JaamZIN Creative August 2018

ISSUE 7 | VOL 1 | AUGUST 2018 A MAGAZINE FOR CREATIVE PEOPLE

JAAMZIN CREATIVE

PAINTING

PHOTOGRAPHY

Visual artists, painters

Photographers and cinematographers

GRAPHIC ART

MUSIC

Graphic artists, illustrators, cartoonists

Musicians, singers and songwriters

INTERVIEWS I nt er vi ews wi t h ar t i st s and cr eat i ve peopl e

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Photography Photographers,, cinematographers

9 Painting and graphic arts Painters, visual artists, cartoonists

21 Illustrators Illustrations.. illustrators

26 Music, Film Singers, songwriters, musicians, filmmakers

28 Interviews Interviews with artists and creative people

Impressum JaamZIN Creative  UXScoops Pte. Ltd. Singapore Registration No.: 201601782G

PHOTOGRAPHER

TEJAL MEWAR My name is Tejal Mewar. I am primarily a government officer involved in exports promotion of textiles, living in Gujarat, India. I started photography as a hobby in 2014. I have Canon 1100D with 18-55 & 55-250 mm kit lenses. I am a self-taught photographer. Observing good photographs on various photography related forums and publications has helped me a lot develop my own style. Every day I am learning something new. And this process is endless.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographer Wolfi Wolf My entire life is dedicated to the arts. I had to be born in Budapest - living mainly on my own. When the play of life led me to Paris I found myself, my reason and the meaning of life itself.

Fortunately I have two wonderful assistants now who help me with all the mundane things. Apart from photography I'm an extraordinary conductor and creator of universal matters.

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PHOTOGRAPHER

JAVIER RUPÉREZ

My name is Javier Rupérez. I am a spanish photographer specialized in extreme macro. It is not my main occupation, but it is my passion: to photograph the hidden world of insects, through a vision that normally surprises the observer, by seeing the real morphology of insects at an unusual size.

Jumping spider 3,5x

Red palm weevil JAAMZIN CREATIVE | 4

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographer Kathy Piper We moved to Spokane from Chicago fourteen years ago. We were seeking a quieter, slower, lovelier area and we found such an abundance of beauty, so wonderful for a pair of photographers! I’m a retired programmer, so no stranger to computers. In fact, I find postprocessing to be even more fun than capturing the image in the first place!

Many traditional photographers prefer to produce images that look exactly like they did through the lens. Not me! I want that illustrated, detailed, colorful look. I like to use Photoshop and Topaz filters to transform what may at first be a ho-hum photographic image into a more artistic, painterly and colorful image.

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PHOTOGRAPHER

JAMES BROUWER

I live on Vancouver Island, BC. I work; I have a family. I did a lot of photography as a teenager, then let it go. I recently took it up again after seeing some great photographs on Flickr. It was an easy hobby for me to resume as cameras are always with us now. I take panos on my iphone, but instead of standing in one spot and turning left to right, I walk in a line parallel to my subject matter. The results are genuinely unexpected.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

SĂŠbastien Burgeat Like many photographers, i like to go out, and sometimes travel, feel the world and capture it whenever it inspires me. It can be portraits, animals, nature, buildings ... I also like to promote the area where i live and to change my everyday sights in something more magical, more mystical. To make feel what i felt or imagined.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Samsamyou My name is Samsamyou, I am from Malaysia and I live in Kuala Lumpur.

Most of the people around me chose scenery and portraits, but I chose the street as my main material.

The street photography is fresh and not repeated, and it always makes me discover a lot of moments and wonderful freezes! I hope that in my work you can see some interesting pictures that have Never had any formal happened in a certain training. People are corner the world! myoffavorite genre.

Portraits especially.

Black and white are my favorite colors.

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VISUAL ART

Namita Panchal I am a Artist(painter) and a Poet as well.. I have done Bachelors of Visual Arts (Painting) at The Maharaja Sayajirao University at Baroda, India and going to pursue MA Painting in UK. I create Visual Poetry in my Paintings. As a language, I express my ideas, thoughts, and experience in the painting and Poem.

Paintings are often beyond the reality. Its more then what we see, and more like the feeling one perceive on looking at the surrounding. I have painted landscapes through imagination and memory after a visit to that place and studied it carefully. Like the water that filters slowly down through the earth and comes out pure and fresh, important ideas passing through the sands of time are eventually rubbed clean and emerge as pure truth.

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VISUAL ART

Sarai Bernice Sarai Bernice is a Chicago born artist who uses dreams and the organic world as inspiration for her paintings. Her work revolves around the many facets of identity in our current era. She uses an Afrosurrealist lens to juxtapose biology with theory, drawing attention to political implications of her ancestral code. With a dichotomy of rough and smooth media, she conveys the various ingredients and struggles that go into producing the self for consumption, which quite often boils down to the seduction of the aesthetic. Bringing into conversation theories of nurture vs nature vs necromancy.

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PAINTING

MEAGAN “MAGPIE” RODGERS

My name is Meagan “Magpie” Rodgers and I’m a 23 yr old artist based in Chattanooga, TN.

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VISUAL ARTIST

JARED MCGRIFF

Jared McGriff is a Los Angeles born Miami-based artist. He received his undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of California Berkeley College of Environmental Design and his Masters from New York University. My abstract, figurative and portrait watercolor and acrylic paintings are inspired by visual distortions, memory fragments and ephemera.  Capturing the expressions, cultural cues and transitory familiarity of my surroundings, this work depicts the lives of imagined subjects that reflect a global family dispersed. My approach to this collective conscious is informed by a deep connection to history and global perspective.

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PAINTING

PAINTER

LIESE GAUTHIER I work to convey joy, energy and freedom in my work. Abstract painting is the best way for me to communicate these feelings while exploring new ways of creating. Through painting, I need to constantly challenge myself and come up with new ideas and methods. It is a joy and challenge to create something that has never been made before.

Each painting is a series of decisions: what colors to use, how to vary the value, shape and size of elements. I work in many layers to build interest and history in the work. Â I work in many layers to build interest and history in the work. Collage adds structure and paint obscures and adds interest. Decisions teach me what to keep and what to change- and so I learn and grow as an artist.

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PAINTER

ARMANDO CABBA I'm a Canadian born artist currently living in Paris, France where I operate my own gallery/studio Atelier Cabba. My body of work can be divided into three main series; Portraits, Brut, and Self Portraits.

I graduated the Painting and Drawing program in Montreal before briefly attending an academy in Florence, Italy. My primary medium has always been painting and I began with realist portraits before branching out.

Elodie is an example of this continued practice. A portrait goes beyond capturing the physical appearance of the subject. The sitter’s identity and relationship with the painter become intertwined thus depicting an intimate reality on canvas.

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PAINTING

Vakseen While working on hit records as a music executive/producer has played a driving force in his career, it’s Vakseen’s (born Otha Davis III) passion for the arts that has served as his key to sanity in the fast paced entertainment business.

While most viewers assume they’re viewing collage or mixed media art, each #VakseenArt creation is in fact meticulously hand painted directly on canvas. Drawing distinct inspiration from our fascination with popular culture, his gallant paintings are a celebration of women, beauty, duality, insecurity and self preservation.

Artist Statement We are bombarded with an excess of unrealistically perfect images, packaged as though they reflect how every woman sees herself. The unique radiance of the female form is Photoshopped away. Models cover their most distinctive features. Young girls, spoon-fed hatred of their bodies, are likely to become carbon copies of magazine covers – inevitably finding it difficult to love themselves. Unfortunately, this is a reality many of us relate to all too well, myself included.

I believe women are God’s greatest work of art. My creations pulsate with feminine energy and while I cannot fathom being a woman in this patriarchal world, I open my creative process to their inherent allure.

Through my art, I aim to celebrate diversity and the acute imperfections and endless perfections every woman possesses.

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VISUAL ARTIST

ANTONIO PAUCIULO Antonio Pauciulo was born in 1969 in Vico Equense, Italy. He began his artistic career in the second half of the nineties as a member of a Roman artists group. In the early twenties he moved to Berlin collaborating with several galleries of Berlin, Rome and London. His work has been included in various international art fairs and it is represented internationally in public and private collections. He lives and works in Leipzig, Germany. Â

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I am interested in the situation where the physical human becomes an intangible icon.

This is happening today through the influence of the new virtual technologies.

With my images I aim to grasp the different emotional and intellectual states of the material and immaterial human presence.

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ABSTRACT ART

Kain I am Kain, a European abstract painter. I started painting years ago, after a close encounter with cancer.

My work is all about imprints and traces.

My paintings hint at how past and current events, experiences and decisions shape us and our surroundings. Challenges and adversities are inherent to life, still beauty can be found, even in unusual places. I like to capture how we deal with that beauty, but also with its imperfections, its irregularities and its scars.

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GRAPHIC ARTIST

KIRILL SUKHOV Moscow-based graphic designer Kirill Sukhov practices his visual muscle by creating a glitch poster every day, a practical exercise that tunes his skills.

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GRAPHIC ART

ANGELO DARKO GOSKEL

I'm Angelo Darko Goskel (artistic pseudonym) I live in Mexico. Since I was a child, I always liked artistic activities, I started to draw and paint with school paint. I never attended courses or graduated from an art school, it has simply been empirical knowledge, I mean, has been the dedication and effort of always wanting to be better than before. Drawing for me is like entering a state of consciousness different from reality, where there’s no time or space; it’s like being in another dimension.

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ILLUSTRATOR

JENYA HITZ Jenya Hitz is a freelance illustrator based in ZĂźrich, Switzerland. Originally from Moscow, she graduated from the University of Arts in Zurich. Jenya's scope of work includes editorial illustration, advertising and pattern design as well as children's book illustration.

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ILLUSTRATOR JENYA HITZ

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ILLUSTRATOR

rêves d'azur - As I was reading the story of Argo and the Argonauts I came up with this idea. Ancient Greek stories are a big source of inspiration for me.

Arjuna - Inspired by nature and the stories of the charming forrest goddesses I used a combination of watercolour and digital media to create this portrait.

Silvan Borer Silvan Borer is a freelance illustrator based in Zürich, Switzerland. He graduated from the University of Arts in Zurich. Since then he works for different brands, advertising agencies, and publishing companies as well as creates spectacular enchanting illustrations for children’s books.

Dreamy, whimsical and vibrant illustrations of Silvan Borer reflect the enticing inner world of the artist. His intention is to express the elusive magic and profound beauty surrounding us. Silvan Borer finds inspiration in daydreaming, perceiving the magic in the daily life

sarah - Last winter I had the chance to see Gustav Klimts paintings in Vienna. This illustration is a tribute to Gustav Klimt - one of my biggest inspiration.

with his artist’s sharp eye. This enchantment finds its way into his work, inspiring us with its sublime sheer beauty and depth.

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ILLUSTRATOR

DAY. ORANGES.

Elladisse I studied architecture at the IUAV in Venice. After collaborating with several architectural firms, I began working as a freelancer and at the same time to devote myself to illustration, my great passion. I love geometry, full colors and symbolism.

SUMMER TRIPTYQUE N.3

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ILLUSTRATOR

Shut Up Claudia Shut Up Claudia, is a young Portuguese illustrator who has made her home from Milan. The woman is the main subject of the works, an unreachable woman, sincere and without masks, just like Claudia, who through this alter ego tells the most true facets of the reality of every woman.

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MUSIC

SAMP Matt Sampson, who performs as Samp, was born in Joliet Illinois but was raise in the Quad City area of Illionis and Iowa. After many of early days riding in that old Cadi with his granddad, Joe Sampson who was also a musician, listening to oldies and to his granddads old stories about him and his music group back in the day. It was then lil Samp knew he wanted to make music.

Years later Samp wrote his first record about not having his father in his life but still having a certain cool about himself growing up becoming a man. Started in a group named L and Samp, teamed up with now popular DJ in the Quad Cities, L Murray. The two released two popular mixtapes before L Murray wanted to transition into a full time DJ, so Samp was forced to go solo. Since doing so, Samp released his first Mixtape in 2007 Samp " No Pain No Game" which was a nice start for his solo fame.

Samp kept working and doing shows in small town clubs to build his up on the growing social media outlet Myspace. Years of recording in multiple studios and doing small shows cause Samp a little while to put together a body of work so there was a little hiatus but in 2012 Samp's Cocky Balboa series was born, with his first single "Give Me Something" proved that Samp was back in rare form. Popularity was gaining again, then Samp dropped the record "Black Tony Romo" right at the height of controversial professional quarterback career and Samp's mix-tape Cocky Balboa took off. The song created a huge buzz and followed by Samp's "Bleed" He became a Independent Titan in the Midwest musically. Cocky Balboa 2 is on the verge of being released with singles "Pop" featuring Paypuh "Go Hard" & "Improve" The mix-tape is already proving to be a classic by an artist who continuing to show originality and stand out in a business that become more and more over saturated (hip hop) with biters and style jackers. Samp has Now and Later.

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FILMMAKING

Dr Samuel H. Osborne My name's Dr Samuel H. Osborne, I'm a 19 year old Freelance Filmmaker from Portsmouth, UK. I have a keen interest in Experimental film making and artistry. When i'm not making films you can find me drawing and painting. I got into filmmaking when I was turned away from Aviation school for being colour blind. I also bought a Doctorate from the Universal life church just so I could be called a Dr. And yes, it was worth it.

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INTERVIEW

STREET PHOTOGRAPHER FABIOLLA LOUREIRO Based in SĂŁo Paulo/BR, Fabiolla Loureiro has been working as a photographer since 2010.

First as a hobby, a Nikon D50 and only one lens, she ended up discovering within the photography herself. She developed her skills in studio with her sister (Studio Loureiro), where she mainly explored portraits and nude. But in the last few years, she became obsessed with travels (over 30 countries), and found herself involved with this freedom and opportunity that this kind of photography allows.

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With minimum use of Photoshop, we realize in her street photography the practice of natural light, rain, cold nights and an abundance of black and white. Her inspiration comes from names like Brassaï, Robert Capa, Robert Doisneau, Saul Leiter, Elliott Erwitt, Sabine Weiss, plus lifestyle and the period earlier and post WWII. In addition, Fabiolla is one of the permanent artists of Andreus Gallery/SP and currently participates in an architecture/design project with Casa Portoro. In this project, she has more than 40 photos in exhibition, different measures, that are part of a few ambiences in the house in collaboration with some of the biggest names of architecture in Brazil.

In the past year, she had 3 exhibitions that happened in London, São Paulo and Bologna. Her first 3 individuals happened in 2016. In January 2018, she was selected as one of the members of Contemporary Art Curator, an online contemporary art magazine, where it covers visual arts events and connects artists from all over and also now is part of Art Productions New York, a network of representation for artists with prestigious standards and vision. She studied in Focus Fotografia in São Paulo, BR.

When did you first work on Street Photography? What is your style?

It all happened because I was not having financial profit in studio, although I loved it I was not seeing future in that area for me. So I thought, why not link my travel passion with my photography, plus the freedom that allows me to be anywhere at anytime? Freedom, curiosity, passion are factors which drives me to street photography and I as I don’t like to plan that much, fits perfectly to me, even if I have an assignment. I like to react to what I see, feel the moment, the energy, the environment...

I like to be in places where I feel connected. So Europe has become my dearest corner in the world. Old places Like Paris, Venice and Budapest are completely personal to me. One thing I always avoid is to act like a tourist. I love to walk around as a flaneur, especially at night, which feels to me as if I’m awakening my inner voice. Of course I love to photograph monuments, buildings, lights, cityscape itself, but also people, meaning life, emotions, sadness, melancholy, happiness, excitement! The more raw the moment is, the more I love. Therefore, slowly my style evolved as a street photographer focused in travel. Another thing is, if I can, and my current assignment allows it, I will always travel in winter time. Winter and rainy nights have become my rapture. Since I live in a hot tropical country, whenever I can, I’m traveling to the opposite. The weather is an important element to my photograph switching that present time into a visual narrative. I love to be able to capture the intimacy of a city casting light into the darkness.

Which is your greatest accomplishment in photography?

It’s been 9 years now that I’m photographing, and since the moment I stopped working with models and studio (5 years ago), that moment was a massive point in my career. Why? As I mentioned before, freedom is not only important to me in photography, but also in my life. And as a street photographer, it’s fundamental to me that I can chose to photograph indoors, outdoors, winter, summer, day, night, building or people.

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Even if I’m in a assignment, I still have the freedom to take the pictures as I want, not as told as in a studio.

Another point, I changed my website to almost 100% black and white and will continue. My photos are completely artistic and not so commercial anymore. Is not that I don’t like colors (love my Blue Serie), it’s just it comes a time when you have to define yourself, and black and white is who I’m. I see life and drama in it. Rainy nights, silhouettes, perspective, shapes, blurs and people are my highlights and a meaningful part of my work.

These moments are my freedom artistic expression and provides also the mysterious noir storytelling for my public interpretation. The power of a photo can allows us to elucidate different senses about the present time.

What inspires you? Who inspires you the most?

The 20’s, 30’s, Art Deco era and 2nd World War have a big influence in my creative process of photographing. Add to that the photographers Brassaï, Robert Capa, André Kertész, Cornell Capa, Elliott Erwitt, Robert Doisneau, René Burri, Marc Riboud, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Saul Leiter and Sabine Weiss. I have tons of books of them, which I read and study constantly. All of them had a special phase with Paris and travels, but what I love about their pictures is the period they were taken. It’s a period it will never come back, where people used to be so elegant,

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had so much value and everything were so special and not take for granted, I go crazy sometimes thinking about it, and that I would do anything to live a brief moment with one of them, holding a vintage Leica in my hands and sharing a bottle of wine with Robert Capa listening to his war memories, or wandering around in Paris with Brassaï from bar to bar, capturing the essence of bohemian Parisian nights. I think Woody Allen captured brilliantly in Midnight in Paris what a lot of people would like to experience. I’m a completely nostalgic person, and this period has everything to do with my work and my life, and also because of that, Europe is my obsession since I know myself as a person.

How did you discover photography?

What would your advice be for a wanna-be Street Photographer?

I love photography since I was a child, and always wanted to take photos of every moment of my life, but the first time I hold a Nikon in my hands was 9 years ago at a friend’s house. Firstly it was a hobby, but then the hobby became a strong passion and

Don’t plan that much, feel your instinct and go for it. Embrace what you love, be patient and observe a lot. And, last but not least, start to shooting in black and white. Why? Because it will help you to focus in composition and simplification.

In regards to Art, what do you hope you can create/make in the near future?

when I mixed my travels with street photography I realized that was exactly the photographer I was

I always like to think that my audience, as soon as

longing to be.

they see my work, they become part of it, get curious and immediately want to be in that place.

So based on my experience, my advice to whoever

I also like to think that it provokes knowledge and

want to be a street photographer is: NEVER GIVE

emotions, that people don’t just see my photo and

UP. Try all kind of photos until discover yourself. It

walk away.

may take years, or not, but never give up. Practice always, read about the great masters, discover

They stop, reflect, see the beauty of it, the drama,

about them and their techniques so you can

the allure or even the sadness. I want the public

develop your own style, there’s room for everyone

captured by my images and be confused about

out there. Don’t take photos only of people,

that date it was taken. I don’t want the public to

sometimes the best street photos are the ones

know it was 5 years ago or last month. I want them

who have no people.

to look at it and think: this picture looks like in another time....

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I deeply hope my pictures carry a message against

This year I already photographed a different style

all the stupidity that happens in photography

of my usual chaotic urban environment. I went to

today, that people can be able to see again a bit of

Alto Paraíso, Goiás/BR, a place that allowed me to

real life, passion, kindness, culture, grace. My

live a completely different experience of what I’m

photography is not only to press the shutter. It

used to. Waterfalls, savannas, storms, heat, rivers

carries my soul, my love, a lifetime that I worked

and an abundance of fauna and flora species are

for so I could live it. People nowadays are obsessed

already in my website and shows that one of my

with selfies, cameras, lens, cell phones and

goals is from now on to be in all kind of places,

shooting everything at any cost

(like damage a work of art in a museum or

not only urban cityscapes, but also nature. A new

prejudice some animal). I’m completely against it.

challenge for myself. I also plan to launch a book

But people in general do not see things. And for

in a year or so about my favorite cities. And of

me in order to be a good photographer, you have

course, always follow my instincts and curiosity. My

to be respectful, patience and be willing to learn

curiosity keep me alive and has led me to so many

and how to see things. It’s important to stop and

places and drives me hungry for more, which in a

notice facts we usually don’t see. And, focus on

sense, makes me feel like an amateur seeing

what you love, be real, disregard what others think,

endless possibilities and always in love with my

people believe in photography, don’t be a fake on

work.

it.

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INTERVIEW

AN INTERVIEW WITH YULIA AND DMITRY LAPATINI - THE CREATIVE FORCE BEHIND ARTLAP The stars aligned five years ago when Yulia and Dmitry met on the island paradise only a few months after they both arrived in Thailand – she, for a sales and marketing job in the luxury real estate sector, he, for a change of pace after many intense years spent working as a computer scientist. It was this meeting that led to the now married couple becoming full time artists.

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'Blindness' is the couple’s first collaboration together.

“I had a dream where I could see nothing and everything at the same time. I was walking on a street where everything was white. I heard city noise, saw and felt the shapes of buildings, and could see every facial feature of the people I met as I passed by. The brightness was dazzling, blinding.

“When I woke up to the normal world full of colour, I yearned to see only one colour again, and its unique palette undiluted by surrounding elements. I spoke to Dmitry about this dream and we discussed the role of vision and the impact of colour tones. We were so absorbed by the theme that we decided to create a series around it, and Blindness was born.” - Yulia, ArtLap The series is a study in colour and texture where wood chips and paint in primary hues have been combined.

The resulting textured mixture covers the frame’s surface as well as all the edges giving the artwork an additional visual volume.

Red is the colour of life. The moment of creation and birth. The instance of violent death. Red is the colour of love, from tender rose, through passionate, screaming red, to ripe burgundy. Red is the colour of creation, enlightening as Danko’s heart, maximizing the strength of feelings and singularity of each artwork.

“I love bright red drinks, don’t you? They taste twice as good as any other colour.” - L.M. Montgomery

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Are there challenges being married and working together?

You literally open yourself 100% while creating, so you should trust your art partner in order to share your inner art vision.

Dmitry: I think being married is already a challenge, haha.

But if you manage to find a harmony at home, why should it be different in the studio? I am very lucky with Yulia because not only do we love each other, we also have a passion in common which is our art.

It actually makes our relationship even deeper, as

What made you create ArtLap rather than pursuing your artistic careers individually?

we can share our art visions and support each other

We both feel ArtLap is a natural continuation of our

in both our daily and artistic lives.

relationship. The decision to build it organically happened almost at the same time we decided to build our family. Today it is an integral part of our

Yulia: I think it is important to mention that we also have our separate, personal projects within ArtLap. Yes,

life, as a couple and an artistic duo.

ArtLap is a project where two artists can express

we are currently working on a common series

themselves individually or together. Saying that,

called Blindness however, we also create our own

there are two directions in our art: as Yulia and

artwork as individual artists. I think this helps to

Dmitry, we work on our personal challenges and art

keep the balance between our own artistic personality and our collaboration with each other.

When we want to be alone and reflect on our own work, we just go to the studio during different

series; as the artistic duo ArtLap, we prepare different projects where our personal and art duality can be reborn in a common artistic reflection. In Russia there is a proverb which says

times, simple as that.

one head is good but two are better. This is what

But to be honest with you, working together on one piece is so enriching and precious for us, that we

we feel when we work together: we give our best to the artwork with our double vision, four hands and two artistic hearts.

enjoy every moment of this fusion. I don’t think I would be able to share this with anyone else other than Dmitry.Â

Dmitry at work

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What inspires you both artistically?

Dmitry:

Yulia:

I would say for me it is two things: music and

I am definitely attracted to words. Languages and

architectural sketches. Music accompanies me

books are my passion. I speak Russian, English and

every day. I listen to different types of music,

French fluently and am currently learning Thai and

depending on my mood, the time of day, the place

Spanish. This enormous power that a written word

and the company. Sometimes I can listen to one

can have always impresses me. I often include

song 10 or 20 times in a row until it is totally

quotes from novels, poems and prayers that I read

immersed in my blood. Sometimes I can sit in total

in my artwork. I also question what kind of tangible

silence but I still hear a melody playing in my head.

trace each of us leaves behind in our lives. I reflect

Music is a huge inspiration for me, I can catch a

on this in some of my latest artworks by combining

certain mood or rhythm that will remind me, or

different signs, lines, marks, curves, layers of paint,

push me to think of something that can later be

paper and other materials.

reflected in the artwork.

I admire some contemporary artists who work with My second inspiration is all architectural sketches,

modern style calligraphy together with colour

charts and drawings that I used to see when I was a

research and graffiti design - José Parlá for

kid, as both of my parents are architects. Since then

example.

I have loved seeing strict geometrical lines and various shapes around me and I use this in my art.

Yulia is always saying I am a “handy man”, that is true, I love working with my hands. Experimenting with textures and forms is one of my favorite parts in the art process.

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How would you describe your art style?

Dmitry: straightforward, sharp, emotional, powerful,

We are planning to develop this theme and integrate different frame shapes and colour schemes in our work, before we achieve the perfection of a pure white circle.

energetic.

Yulia: emotional, deep, philosophical, delicate, soft.

Both of us are continuing to work on our individual series.

What’s next for ArtLap

We have some initial sketches for our second

We have numerous projects planned. First of all,

materials including cans, beads and fabrics.

collaboration as a duo which uses different types of

this is only the beginning of our Blindness series currently presented by Addicted Art Gallery in Singapore.

Blindess 3” by ArtLap, acrylic paint and woodchips on box canvas, 2018 Yellow is the colour closest to light. In its purity it always implies the nature of brightness and has a cheerful and serene character. Yellow breathes vitality into everything and everyone. Yellow brings joyful freedom to both artist and spectator.

“Yellow is capable of charming God.” - Vincent Van Gogh

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INTERVIEW

PARADISE FOUND – AN INTERVIEW WITH PHOTOGRAPHER FRED STICHNOTH

Growing up, Fred Stichnoth was always drawn to adventure movies set in tropical locations. “I love ancient themes, from Egypt to Indonesia. I’ve spent a long time travelling around the world, being drawn to what is considered taboo,” he says. So, it was a dream come true when he located from his native Germany to the Indonesian Island of Bali.

From here he has been able to explore some of the remotest areas in the East Indies and the tribes that call these places home. A home that is fast disappearing, along with their customs, legends, ceremony and regalia.

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When the world is at your feet, turning your back on it is a big call. But most of us are not Fred Stichnoth. The German-born, Bali-based photographer relinquished life as a celebrity and fashion photographer in the late nineties, where he was poised for popularity, in order to decamp to the East Indies and collect shells. It’s a move that has yielded a distinctive body of work. Stichnoth’s portraiture bears the hallmarks of his haute couture pedigree, applied to natural and exotic subjects.

Stichnoth’s portraiture studies the beauty of women and ethnic culture using a unique combination borne out of necessity and unconscious influence. He employs an old fashioned technique whereby a backdrop is used to separate the subject from their surroundings. This juxtaposition is striking when the subject is so obviously separated from their natural environment. He also uses motifs and poses that echo the stylised productions in fashion magazines. The final picture comes together like an ethereal sculpture, caught on photographic paper.

“Around 1860 photographers began using things like a simple bed sheet to create a neutral background. I followed this old idea so as not to disturb or detract from the main focus of the image.” ~ Fred Stichnoth

Continue reading to learn more about Fred Stichnoth.

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Why did you have to decamp to the East Indies in the late nineties?

The point was reached where I knew that I could not expand my career as a photographer in Germany. I had to move to Paris, London or New York, one of the fashion capitals, to work at a higher level. I had fallen in love with fashion photography but I also had a desire to create my own visions, realise my own ideas, far from Europe.

I decided on something completely new – a new adventure. The longing for peace, turquoise waters and nature was the driving force behind my

Who influenced your photography style as an Haute couture photographer?

First and foremost, I must say my mentor, German portrait artist Walter Schels, who I worked for at the beginning of my career. He was well known for his portraits of people from all walks of life from celebrities to politicians. He was intrumental in steering the direction of my style.

Also, the legendary photographers who worked for Vogue Italia – one of the best fashion magazines in

decision to change my life completely.

the world. Image makers such as Mario Testino,

As soon as I arrived in Indonesia, there was no real

a few. They certainly shaped my photography and

contact with my previous life in Germany. I was one hundred percent in my new place. My paradise had been found.

Steven Meisel, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn to name inspired me.

At the end of the day, if you stick at it long enough, at some point you will find and develop your own style.

Fred Stichnoth studied photography using large format cameras as an assistant to German portrait artist, Walter Schels

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Who are some of the prominent stars and celebrities you have photographed?

Enthusiasm. To do good work is my philosophy. To

Interesting question... for me it is currently the

I hope by capturing and sharing the tribes I

protagonists I photographed for my East Indies project. Unknown stars.

inspire others, to do something positive, to create a new awareness. Something that stays. I think my East Indies photography does this.

encounter, it might increase our awareness to preserve these ancient civilisations a little longer. I just want to capture it before it disappears.

What is most important in your life?

What is your philosophy?

The most important thing in my life is creativity. To have an idea, to work on it, to make it happen.

Young Woman with Falcon Feather Bag, New Guinea, 2016

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How difficult was it to achieve the kind of minimalist portraiture like the "Young Woman With Hornbill Headdress"?

The preparation is not easy. First and foremost, I need to build a level of trust and comfort with my ‘model’.

My years as a fashion photographer have been very helpful for me in order to style different sittings. The costumes of indigenous tribes, for instance, are

There is no commercial idea or client brief, no customer, no makeup or styling team. If something doesn’t work, it is my mistake.

Without the disturbance of others and outsiders, I can look for the ultimate photo.

The moment of capturing the image is the easy part. It’s about spirituality, simplicity. Such a session must flow... pure love. Everything has to be "one" and in sync. It’s about finding joy in simplicity.

I am touched by the visual richness of different cultures: their beauty, their simplicity, their pride.

fashion in their own way, and they continue to change and develop.

Young Woman With Hornbill Headdress, Papua New Guinea, 2016

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INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH SINGER AND SONGWRITER CLOUDY RETRO

Mansoor Syed, better known by his stage name, "Cloudy Retro", is a 19 year old singer/songwriter based in Athens, Georgia. Enamored by music since childhood, Retro grew up writing songs and poetry, keen to share his musical talent with the rest of the world. In July of 2018, Retro released his debut album, "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen" to the public, an album met with moderate praise.

Cloudy Retro is also a published poet and painter. He aims to spread his messages in abstract languages other than the five he already knows. When he's not dabbling in the arts, he likes to collect and play video games, study for school, or spend time with his family and his cat.

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As a young singer/songwriter who has debuted your album, what do you think it takes to be a songwriter at this young age?

Which is the first song you have ever written?

It doesn't take anything more than perseverance.

incidentally. I wrote that song back in high school,

Too many people quit when their projects or art

long before I even had the idea to produce a song.

start to become difficult. But I can assure you that that wouldn't be a problem for anyone who wants to achieve their goal badly enough.

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I've been writing songs since I was in elementary school, but the first song I ever completed was "Ten Years Speech", which is on "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen",

What is "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen" about?

II wrote "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen" during the hardest time of my life. My depression was at an all time high and my music was the only way to communicate some of the pains I felt without actually confessing them to anyone vocally. "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen" tells a metaphorical story in its skits which seeks to describe some pretty explicit and horrific incidents in the most gentle and

How did you get your stage name 'Cloudy Retro'? Why did you choose it?

"Cloudy Retro" was actually supposed to be the name of my retrogaming YouTube channel before I decided to invest my time in my music instead! The channel was humorous and light-hearted, but my music was darker and more true to my emotions, so I much preferred the latter.

implicit way, all the while trying to maintain the emotions felt throughout the production of the album.

Who/what inspires you?

What are your aims?

A great number of artists inspire me, but if I were to

Ideally, I would like for people to know who I am. If enough people know who you are, then you have a small fan base, with which you can make money and donate heavily to charities, an activity I've always wanted to do. I want to set a great example for younger Muslim kids in the United States as a

list them, I'd eat up far too much of our time. Great lyrics and catchy music inspire me. Religion and God inspire me. Nature and sentiment inspire me.

It's hard to single out any one source of inspiration because I have so many, which I'm sure is the case for most people.

popular musician who stayed true to his faith, which is why I don't curse in any of my music. I think with popularity, people can accomplish anything. That's why I want to be popular -- so I can accomplish everything.

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