Julia Keil, Day 34: The Birthday.

Inspired by Decadent Young Woman, After the Dance by Ramon Casas.

"I had the (hopefully) once in a lifetime opportunity to have my birthday during lockdown. I added balloons, a bottle of wine, a bar of chocolate and, of course, my phone: the connection to the outside world and to the image."

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Julia Keil, Day 30: Pandora’s Package.

"On this day all non-essential orders from Amazon had been suspended in France for this lockdown period to help prevent the spread of Covid-19."

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Julia Keil, Day 20: Privacy.

Inspired by Margot in The Royal Tenenbaums, directed by Wes Anderson.

"The character's secrecy and need for privacy, which she often finds in the bathroom, is something which many can relate to during these times when families, partners and roommates find themselves confined together."

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Class of 2020 YORK ST JOHN UNIVERSITY DEGREE SHOW

This moment in time will be remembered for years to come. It's so Orwellian that it’s hard to believe it’s actually happening. This year, graduates will not get the Degree Shows that they deserve, so we've teamed up with York St John University to present a showcase of 12 students in print. Online, we’ve created videos and profiles for the entire department. To see and hear from the Class of 2020 visit: aestheticamagazine.com/ysjufineart. Reach out and connect.

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Jake McMylor Photography

mcmylorphotography.com | IG: @_mcmylor_ Jake McMylor is a photographer based in Manchester, England. His work is centred on the concepts of memory and the self. As someone who experiences Aphantasia, he possesses no visual memory, so relies on photographs to visualise the past. This project, entitled Caecus, is in response to his inability to remember the faces of others when they're not with him.

McMylor's inspiration often comes from within. In an attempt to understand himself further, he produces lens-based work to develop a better sense of personal identity, as well as the identities of those that surround him. His visuals are influenced by a range of artists, from Francisco Goya’s paintings to Michael Ackerman’s spectral depictions of people and place.

McMylor finds that inspiration strikes at random. As his practice develops, he has started looking at the interconnections of recollection and photography using found images. He visualises the act of forgetting – the lucid ethereality of an incomplete, mostly faded, memory.

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Nick Small Photography

nicksmallphotography51.squarespace.com | IG: @nicksmallphotography Nick Small sees the world in contrasts. He works predominantly in black and white photography and rejects the use of colour. His intention is to represent strength through direct contrast, where the foreground and background become connected to create a bold visual statement without the distractions of colour. In Gap, solid, vertical trees dictate the direction to be taken, providing no other route but forwards into the dense and compact forest, using a low visual angle and a tight crop. Small emphasises the domineering forms of timber trunks that loom over the viewer; the gaze is drawn skyward. With the play between light and shadow, the viewpoint can either be taken as having emerged from within the wood, or about to be engulfed in the overhead canopy. The Weir includes a juxtaposition of the built environment and the natural world. Small's wider practice rejects fixed compositions, looking for a sense of autonomy in the image through its relationship with the subject.

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Chloe Wong Photography

chloejasminphotogr.wixsite.com/photography | IG: @chloejasmin_photography Chloe Wong is a final year photography student living and working in York. Her practice pays close attention to the details of everyday items. She surveys textures and colours, as well as the natural beauty that is found in decaying buildings. With speed to the mark is from a larger body of work that highlights the aesthetic attraction of decomposition within an abandoned RAF base. A Macro Lens was used to capture the finer details of structures. Looking at degeneration in minutiae brings about a number of unexpected colours and surfaces, which results in a new reading of the image, as well as the building. The title With speed to the mark represents the unique RAF station badge in which the photos were taken. Wong’s inspiration for the Texture series was ignited by a fascination with how nature always prevails. Macro lenses make it possible to see details, which are often overlooked by the naked eye, whilst creating an image that can be interpreted in a completely different manner.

1a. Jake McMylor, I (2016). 1b. Jake McMylor, II (2016). 2a. Nick Small, The Weir - Durham 2017. 2b. Nick Small, Gap - Scotland 2018.

3. Chloe Wong, With speed to the mark. From the Textures series. February 2020. Taken in RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire.

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Jesse McMahon Fine Art

jessemcmahon.co.uk | IG@ jesse_mcjam Jesse McMahon is a multimedia artist. Drawing influence from early avant-garde music and film, alongside the Dada and Futurist art movements, he creates psychedelic audio-visual installations and experimental video pieces. Film, photography, video synthesis, feedback loops and found sound are merged in each developed and edited piece. McMahon combines, distorts and corrupts familiar images and sounds in order to reflect the concept of sensory overload, which has become so commonplace in today's world. He is also commenting on humanity's love / hate relationship with technology and the constant flow of information.

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Avalon Iris Fine Art

avaloniris.net | IG: @avalonirisart Nature Transience navigates the connection between human beings and the natural world.

For Iris, the human condition is similar, in many ways, to the organic world: the experience of time passing, as well as isolation, desperation and death. We long for a connection with the environment. Nature is captivating and yet, it takes us by surprise. It is constantly in a state of flux. This series communicates the delicate balance of our relationship with nature through a range of different perspectives. Iris questions how human beings can reconnect with the Earth and what this might mean for our entire existence – geologically and anthropologically.

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Lucy-May Turner Fine Art

lucymayturner1.wixsite.com/lucymay | IG: @smayart Lucy-May Turner has a passion for colour and graphic visuals. Her practice removes stereotypes and the sexualisation of women from high-end fashion magazines. Utilising colour and collage to juxtapose the two-dimensional, monochromatic imagery in advertising, she counteracts women’s “predisposition” of comparing themselves to unrealistic body imagery. This work featured here is Collage 12, which uses pages sourced from Vogue. Turner uses Gelli Printing to transfer magazine pictures to other surfaces, distorting the original picture. She has been inspired by Quentin Jones, Andy Warhol and Tyler Spangler.

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Tilly Thornborrow Fine Art

tillythornborrow.wixsite.com/tillyt | IG: @tillyt_art Through a material-led practice, Tilly Thornborrow explores family photo albums from the viewpoint of a younger generation. These works are presented exclusively in tones of pink – a colour associated with comfort and security. It is also scientifically proven to reduce aggressive emotions. For the millennial generation, positivity feels somewhat of a rarity; growing up in the digital age of social media, our lives have been marked by disconcerting politics, the constant threat of climate change, debt and stories of sexual harassment. Using old vernacular photography, the Millennial Pink series represents a yearning for the past.

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Rohini Jones Photography

rohinijones.com | IG: @rohini_jonesphotography Tranquillity explores sacred locations and rituals, presenting an intertwined relationship between mindfulness and space. The work is an acknowledgement of the idea that sacred spaces are not necessarily physical places but are a state of mind, which can be accessed or evoked through sensory stimulation: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Tranquility can be found anywhere, even in a world of over-stimulation. Rohini Jones is a Leeds-based photographer responding to themes of culture, race and gender. Across both commercial and fine art briefs, Jones’s approach to the medium is visually stimulating. Her images offer a platform for discussion surrounding many pressing topics, and ask difficult questions.

4 Jesse McMahon, Untitled (2019). A photograph of blossoming trees in York. 5. Avalon Garvey, Transient I from the Nature Transience series (2020). 6. Lucy May Turner, Pink Collage 12. From a series of collages sourced from Vogue. Gelli Printing (2020). 7. Tilly Thornborrow, from the Millennial Pink series (2020). 8. Rohini Jones, Tranquility. (2018). Denham, Western Austrialia.

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Jessica Mitchell Photography

jessmitchellphotography.com | IG: @jessicamitchell_photography Melted was taken on a trip to Norway in 2018. The artist returned to a glacier in Briksdalsbre, which she had visited some years before. In the time between visits, the glacier had dwindled to less than half its original size. Nonetheless, the purity of its beauty remained, and tourists looked on in awe, unaware of the tragedy occurring before their eyes. The image is part of a wider portfolio that highlights the destructive and damaging behaviours of humankind. She draws attention to how people feel the need to access and appreciate beauty, regardless of the costs to do so. Mitchell’s practice supports and acknowledges the growing consciousness of climate activism. She defines herself as a travel and fashion photographer. Her practice highlights humanity’s relationship with beauty, as well as the negative effects that come from trying to define aesthetics in the wider world. There is often a focus on the façade of consumerist ideals, as well as a sense of decay and artificial intervention with the natural world.

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Charlotte Marshall Photography

charlottemarshallphotography.co.uk | IG: @_charlottemarshall Charlotte Marshall is a documentary photographer. Her work studies relationships, identities and livelihoods across a range of themes and forms. As well as shooting portraits against a variety of environments, she also believes the location is just as important as the model it surrounds. The featured piece, Pathway, depicts a wooden route floating above the Lake District’s moss land. The pathway is just a small section of a 10-mile walk around Lake Derwentwater, situated just outside of Keswick. The images explore the journey taken around the lake, and how this fragment of the world is completely engulfed by a landscape of mountains. The black and white photographs express the silence that surrounds the water, whilst documenting the story of how many people will have taken the same path – silent, invisible and anonymous figures on the timeline of the Earth. Marshall is now primarily documenting the NHS and its workforce through a series of new and personal images.

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Charlotte Taylor Fine Art

taylormadebycharlotte.com | IG: @charlottetaylorstudio Charlotte Taylor is a multidisciplinary artist based between York and Wakefield. Her recent sculpture series, titled Creatures, considers abstraction, texture and form. This project, which draws upon elements of past projects, takes inspiration from marine life, with a focus on Cephalopods: members of the mollusc family such as squids or octopi. The series was born through material experimentation and ambiguity. As it has developed, each piece has taken on a life of its own. Some sculptures draw inspiration from human body parts, whilst others are akin to enigmatic, alien-like “creatures” devoid of species categorisation; they hang from their surroundings with fluidity and freedom. The vibrant block colours contrast with the spikes that cover each surface, indicating a sense of allure and danger all at once. In marine life, bold colours indicate poison and repeal predators in their path. These sculptures access a kind of duality: drawing viewers in through playful patterns, whilst indicating a sense of threat.

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Sasha Bykova Fine Art

sashabkv.com | IG: @whatsashadoes Sasha Bykova is interested in the role of pleasure: how we navigate and experience it within our everyday lives, from the simplicity of textures to the wider appreciation and internalisation of aesthetics. She produces three-dimensional paintings that capture the states of flow and spontaneity, evoking a sense of freedom through tangibility. As a multidisciplinary artist, Bykova creates tactile surfaces through which unexpected connections can be made. She asks audiences to engage with the works – utilising various physical elements – whilst welcoming a range of emotions and reactions from humour and sadness to exposure and secrecy. A sense of ambiguity is articulated through materials, and details allow for a continuous flow of movement and repetition. She primarily uses glue, ultra-light clay and spray paint, as well as some unconventional materials such as lipstick. Bykova’s work celebrates life – from the smaller appreciation of texture, to the immeasurable experience of the physical self.

9. Jessica Mitchell, Melted, Briksdalsbre, Norway, 2018. 10a. Charlotte Marshall, Untitled (2019). 10b. Charlotte Marshall, Pathway (2019). 11. Charlotte Taylor, from the Creatures series. 12. Sasha Bykova, MOISTURISER, Wooden Frame, Air Dry Clay, Spray Paint.

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Still from Don't Blame Jack (UK, 29 mins) Dir. Dale John Allen.

film

Taking New Direction BOYS ON FILM Boys on Film returns with a pulsating and thought-provoking array of queer stories told by a host of extraordinarily talented filmmakers from all over the world, celebrating one of the longest running strands of short film programmes.

The innovative collection, which launched in 2009 with the Hard Love edition, celebrates young gay voices at their finest, and returns for its 20th programme – entitled Heaven Can Wait – under flagship distributor Peccadillo Pictures.

These are short form interpretations of topical issues, which includes a sombre yet beautiful animation about finding love within conservative Tunisian community, a tender take on what a modern queer family looks like and a steady observation of closeted identities in suburban England.

Much like Boys on Film's previous programmes, these films offer a prism of contemporary gay culture. One shining example is Isha – an intimate love story about Romanian immigrant Rahmi by Christopher Manning. The filmmaker drew on people that he observed whilst teaching in Paris, which following Rahmi's struggle to maintain appearances around his Muslim father as he comes to terms with sexuality.

When asked what he hopes people will take away from Isha – especially during this time of self-reflection – Manning’s wish is for empathy towards the character, and for Rahmi to serve as a gateway. “I want people to relate to him despite living a different life to him. I hope audiences will consider

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that we all desire, want and need the same validation that the “These are short main character does, and finally that for some people – those form interpretations who are more vulnerable, less advantaged and marginalised of topical issues, – are at times alienated from the rest of society and struggle which includes a greatly to accept themselves in ways that most do not.” sombre yet beautiful In Mankind – Layke Anderson’s capsule film about a young animation about man’s decision to sacrifice his relationship and embark on a finding love within a journey into space – the focus falls less on the expansive conservative Tunisian ambition of the mission and more on the complicated community and a relationship between the central characters. “Initially I came steady observation of across an article about a one-way mission to Mars that sought closeted identities in suburban England.” volunteers. The idea grew from there,” explains Anderson.

“I began writing it with a heterosexual couple in mind. In later drafts, I realised that the dynamic was more interesting and perhaps more appropriate for two men, given the subtext of Mars as a metaphor for masculinity." Anderson also draws inspiration from Luc Besson’s love story The Big Blue for the piece: “Jean-Marc Barr’s character swims so deep that it’s more than likely he’ll never return to the surface. Rosanna Arquette’s character fights for him, but she has to let him go.”

With the promise that Boys on Film is only getting started, Words the programme continues to provide a beacon for gay Beth Webb filmmaking, that, in turn, offers new, diverse perspectives and showcases an emerging wave of talented new storytellers.

This is a truly exciting roster of directors to watch. peccapics.com

Intimate Journeys CAMINO SKIES daughter. “Their relationship strengthened as the film went “The directors put out on,” Grady explains. “Mark is more of a typically masculine adverts in walking figure; Terry felt more complex. They bonded over beer.” magazines to just Juxtaposed against the idyllic scenery of surrounding the right people and European vistas, the pair caught the hikers at their most couldn't be more vulnerable, as they moved through a myriad of complex pleased with who they emotions. It’s a great illustration of the trust held between managed to scout out. the six subjects, as well as Grady and Smyth, who capture The core six all hailed poignant milestones in each path. Smyth notes: “My wife from New Zealand walked the Camino de Santiago 10 years before I met and Australia.” her, and she’d always tell me about these life-changing experiences. It seemed to be a place that attracts people to share their stories, and eventually you just kind of open up over time. There’s something quite beautiful about that.”

This proved inspiration enough for Smyth and Grady to travel further out and see the power of the pilgrimage for themselves. They self-funded the project, returning to their day jobs after filming to save up the money to edit the footage at Peter Jackson’s post-production house. The pair were so affected by the voyages that their subjects embarked upon, that they’ve collaborated on a follow-up project Words that has taken them to Japan. “It’s set around an assisted Beth Webb pilgrimage called the Kumano Kodo,” Smyth continues. “I love hiking. That’s a dream job; to be able to walk along with a camera and just film stuff. You just need a lot of time.” caminoskies.com

Courtesy of Parkland Entertainment.

The premise of Fergus Grady and Noel Smyth’s documentary debut seems simple enough. Every year, visitors from all over the world flock to the 800-kilometre Camino de Santiago – a network of walking routes that stretch to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in northwestern Spain – on a spiritual or self-motivated journey of discovery. Amidst the hoards of people, six strangers navigate through personal stories of loss or grievance by putting one foot in front of the other. By shadowing these pilgrimages, Grady and Smyth have carefully and respectfully captured this fantastic ode to human connections, even when they're at their most painful.

In order to present the full breadth of the subjects’ stories, the two filmmakers bunked in the same hostel and divided their time amongst the participants. “We picked two or three people from the group to follow for the day depending on what rhythm they fell into,” explains Grady. “We had interesting relationships between all of them, and we would just play to that in terms of what the day would look like.”

The directors put out adverts in walking magazines to just the right people and couldn’t be more pleased with who they managed to scout out. The core six – all hailing from New Zealand and Australia – included Julie, a psychologist from Christchurch who had experienced tremendous loss not long before embarking on the journey, and father and sonin-law Terry and Mark, who were walking in memory of Mark’s

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Credit: Universal.

music

Return to the Homeland LIL HALIMA Lil Halima has always had an independent streak. She left talks of having to overcome “good girl syndrome” and of the family home, in Bardu, Norway, at just 15, filled with a battling an eating disorder in her younger years. She’s also sense of artistic purpose. It paid off; just two years later, she “the only brown face in a small [Bardu has a population of was scouted by Universal Music, who reached out to the around 4,000] and predominantly white town.” How did life young songwriter / singer via Instagram. Whilst she counts there shape her identity as a young woman of colour?

“I think it all came to a head as soon as I moved away. The Oslo as her adopted home, the Covid-19 outbreak means she is now back with her family. “My days consist of a three- knowledge of the real world hit me, and I felt like I needed hour long morning routine each day. I paint, make music and, to embrace a whole side of my identity that I had not been most recently, I’ve been getting into a houseplant obsession. able to define before.” Nowadays, Lil Halima is very clear I’ve always loved plants, but now it’s reached next-level about who she is and the type of music she wants to send out into the world. Her bilingual 2019 mixtape, Brown Girl obsession: I’m propagating them all over the house!”

As scenes of arrested domestic development go, Lil Diary, is a promising statement of quiet, assured intent – Halima could do worse. Her parents – a Nigerian father perfectly executed, interactional feminist R&B pop that and Norwegian mother – have encouraged creativity nods to everything from electro-funk, hip hop and neo-soul since childhood. Even now, long after she’s flown the nest, influences. “I’ve never been good at sticking to one genre. her mother insists on filling the living room walls with the Musically, I just go wherever the vibe takes me.”

Lil Halima has transitioned from bedroom song-writing to singer’s early art works. “These are mostly paintings I made years ago; some of them I don’t even like anymore. Every serious studio work alongside seasoned professionals. She time I come back home, I take them down, and every time I may have notched up some impressive wins for a 21-yearold – nominations for not just one but two Norwegian return back, they’re all back up again.”

A recent documentary on Lil Halima’s roots give us a Grammys, and another for the coveted Nordic Music Prize glimpse of life in snowy, rural Bardu. On the surface, this – but what comes through when talking with Lil Halima is early picture appears idyllic: stunning alpine views; loving, a young artist with an old soul, feet firmly planted on the supportive parents; a gaggle of smiling, life-long best friends. ground. “I believe that living an honest life will make you But as the documentary digs deeper, tensions appear. She happier and more loving, and that bleeds into your art.”

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“Her bilingual 2019 mixtape, Brown Girl Diary, is a promising statement of quiet, assured intent – perfectly executed, interactional feminist R&B pop that nods to everything from electro-fun and hip hop to neo-soul influences.”

Words Charlotte R-A

lilhalima.com

Resilience and Liberation ELLIS soon-to-be songwriter. “I got really interested in politics “There is an and social issues in high school, and started to feel a lot of undeniable intensity dissonance between the values I was developing and the at work throughout. ones I’d seen demonstrated in religion – with the exception There's an undertow of the teaching of Jesus, which, sadly, rarely took precedence that tends to pull the over other archaic and oppressive sentiments found in the ambling, sunlightBible. The more I questioned, the weirder I was made to feel.” dappled, midtempo “Since then, I’ve been trying to redefine who I am and guitars into where I stand and what I think about these things on my crashing, midnight own. That journey very much played into the song writing squalls of minor on this record.” For all the disillusionment (“in the pews lost chord feedback.” my hope”) and reproach (“you took all of my words, used them against me when I tried to talk about the way you wronged me”) that weight these songs, there’s also a sense of demons vanquished and shame dissolved. The record is built around a feeling of newfound resilience and liberation, of being “born again” but on hard-won terms. It’s an uplifting counterbalance to all the melancholia – a critical interpretation that Siggelkow appreciates.

“To me, this is not a sad or sorrow-filled album, although it definitely holds a lot of emotion. There is so much freedom Words that comes with saying things out loud; claiming ownership Charlotte R-A of your feelings and being vulnerable can be a very powerful experience. This record was extremely cathartic; it felt like tying a lot of loose ends, shedding old skin.” ellis-songs.com

Credit: Ebru Yildiz.

It’s a sunny day in Hamilton, Ontario, with Linnea “Ellis” Siggelkow. She’s sitting on the couch with her cat, Banksy, looking out the window and meditating on the production influences that helped to shape this first full length, record Born Again [via Fat Possum]. “We [Siggelkow and producer Jake Aron] probably referred to The Smashing Pumpkins the most, specifically Adore [1998] and Siamese Dream [1993].

I love that they can be pretty but also super dark.”

On the surface, no one could call Born Again’s dreamy, wistful shoegaze “super dark,” but there is an undeniable, emotional intensity at work throughout. There’s an undertow that tends to pull the ambling, sunlight-dappled, midtempo guitars into crashing, midnight squalls of minor chord feedback and exhilarating emotional excavation.

Siggelkow was born in Saskatchewan, the daughter of a travelling salesman and a piano teacher. They raised her in the Prairies, in the Pentecostal [born-again Christian] faith, before moving to Ontario. “[Religion] was definitely hardcore in our household, and extremely central to my childhood and family,” explains Siggelkow. “I think it was probably the most defining thing about me for most of my life.”

That changed with the move to central Canada. “I was very devoted to faith throughout my late teens, but I started questioning and challenging things once I got to university.”

Access to wider, secular culture proved momentous for the

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115.5˚ ARC, 1988, STEEL PAINTED BLACK, 19 X 38 X 1 M, JARDIN ALBERT 1ER, NICE, Photographer: Maxime Bruyelle

books

Spontaneous Forms BERNAR VENET Venet once described a line as “what exists before anything “It's hard not to speak in Last year, Bernar Venet (b. 1941) unveiled “the most major piece” of his life. The 79-year-old, arguably France’s greatest superfluous is added.” In other words, lines are ideas that can numbers when talking living sculptor, has long toed the line between art and be reduced to a formula. An indeterminate line, in contrast, is about Venet. The artist engineering, and Arc Majeur feels like an amalgamation of utterly unpredictable – the result of a spontaneous scribble. is well-known for the five decades of work. Spanning 75 metres in diameter, the As Schwabsky puts it: “It exists as a visible figure rather than Indeterminate Lines sculpture – made of Venet’s signature rusted Corten steel – an idea that might be encapsulated in a formula.” He adds: series, an impossible straddles the Belgium E411 highway, twin gargantuan arcs “No point along its course can be calculated from any of the tangle of colossal others. Its only unity is its physical continuity. And yet, if rolled steel coils and welded like giant arms stretching towards the sky.

Control, chance and chaos are all qualities that characterise you examine any given indeterminate line, you are likely to curves that appear to Venet’s body of work, which is detailed in a monograph notice that certain areas of the line correspond, fortuitously, contradict the limits of

by Florence Derieux, Barry Schwabsky and Clare Lilley. to an arc that could have been mathematically determined.” material resistence.”

At the heart of all this is the desire for a kind “pure” form Featuring interviews with the artist, as well as essays and philosophical insights, Phaidon's new publication documents – an art object that isn’t defined by what it represents. We Venet’s winding journey from the 1960s avant-garde scene can see this as far back as Venet’s 1963 work Pile of Coal. in New York – where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of As Schwabsky explains: “The work is a pile of coal of no Marcel Duchamp, Mark Rothko and Donald Judd – to his definitive shape, size, weight – all that is necessary is that it be coal, in a pile, just as it is, without any further form being present-day interests in mathematics and science.

It’s hard not to speak in numbers when talking about Venet. imposed on it.” Likewise, Venet’s recent sculptures demand The artist is well-known for the Indeterminate Lines series, an to be seen as a whole: where arcs are in and of themselves.

Alongside each of Venet’s pieces is a deep metaphysical Words impossible tangle of colossal rolled steel coils and curves that appear to contradict the limits of material resistance. conundrum – the predictable versus the unpredictable, the Gunseli Yalcinkaya Pieces like 88.5 Arc x 8 and Two Indeterminate Lines include determinate versus the indeterminate, the physical versus seemingly spontaneous or accidental forms – based off the the idea. At times, the very act of thinking about them can artist’s iconic sketchbook doodles of mathematical lines and generate as many twists and turns as there is in the physical Phaidon works. Herein lies the beauty and complexity. curves – all with the stoic and robust nature of steel. phaidon.com

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The Great Outdoors AMERICAN GARDENS

The Bob Hope House sits on a hillside overlooking the valley of Palm Springs, Los Angeles.

Designed in the late 1960s by John Lautner. Photograph by Derry Moore taken from his new book American Gardens (Prestel, 4 July 2020).

When thinking of America’s landscape, one of the first things is uncomfortably apolitical – but fortunately, Don’s “Divided into three that comes to mind is open space. The country, though commentary doesn’t shy away from this. The first garden sections, American fractured and increasingly stratified, is characterised by the to feature is Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, a former Gardens is a novel idea of freedom. Expansiveness underpins its national iden- plantation owned by Thomas Jefferson (“The great vegetable take on the great tity through notions like the American Dream and the great garden with its huge buttressing stone wall has become a road trip – a deepAmerican road trip. Such ideas have long been depicted symbol of enslavement as much as of horticulture,” he says). dive into the USA's Middleton Place, the country’s oldest landscape garden, is undeniably beautiful through popular culture. Space is also the connecting thread between the country’s vast and varied gardenscapes, which also the product of enslaved workers, and though the estate topographies, whilst are documented in this new publication by horticulturist is now a foundation, available to the public (Middleton’s addressing the history descendant has apparently spent much of his life explaining of its groundwork.”

Monty Don and photographer Derry Moore.

Defining what constitutes an “American garden” is tricky. and acknowledging the role of slavery on its grounds), it’s The landscape, unlike a British meadow or wood, is too large hard to separate the blatant beauty from a disturbing past.

Still, there are many examples of contemporary American and too diverse to contain any one characteristic style, but a central theme is that backyards are a signifier of class. horticulture in the book. Lurie Garden in Chicago’s MillenniDon traces this back to archetypal suburbia, with pristine um Park – which is, confusingly, a ground-level roof terrace mown grass and white picket fences – symbols of aspiration on the site of an abandoned railway track – is a prime examand status. We’re told that the manicured lawn is what ple of urban greenery, situated in the heart of the city’s bustraditionally separated people. “The garden is much more of tling business district. New York’s Central Park is also given the horticultural treatment, a meticulously planned wild hub a trophy than a working, living creative process.”

A factor in this, of course, is the country’s sinister history in the city’s heart, scattered with giant rocks intended to re- Words Gunseli Yalcinkaya of slavery, which is inseparable from the creation of many flect the nation’s thirst for the great outdoors.

Divided into three sections, and peppered with anecdotes, of its historical grounds, especially in the south. Admittedly, it’s inherently interesting to see how such a book would American Gardens is a novel take on the trope of the road deal with such blatant sites of collective trauma – merely trip – a deep-dive into the USA's undeniably beautiful Prestel admiring the gardens for what they are now, in the present, topographies, whilst addressing the history of its groundwork. prestel.com

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film reviews

1

Rialto PETER MACKIE BURNS

Dublin-set drama Rialto is the result of an exciting fusion of talents. Director Peter Mackie Burns is the Scottish filmmaker who previously made the excellent Daphne, with Emily Beecham as a singleton in a spiral of one-night stands. His screenwriter is Mark O’Halloran, who started out scripting the early films of Lenny Abrahamson, Adam & Paul and Garage.

Adapted from O’Halloran’s award-winning play Trade, Rialto deals with the story of two men at very different stages in their lives. Fortysomething Colm (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) is a married parent who, as the film begins, is coming to terms with the loss of his own domineering and difficult father. It’s this vulnerable state that leads him to young hustler Jay (Tom Glynn-Carney).

Their first encounter is a fumbled and awkward grope in a shopping centre toilet cubicle, with Colm seeking some

way of managing his own emotional maelstrom. As we discover, Jay has his own issues – his teenage girlfriend has just had a baby and he’s in dire need of money. When Colm leaves his wallet behind, it leads Jay to accost him at his workplace at the local docks.

Given the set-up, Rialto could easily have morphed into a cheap extortion thriller, but O’Halloran’s story has other ideas as Colm and Jay develop a mutually dependent relationship. It’s not really about sex but finding solace in shared experiences as both men unburden themselves.

As the performances unfold, Vaughan-Lawlor, famed for his role as Thanos’ sidekick Ebony Maw in the Avengers movies, and Glynn-Carney, who featured in Chris Nolan’s Dunkirk, are a convincing partnership. It may be the Irish equivalent to Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho, but Burns directs with minimal fuss.

Words James Mottram

Break Out Pictures breakoutpictures.com

2

Women Make Film MARK COUSINS

When you see Mark Cousins’ name attached to a project, you know it’s going to be good. Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Though Cinema had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019 and screenings at the Dublin Film Festival and Glasgow Film Festival in February / March this year. The film was scheduled to have a theatrical release on 8 May alongside a BFI Southbank season, highlighting the work of some of the women featured in it. The mammoth 14hour piece has now been released on BFI Player.

Women Make Film is narrated by esteemed filmmakers such as Tilda Swinton, Jane Fonda, Adjoa Andoh, Sharmila Tagore, Kerry Fox, Thandie Newton and Debra Winger. The film follows Cousins’ earlier production The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011). The new work is a guided tour of the craft and skill of filmmaking in

40 themed chapters, illustrated with nearly 1,000 film extracts from 183 women filmmakers all across the world. Some women are well-established but others are little-known, under-appreciated and even forgotten.

This is a masterclass on how films are made, shot and edited, as well as how stories are told and developed.

Narratives of love and loss are told through the skill and compelling artistry by some of the world’s greatest filmmakers. You do need to invest time in this project, but, given the chance, it will enhance your knowledge of contemporary cinema, so it’s worth every minute.

This ambitious movie asks considered questions and explores a range of answers, presenting them as a compendium that enhances the film canon, drawing attention to some of the world’s foremost directors and all of them being women. Absolutely magnificent.

Words Shirley Stevenson

BFI Player bfi.org.uk

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Cleanin' Up the Town ANTHONY BUENO

In 1984, Ghostbusters became a sensation. With some of the USA's brightest comic talents, the ectoplasmdrenched tale about a group of New York academics who set up their own service investigating paranormal incidents stormed cinemas, eclipsing even Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Feature-length documentaries about popular movies run the risk of feeling like DVD extras, but Anthony Bueno’s exhaustive, illuminating Kickstarter-aided tribute is no hastily put-together studio puff piece. Over 10 years in the making, with 46 interviews with cast and crew members, this is a real labour of love.

Bueno manages to get (almost) all the key players, including co-writers / co-stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and director Ivan Reitman, seated next to a sculpture of Slimer, the green ghost that became almost as

synonymous with the film as Ray Parker Jr’s catchy title song. Sigourney Weaver, who featured as a possessed Manhattanite, is also a charming interviewee.

Of course, there are omissions – chiefly Bill Murray, who played the film’s wry romantic Peter Venkman, although given the actor’s idiosyncratic nature, it’d almost be a disappointment if he did something conventional like a sit-down interview. But Bueno does manage to find some dissenting voices. Ernie Hudson doesn’t hide his disappointment on how his role, as fourth “ghostbuster” Winston Zeddemore, got cut back from the production.

Bueno excellently delves into the nuts and bolts of the filmmaking process, particularly the landmark effects created to bring the Terror Dogs and Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to life. The result is a celebration of ingenuity in the iconic ghostly comedy.

Words James Mottram

Bueno Productions buenoproductions.com

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music reviews

1

Remote Control DISCOVERY ZONE

Former New Yorker and Berlinite filmmaker, musician JJ Weihl has delivered an entirely tender, electro poppy epic debut solo record under the guise of Discovery Zone. Heavily influenced by 1980s retro pop synth classics, the project is equal parts experimental bleeps and chimes, as it is a record that the kids in Empire Records would be dancing to as they prepare the store for Rex Manning Day. Echoey catchy vocals – see the bopping Dance II – are very Kate Bush or Paula Abdul.

These are inspired highlights across the record.

Fall Apart includes droney distorted electric guitars, as well as New Order-style keys and sounds of actual waves. The rhythm feels like it could belong a beachdwelling reality show: classy and sunglassed. Tying in well-versed and well-executed retro, Remote Control weaves enchanting pop with twisting whirlwinds akin

to the haunting Utopia soundtrack by Cristobal Tapia De Veer. Whilst well-meaning in tone, the narrative interludes are a short low point of this otherwise strong record. Taking away from the strength of the musicality, the indiscernible words feel jarring and haphazard, unnecessarily jangling whilst juxtaposed with music that has clearly been a huge labour of love.

Sophia Again is one of such interludes, feeling forced in comparison to the rest of the record. Time Zone appears later with the dusty audio from found footage on an otherwise pleasant instrumental. At points, it feels a little cheesy, but somehow when it hits, it all seems to work in just the right way. This is a serious body of work with real promise for the future. We can only hope that JJ Weihl dives deeper, and with confidence, into Discovery Zone’s real strengths: tidy, teary, big haired emotive pop.

Words Kyle Bryony

Mansions and Millions soundcloud.com/discovery-zone

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Straight Lines and Sharp Corners WEHBBA

Straight Lines and Sharp Corners is the second album from Wehbba – an electronic music producer hailing from Brazil. The record is part of an entire immersive project with an accompanying short film titled Form In Transition. The film is soundtracked by one of the more ambient works from the album, 14th to Grand Central, which was created using field recordings taken on the New York subway. Featuring collaborations with Electroclash pioneer David Caretta, multi-instrumentalist Thomas Gandey and Brazilian vocalist L_cio, the album reflects upon Wehbba’s life as “the artist” – offering a collage of stories that indicate a dedication to the craft.

Throughout, there are a myriad of musical references, including trance, ambient, hard house and techno. Prelude: Goya, for example, is a sonic invocation of ambient electronic noise. It simmers with growling swells and

bleeps. Meanwhile, Hyper Real Decadence (feat. Thomas Gandey) is a thunderous beat-led march which is replicated numerous times elsewhere. Brainflex: Interlude is an interesting diversion that has hints of electronic pioneers Kraftwerk reframed in a contemporary setting, a sojourn outside of the confines of some of the more incessant beats. Similarly, Digital Sunset (feat. L_cio) brings the pace down with its divergent, unexpected and deeply intriguing chord changes and developments.

Studying the great Antoni Gaudí, Wehbba’s album takes reference from the quote: “There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature, therefore buildings must have no straight lines or sharp corners. Anything created by human beings is already in the great book of nature.”

The title also alludes to the difficult decisions Wehbba has faced. The commitment and passion shines.

Words Matt Swain

Drumcode soundcloud.com/wehbba

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The Ascension Is Ours SONG SUNG

Song Sung comprises twin sisters Georgina and Una McGeough. The sisters grew up in Monaghan – a border town between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Over a decade ago, they moved to New York, where they have been ever since, forging careers in the music scene whilst amassing a vast catalogue of material.

“We make melodies using alternative ways, but we also dabble in software” explains Georgina, “in the beginning, we created melodies by using our own vocals over some of our favourite music. Our first apartment in the East Village was located above a bar and our back room was situated directly above the DJ booth. This is going to sound ridiculous, but it’s true, we started making melodies over the bass of the tracks coming through the floor from the bar below.” That experience was fundamental for developing layering techniques and

sounds that are equally visceral and emotional.

Via a mutual friend, the filmmaker Seamus Hanrahan, Song Sung made a connection with David Holmes – film music extraordinaire – Ocean’s Eleven, Hunger, ’71 and most recently Killing Eve. Meeting Holmes was a turning point for the sisters, and they worked together laying down tracks for the album. Fast forward four years and the result is hypnotic – a little bit of Goldfrapp, interlaced with Ladytron, whilst harking back to dreamy tones of Portishead and a dash of Massive Attack.

Come To The Water is the album’s opener. Immediately you know you are in for something special here. As the record progresses, and you get to Testimony of Tears, you are 100% behind these sisters, nodding in agreement that this is one of the best albums you have heard in a long time. It's easy to see success on the horizon.

Words Shirley Stevenson

Night Time Stories songsungmusic.com

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book reviews

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Materialising Colour JANE WITHERS & HOWARD SOOLEY

“What dictates the colour of the designed world? Who chooses the colours of a building, a sofa, a lamp or a pair of shoes?” These are some of the questioned posed by Materialising Colour, a publication uncovering the littleknown role of the colourist Giulio Ridolfo – an expert who has worked with the likes of Denmark’s Kvadrat for over a decade. The leading textile company is renowned for its rich and nuanced palette, working with cultural institutions such as Guggenheim Bilbao.

This title follows Ridolfo across the world, capturing his “homeopathic” approach to assignments. He moves away from scientific aspects of colour theory – taking research out of the studio and into the landscape. Materialising Colour is a series of visual essays documenting this process, travelling from the Danish coast to western India, as well as meandering amongst Ridolfo’s native Friuli.

Mood boards are punctuated by images taken by Howard Sooley – a photographer who collaborated with artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman on the garden at Prospect Cottage. In his work with Ridolfo, Sooley translates road trips into visual narratives, picking up on everyday details. A cup of coffee, a pair of shoes and a chair are all points of departure for future designs.

Readers become immersed in autumn leaves, rolling hills, deep blue waters and forests. The book shows how references from plants, food, music and pop culture can be harnessed into finished products. Colours become more than just aesthetic details – they are culturally rich symbols. In fact, Ridolfo has a catalogue of his own, with samples including Dense Non Sense Yellow and Forever Orange in My Mouth – each highlighting how the experience of colour is deeply personal.

Words Eleanor Sutherland

Phaidon phaidon.com

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Ruins JOSEF KOUDELKA

The definition of a ruin is “the physical destruction or disintegration of something or the state of disintegrating or being destroyed.” This can be anything from a Victorian terrace to a 1960s tower block, but add history to the equation and ruins become something magnificent: a time capsule to the past. Laurence Engel, President of the Bibliothèque Nationale of France, states: “As a conceptual object, a ruin may also serve as the catalyst for an awareness of the community of humankind.” Right now, this level of perspective and wider awareness is needed. These are remnants of the past which have been left behind by centuries of human activity, including the usual suspects of war and destruction but also progress – a word worth contemplating right now.

Czech-French photographer Josef Koudelka (b. 1938) is known for street photography, with a particular knack

for depicting the complexity of everyday situations.

This attention to detail and method can be turned from people, crowds and political upheaval to something such as ruins. Readers can start to think of these inanimate objects as something much more than mere relics.

Within Ruins, Kouedlka “shows ruins as complex and ambivalent, rather than picturesque or romantically sublime. He regards ruins as a meaningful symbol, an allegory or a mirror of time. Ruins remind us of our own frailty, condensing the memory of past glories and mistakes with the hopes born from the debris.”

The essays are brilliant, with contributions from several scholars. The most successful aspect of this book, however, is how Koudelka decodes these symbols of an ancient time, making them conceptually relevant for today.

Really, we are never too far from the past.

Words Shirley Stevenson

Thames & Hudson thamesandhudson.com

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Adjaye: Works 1995-2007 DAVID ADJAYE

Sir David Adjaye has become a contemporary architectural icon, known for large-scale and influential cultural structures like the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. and the recently completed Ruby City art museum in San Antonio. His new book, Works 1995-2007, provides a comprehensive look at selected seminal projects created during this formative time at the turn of the century.

Organised in chronological sequence, the book opens with a series of early projects in London – small commercial spaces, family home extensions and pavilions. For the most part, these constructions rely on preexisting structures, which have been augmented with contemporary additions. They highlight Adjaye’s early concerns for light and innovative materials that have become his trademarks. They also speak to his

precocious ability to integrate hybrid architectural structures into the complex and ever-changing European metropolis through an organic treatment of indoor / outdoor spaces. “This period gave us a foundation for thinking about the nature of public and private, and how we could democratise architectural typologies to match the diversity of the metropolitan condition,” Adjaye writes in an enlightening and personal foreword.

This compelling coffee-table book introduces Adjaye as a truly cross-disciplinary artist and designer, whose early creations are presented as a vector for exchange and community-building, with spaces and surfaces treated as interactive and artistic bodies of material.

These are further infused with burgeoning sense of style through provocative features that participate in a wider “enquiry into the social role of architecture.”

Words Louis Soulard

Thames & Hudson thamesandhudson.com

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artists’ directory

J.V. MARZO Zurich-based J.V. Marzo is an Italian digital artist and Senior Brand Designer for a luxury firm. In his art practice, he utilises a combination of graphic design, photography, 3D and animation to explore social themes. As such, a human presence is a constant feature throughout his work, and is accompanied by a minimalist style injected with powerful notes of colour.

The latest piece, shown here, is entitled Quarantine is Killing Me. Marzo comments: “The house is also the weapon that is killing my persona.”

PIA KINTRUP

Instagram: @jvmarzo

www.piakintrup.com I Instagram: @piakintrup

SUSAN BOROWITZ

The themes behind Pia Kintrup’s latest series the nonexistent areas are of particular interest include the impact of borders and control of information.

The project is built like a novel, in which the reader receives slow, considered drips of information about a given place. The jigsaw of images creates a metaphorical place within the imagination whilst altering the perspective.

YIMIAO SHIH

Susan Borowitz is an American photographic artist who works primarily in conceptual staged narratives. Focusing on themes that reflect psychological journeys through modern life, she evokes the experience of women – especially ageing women – in an unwelcoming society. Her series Locked-In explores the phenomenon of feeling stuck, particularly in mid-life, and the inability to control the forces that affect our existence.

London-based YiMiao Shih holds an MA from the Royal College of Art. Her multidisciplinary work satirises contemporary culture and politics. In the series Rabbrexit Means Rabbrexit, she depicts a parallel universe in which the UK has voted for “Rabbrexit”: the expulsion of rabbits from the country.

The pieces draw together observations of perceived nationalistic fervour, economic uncertainty and fragmentation of societal bonds brought about by Brexit. Shih’s work is currently on view at The Other Art Fair Online Studios.

www.susanborowitzphoto.com I Instagram: @stuffdog2

Instagram: @yimiaoshih

For submission enquiries regarding the Artists’ Directory, contact Katherine Smira on (0044) (0)844 568 2001 or directory@aestheticamagazine.com

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artists’ directory

alice cescatti Alice Cescatti is an award-winning London-based artist originally from New Zealand. She uses painting to express her lifelong fascination with the interaction between dramatic coastal landscapes and intense light.

Materials such as gesso, clay and silver leaf, through a water-gilded process, visually express the reflective quality of light and water. www.alicecescatti.com I Instagram: @alicecescattiartist

Amazilia Photography Paul K Veron centres on the beauty, grace and intrigue of the female nude. His work covers three core styles of portraiture – fine art, natural and sensual – each depicting a deep-rooted connection between people and the wider organic world. An award-winning internationally published artist, Veron is preparing to exhibit in Seattle and Lisbon later this year. www.amazilia.photography I Instagram: @amazilia_photography

Allison Ksiazkiewicz UK-based printmaker and scholar Allison Ksiazkiewicz is interested in the ways we tell stories about natural history and cultural identities. Cultured Canines is a collaborative ceramics project that highlights the obscure origins and mythologies of 12 different dog breeds. Ksiazkiewicz has an upcoming exhibition in early 2021 at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. www.allisonksiazkiewicz.com I Twitter: @ksiazkiewicz_a

Aomi Kikuchi Aomi Kikuchi is a textile artist based in Kyoto and Brooklyn. Her work is inspired by traditional Japanese arts and Buddha's philosophy – this is encapsulated in an installation entitled Moment. She notes: "My mother's wedding was a highlight of her life, which was full of suffering." Kikuchi is an artist in residence at the Textile Arts Center, where she will exhibit new work this autumn. www.aomikikuchi.com I Instagram: @aomikukuchi

Bootsy Holler

karsten thormaehlen

Bootsy Holler is a Los Angeles-based artist whose images are rooted in self-portraiture. Her latest series chronicles vivid episodes experiencing depersonalisation. Recreating scenes based on the visions she has in this state, Holler paints the possibility of an ecofeminist solution, casting women and nature in a powerful union against the social constructs that devalue them both. www.BootsyHoller.com I Instagram: @BootsyHoller

Karsten Thormaehlen is a Frankfurt-based photographer with a background in communication design. His portraits of centenarians have gained widespread international recognition and will be displayed at exhibitions throughout 2020. Recent works focus on the semantics of urban architecture, as encapsulated in the Opera Houses series. www.karstenthormaehlen.com I Instagram: @thormaehlen_photography

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Margarida Sardinha

RODDALT

Margarida Sardinha’s practice comprises site-specific installation, film, animation, digital composition and studies in symbolism. Her main focus is the production of optical illusions, juxtaposing parallel concepts from literature, philosophy, religion, science and art. She searches for stages of consciousness – both spiritual and cognitive – relating to cycles of growth. www.margaridasardinha.com I Instagram: @margarida_sardinha

Self-defined founder of CryptoPop, anonymous Italian artist RoddAlt defines his art as: “Imperfect, inconsistent and immediate. Only a psychoanalyst could interpret the message behind my work.” Large surfaces are painted using acrylics, sand and small stones. RoddAlt likes to appear next to each of his paintings whilst wearing a mask representing the Greek letter rho. www.roddalt.com I Facebook: rodd.alt.31

Roger Williamson

Shelley Gilchrist

Minneapolis-based visual artist Roger Williamson’s works belong to a “theatre” of life. Building upon classical myths and ancient themes, his paintings invite the viewer into spheres of consciousness – characterised by ethereal portraits and kaleidoscopic colour palettes. Williamson’s practice seeks to re-enliven a kind of mystery, revitalising the senses and questioning reality. www.rogerwilliamsonart.com

Shelley Gilchrist is based in the Chicago area, where she creates abstract shaped paintings and constructions. She uses diverging angles and bold, unexpected colours project energy whilst preserving equilibrium. Shown here is work from the Artist Statement series. Gilchrist has won numerous awards and her work is included in the book Encaustic Art in the TwentyFirst Century. www.shelleygilchrist.com I Instagram: @shelley_gilchrist

Susanna Storch

Taya De La Cruz

Susanna Storch is a freelance realist painter based near Frankfurt. In the Facades series, she explores everyday urban life in Europe and South America by photographing window scenes and later painting them in her studio. The images are captured in passing and allow a glimpse into the lives of anonymous inhabitants, on the border between private and public spaces. www.susannastorch.de I Instagram: @susanna_storch

Taya De La Cruz's work celebrates resilience in difficult times. Inspired by stories of overcoming hardship, she focuses on making light of the dark – uncomfortable circumstances are made beautiful and approachable.

The use of detailed, miniscule handwriting invites the viewer to move closer to the work itself and explore the narrative behind it. www.handwrittenart.com I IG: @handwrittenart

For submission enquiries regarding the Artists’ Directory, contact Katherine Smira on (0044) (0)844 568 2001 or directory@aestheticamagazine.com

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artists’ directory

5537

Aga Szydlik

Fernando Holguin Cereceres is a London-based multidisciplinary conceptual artist from Mexico. Over a 35-year career, his paintings, photographs and installations have explored the zeitgeist as well as the possible transcendency of humans.

Shown here is a detail from the large installation Sixth extinction / right.

Cereceres has exhibited work throughout Europe and the USA. www.5537Gallery.com IG: @5537FernandoHolguinCereceres

Aga Szydlik is a USA-based documentary photographer undertaking freelance work as well as collaborations with various NGOs. As such, she supports human rights movements, environmental protection and conservation efforts.

Szydlik aims to portray people and places in powerful and meaningful ways, whilst making a difference in the communities in which she works. www.agalphotography.com Instagram: @aga_szydlik

Anna Weichselbaumer

brett dyer

Vienna-based artist Anna Weichselbaumer studied painting and graphics at The University of Art and Design Linz. Of her artistic philosophy, she notes: "Painting is not just painting. It asks questions about yourself and your place in the world. It makes a difference."

Her technique is straightforward, with a strong focus on colour and diversity. The resulting works are stimulating, bold and intriguing. annabaumi.de.tl

Brett Dyer is a professor and artist based in Dallas. His latest series combines figures with evocative colours, patterns and textures, revealing the complexity of the human spirit. Dyer's work has been shown in numerous exhibitions throughout the USA and he is a winner of an excellence in teaching award from the Dallas County Community College District. www.brettdyerart.com Instagram: @brettleedyer

carol jacqueline

Chris Welsby

Carol Jacqueline is a London-based abstract artist with a background in interior design. She uses music and the ambience from her surroundings as sources of inspiration whilst working. A love of colour, form and texture allows her to display movement and demonstrate her emotional connection with each painting. www.caroljacquelineart.com Instagram: @caroljacquelineart

Chris Welsby is a British artist and author based between Canada and Mexico. Throughout his practice, he asks: how should we position ourselves and our technologies within nature? His latest film, Casting Light, was created in Mexico in February. It documents a sacred pool hidden in the jungle. In the foreground, another world is revealed, in which there is a deepening sense of unease and fear of the future. www.chriswelsby.uk

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Claudia Pombo

Evaldas Gulbinas

Brazilian-Dutch painter Claudia Pombo offers an adapted view of nature and human situations.

Her creative expressions include detailed illustrations of Amazonian mythology, metaphysical art, as well as colour-rich landscapes.

The piece shown here, entitled Picking the Animal-flower, reflects the artist's concerns with genetic engineering. www.clpombo.wordpress.com clpombo.art@gmail.com

Evaldas Gulbinas is a fine artist with a BA in Fine Art Mixed Media from the University of Westminster. For Gulbinas, working with different media is a playful game, resulting in a release of experimentation. As such, he creates a range of tattoos, sculptures, installations, paintings, drawings and digital media work.

He is interested in what the viewer perceives once an idea manifests. www.evaldasgulbinas.co.uk Instagram: @efka_tattooart

ferguson amo

Gonzalo Martín-Peñasco

New York-based Ferguson Amo is originally from Koforidua, Ghana.

His art practice explores the contemporary African identity in the diaspora, examining the intricate details of cultural diffusion – and its assimilation – through visual representation. Each hyperrealistic drawing asks questions about how, as an audience, we can move the image of black bodies and “blackness” towards emancipation? www.fergusonamo.com

Gonzalo Martín-Peñasco was born in Madrid in 1990. He graduated in architecture and interior design, and has since expanded his practice to include graphic design and painting.

Recent exhibitions in Tarragona, Granada and Madrid included complex, geometric environments.

Martín-Peñasco has upcoming exhibitions in Barcelona and at Artist Contemporary Art Fair in Madrid. gonzalompart.pb.design Instagram: @gonzalompart

HATTIE BaRNARD

Hywel Livingstone

UK-born Hattie Barnard is a Saint Lucia-based artist, writer and card designer. Having spent her childhood years in the Caribbean, she has since been inspired by the mystical qualities of its landscapes – mountain sunsets, open expanses of water and forests untouched by human progress. Barnard’s writings include the fiction book The Village by the Sea and Saint Lucia: an Inspiration for Art, a non-fiction work.

Facebook: choiseulartgallery

UK-based Hywel Livingstone is a sculptor working predominantly in stainless steel. His works often feature architectural or industrial motifs, which compel the viewer to study their intricate and unexpected details. This, in turn, reveals the artist’s meticulous hand. Livingstone lives and works in the Cotswolds and is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. www.hywellivingstone.com Instagram: @hywellivingstone

jad oakes

jaehee yoo

Jad Oakes explores the possibilities of photography and moving image for installations, prints and drawings.

The Passing is part of the Vessels collection and was created during lockdown in London. Made using a variety of woods, the sculpture features a plano-convex lens; rays of light are captured in a silent film.

The intimate, emotive work entices contemplation and memory. www.jadoakes.studio Instagram: @jado_studio

Using plant dyes, traditional paper and natural scenery, Seoul-based Jaehee Yoo's practice draws upon materials and techniques from ancient South Korea. Works in the mixed media Solitude series are indicative of tradition and identity, revealing personal memories and emotions surrounding solitary landscapes. Yoo will be exhibiting work at Fira Internacional d’Art de Barcelona 2021.

Instagram: @jaeheeyoo78

Jay Frazer

Jiří Kamenskich

Scottish ceramicist Jay Frazer produces contemporary designs to be enjoyed in the home. Inspired by local landscapes, the fluid works achieve a balance between nature and craftsmanship. Frazer’s process is based on experimentation and serendipity; each of her projects evolves as it is being made.

The resulting pieces celebrate imperfection and spontaneity. www.jayfrazerceramics.com Instagram: @jayfrazerceramics

Czech artist Jiří Kamenskich is interested in our relationship with the environment, and uses natural materials to express conceptual themes. For Revenant, he used a remnant of a tree and rebuilt it using synthetic resin and charcoal.

The process paralysed the beneficial function of the tree and created a kind of reliquary – a permanent memory of an organic fragment. www.jirikamenskich.com Instagram: @kamenskich_jiri

For submission enquiries regarding the Artists’ Directory, contact Katherine Smira on (0044) (0)844 568 2001 or directory@aestheticamagazine.com

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artists’ directory

jonny church

Kelly Reilly

In the work of Jonny Church, lines and forms in the environment emerge as abstract constructs: the organisation of form in space, as he seeks to convey both the conspicuous and the intangible in his surroundings. Layers of paint are built up, then partly erased, sometimes effaced, scratched and scored – leaving traces of previous mark making; an ethereal record of time. www.jonnychurchartist.com Instagram: @ _jonnychurch

New York-based artist Kelly Reilly creates photograms in a darkroom using traditional chemical processes. She uses shadow, light and sculpture in its varied forms to represent the erosion of life – focusing on themes of birth, growth, love, loss, reflection and decay.

The resulting images serve as relics, highlighting our desire to have something to hold on to despite our own inescapable transiency. www.kellyreilly.net

Louise Venning

Michaela McManus

The unusual paintings by UK-based Louise Venning are created using acrylics, resin and patination; her experimental layering techniques achieve a 3D effect with a "feeling of falling into the painting." She photographs nature's macro world, then adapts textures into abstract depictions of natural phenomena such as storms and sunsets. The works are tactile, with sublime depth of colour. www.louisevenning.com Instagram: @louise.venning.art

Michaela McManus is a visual artist based in Glasgow. Using print and photocollage, she explores both personal memory and wider themes concerning artifice and fragmentation. The works consider that which is inaccessible or nonexistent. McManus uses imagined landscapes to represent the psychological space where memories are retraced. www.michaelamcmanusartist.com Instagram: @michaelam.art

Sally Newton

suha badri

British artist Sally Newton holds a BA in Printmaking from the Cambridge School of Art. Her current ink series focuses on a colony of bees responding to social isolation related to Covid-19. The work demonstrates a narrative of events and emotions as they have unfolded. As a whole, Newton's practice provides sensitive commentaries on our relationship with the natural world. www.sallynewtonart.co.uk Instagram: @sallynewtonart

Suha Badri is a fine artist and designer based in Dubai. She uses her art practice to understand human nature and to help explore her personal development. A climate change advocate, Badri focuses on scenery, landscapes and flora as symbolic devices. The piece In Day and Night examines states of wakefulness – the artist in this case is more active during the night.

Instagram: @suhabgallery Twitter: @suhabadri

susie hartley Navigating shape, form and texture, Susie Hartley's sculptures represent and interpret the human form.

Twisted and fragmented figures celebrate the strength and beauty of the female form. Through arching and stretching, the forms express tension and energy. Using the torso as the focal point, a sense of movement is captured in clay. www.susiehartley.com Instagram: @susiehartleysculptures

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yuko Mizobuchi Yuko Mizobuchi is a Tokyo-based painter. She works primarily with permanent paint markers, watercolour ink, Japanese Sumi and carving on wood board. In her latest piece Amabie, she depicts an old Japanese folk monster that looks like a mermaid. Mizobuchi uses Amabie as a symbol of Covid-19 and its affect on everyday life in Japan, whilst hoping for a better and healthier future. brain-brunn.com/mizoyuuu_e.html

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Anna Radchenko, The Comfort Zone. Model Helen Mitinskaya, styled by Kirill Akimov.

last words

Anna Radchenko Artist / Filmmaker

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I shot The Comfort Zone before lockdown as a way to explore the concept of isolation, but I decided to release the photos as they have become increasingly relevant in the current landscape. The series comprises a number of models trapped in glass boxes, with varying environments. These images provide a reflection of our changing homes: buildings which are usually perceived as a safe havens in which to escape. The freedom to go out has been replaced by a growing feeling of uncertainty. The longer we spend inside, the more confined we feel. This obviously has an impact on our habits, as we are spending so much time on our own. We are letting go of ourselves and adapting to a new and distorted version of reality. For the time being, homes are the extent of our world and freedom. annaradchenko.com.

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