Mastered with Apple Aperture

We were on our way to a party in an amazing disused warehouse space when I came across this. I love the juxtaposition between the stern immovability of the power station and the transportable, transient nature of the little garden. I guessed it was some kind of urban intervention by an artist, but I didn’t get to find out – it’s interesting how the two entities have swapped places; usually it’s the nature that stays put, whilst human’s technology moves around it.

It’s interesting how the mobility of the garden relates to the camera too – with 16.2 MP and a 21x zoom packed into such a tiny little camera, it’s always at hand to whip out and capture curiosities like this. You certainly don’t want something big and cumbersome when you’re on your way to a party…

Samsung Smart Camera, share life instantly.

Debuting his Daydreaming with… concept back in 2010, James Lavelle has been continuing to evolve and progress his art meets music project since, and is surely pleased with himself for having pulled off its first international incarnation in the form of a mammoth 20,000 sq ft exhibition at Hong Kong’s ArtisTree venue.

Recalling many of the artists who collaborated on the initial project – Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton-Jones, Robert Del Naja, Futura, Kai and Sunny, and Nathan Coley – whilst also delving into some of Asia’s most exciting names – Cang Xin, Li Wei, Wing Shya, Prodip Leung, Jayne Dyer and Huang Rui – Daydreaming with… The Hong Kong Edition is co-curated by Lavelle and Hong Kong installation artist and painter Simon Birch. It’s impressive, very impressive… this is urban and contemporary art on a museum scale. It’s audacious, and of course, quite brilliant. We spoke to Lavelle to find out more about Hong Kong and beyond…

Dan Glasser and Polly Borland

Nathan Coley

So are you still out in Hong Kong?

No I’m back. I’ve been there a lot over the last couple of months, I did the opening and I did the set-up of the show, but I’ve come back and that’s me now for Hong Kong.

How’s it going over there?

It’s brilliant. We’ve had 2,000 in the opening weekend, so on an economic level as far as attendance, it’s been outstanding really for Hong Kong.

Do you think that’s because it’s a new thing for the city?

I think because it’s in the environment it’s in – it’s like a museum show – not really your typical gallery show. It’s big, and appeals hopefully to quite a cross section. Elements will appeal to children, whilst other elements will appeal to the much more hardcore contemporary art fan.

There’s music and it’s very installation based, so it’s quite a big experience – and whilst I’m not saying it’s going to change the world, or that it’s the most important thing in the world in that way, what it does show is that you can join the dots and you can break down barriers and bring people together… and that’s the intention. As well as trying to have something that adds value to music, and just trying to be creatively spontaneous… all of those different elements.

So, I’m really pleased, and I think it’s a very un-institutional part of the world as far as the art world goes. It’s like an open canvas which is always very exciting, and it’s very different than doing something in New York or Berlin, or London – which are saturated with shows.

Dan Glasser

Doug Foster

Ever since the early days of Mo’ Wax, you’ve strongly linked art and music – was this a conscious decision from the beginning?

It’s something that I’ve always done. I felt it gave me much more focus to try and do something like that, so it has felt organic in a way, and it’s allowed me as a creative person to work in a certain way. When you have a label you get to work with loads and loads of different people, whereas when you’re in a band, you’re only able to do so much because there’s only so much material.

So in that respect, it’s a lot more like going back to Mo’ Wax – but what is interesting about it is that it not just feels free like Mo’ Wax, but it feels new… the creative process, people coming together, so that’s really fulfilling.

Back in those days, it was Japan that was a big source of inspiration for you – how does it differ from Hong Kong?

Japan has much more of a tradition of art and music history, but the environment is similar, it’s an amazing mixture of old and new. It’s a fantasy world, you know – for a kid who grew up in Oxford. Those visuals and those environments will always be hugely influential to me as an artist and a musician, so to be able to come back to Asia and start our first show outside of the UK, it’s really exciting, because it just shows the 6 degrees of separation, and going full circle. And that’s really great. I just love that part of the world.

Simon Birch

Clarke & Reilly, Peckham 2012 (by Billy Boyd Cape)

We’re speaking to Clarke & Reilly, who really blur the lines between art and product design – it lends the exhibition incredible diversity, but some may call it a scattergun approach; how far can the Daydreaming with… concept stretch, does it have its own boundaries?

I don’t think so, the idea is that it’s all about breaking down those boundaries and showing creativity with creatives for the creative for what people people produce rather than what genres or what disciplines they necessarily come from. Lots of people say Hong Kong isn’t an art scene, or it isn’t visually led, but walk down the street… I mean, fuck me, whoever built that skyscraper is visually led.

It’s just how you see art, it’s all in the eye of the beholder really. And for me, it’s all about the contemporary view of modern culture. I’m much more interested and influenced by Andy Warhol than I am by Rembrandt. He always thought that the best art was advertising and I tend to agree. I don’t mean that as in technique but I mean it as in the power of visual entity… when you see an I ♥ New York t-shirt, you can’t escape how brilliant it is.

Whether it’s a graphic design or a commercial design, it’s still an image that resonates and that’s the kind of thing I love.

The show runs through Hong Kong Art Fair, are there any special events being planned?

We’re doing the closing party in the space because there’s no other space that’s the same size we have – it’s 20,000 square feet! We’ve got the support of Art Basel and Hong Kong so we’re a part of the programme but we’re not actually paid for by them. And that’s cool that they’re supporting what we’re doing.

Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton-Jones

Prodip Leung

Li Wei and Cang Xin

From London, to Hong Kong – I guess the idea is that Daydreaming with… is a transient platform that could pop up anywhere, and in any form. What’s next, and what’s the ultimate goal?

The goal is that I’d like to do another show in the UK and then maybe something outside of the UK again… we’re looking with the relations we have in Asia, so somewhere like Japan or Beijing – and then ideally somewhere like Berlin, New York or LA. Something like that would be really great to do and we’re already talking to people about it. My idea was always to have it as an art/music touring festival – it needs more of a live performance element to it. There’s so many things we can do… I’d like to be more involved in youth culture, university culture… we want to be more involved in workshops… but all of these things are based on budgets, and we’re a small thing just trying to grow.

Cyrcle

Installation View

Has UNKLE just become a project that serves to soundtrack art and exhibitions, or are you going somewhere else with it?

No, no, no, I’m making another record which will probably come out at the end of next year. Daydreaming is Daydreaming. I don’t foresee that every Daydreaming with… is an UNKLE thing, the idea was that it would be great to offer it to somebody like-minded, for arguments sake Robert Del Naja, Nick Cave or Thom Yorke… somebody that has worked within the different genres of the art world to curate shows. Or bringing in people from more of an art background, but who are really into music.

Really for it to be like a Meltdown [the Southbank Centre's annual musician's takeover], I see myself helping to collaborate and facilitate people, but I don’t think it’s always gonna be a James Lavelle or an UNKLE thing.

Emma Richardson

Simon Birch

With emphasis on artists doing what they do best, the British based Dudebox talent include Pete Fowler, Jonny Wan, Mark Gmehling and Conzo to name but a few. The toys come in various and affordable ranges in their online store. Sichi, creative director of Dudebox says, “The beauty of these objects is they are art, produced to a limited edition which makes them affordable. It means anyone can be a contemporary art collector. The magic is that the creations are so diverse you can always find something you like.” Not exactly a new concept, we have Thundermutts and Kid Robot Dunnys adorning our shelves, but we do like the fact that Dudebox supports its artists by directly commissioning and paying them direct royalties.

During the launch at Village Underground we were super surprised to see such a mix of brace-toothed hip young things and hardened collectible toy fans. Ten years ago these toy launches would have been held in a dirty warehouses, with a bucket of soggy iced beers and not a Supreme jumper in sight. Now, the folks behind Dudebox are investing big time and no expense was spared at the launch… with live art, customised toys, a sushi bar, hot dogs, sweets, cakes, proper cocktails, beers and popcorn – we were hugely impressed with the level of engagement and investment here.

As a commercial venture I’m glad to see young people spending their cash on art based collectible merchandise. Times have changed dramatically with the internet and 15 years ago my good sixteen year old self would be mostly spending hard earned pennies on fags and booze. It’s great to see toy fans of all ages getting involved in a creative and expressive scene.

An all round high five to everyone at Dudebox! Am I too old to say that? Never.

Oh, and we have three mini Big Bang dudes to give away for your best toy stories. Just tell us in the comments what was/is your favourite toy of all time and why. We will pick the best three on 31st June.

And don’t forget, you can bag yourself one of the mini Big Bang dudes by telling us in the comments, what was/is your favourite toy of all time and why. We will pick the best three on 31st June.

Overseeing branding, visual identity, packaging – and, of course, interiors – the good folk at Savvy have transformed Cioccolato from a pastry boutique to a design destination. This is design that reaches out and grabs you by the throat, ramming calories down it with gay abandon.

Mastered with Apple Aperture

Students from the city’s Aalto University are showcasing their final projects at the Masters of Aalto (MoA’12) Our Future is (a) Present end of year show, until 3rd June. With an impressive collection of nearly a hundred works from students of art and design, technology and business, MoA’12 is a fascinating and thought-provoking exhibition, but the star of the show is its venue; Jätkäsaari’s Rantamakasiini L3, a majestic 100-year old port warehouse designed by famed local architect Lars Sonck.

This shot perfectly captures the atmospherics and character of the disused warehouse, and really shows off the camera’s low-light ability. The A! at the far end of the space is Aalto University’s logo, and it uncannily alludes to the grade I was going to give my first impressions of the WB850F. Not bad, not bad at all.

Samsung Smart Camera, share life instantly.

For all you lovers of fashion and illustration it’s time to go see the latest exhibition at Fashion Space Gallery. Second in a series curated by Polona Dolzan and Ligaya Salazar, it brings us a hand-picked selection of sixty works by thirteen emerging international illustrators. Including some bright, some bold, some classic and traditional styles this exhibition showcases diverse illustration skills ranging from the hand-drawn to the digitally created. Collectively this is a strong show and Artaksiniya, Hanna Mueller, Laura Laine and Tara Dougans stood out for us as being not just fashion led, but stylistically pioneering. The level of skill throughout is very high (and this is coming from an illustration agency manager) and I would imagine you’ll be seeing a lot more from these talented individuals.

Located just off Oxford Street in London, the dedicated gallery space is free to enter and open until 14th July.

Artaksiniya

Photograph © We Heart

Tara Dougans, Thom Browne

Lesley Barnes
Photograph © We Heart

Richard Kilroy, Jill Sander

Ingela och Vi

Laura Laine
Photograph © We Heart

Eugenia Alejos

Well that’s gone and broke my batshit-mental-detector. 1.21 gigawatts of monster raving loony party just went cannoning through the little bugger, and now I’m not sure whether I’ve been sucked into a vortex and spewed out into a parallel kawaii universe where Richard Branson is a Harajuku girl and designers like Philippe Starck and Tom Dixon have been replaced by pink bunny rabbits with Game Boy sound effects.

I pull myself together, give myself a quick slap, and have myself a quick stardust shower. With a box of frighteningly processed, kitten’s head shaped food thrust under your nose, backdropped by a pink apron and a beautiful smile, you’ve either entered cutesy-nirvana or a surreal bubbly version of hell. Either way, it’s weird, really weird. But isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t we bucking the trend to conform to a global style of Scandinavian minimalism? Taiwan-based EVA Air, with their fabulously saccharine Hello Kitty collaboration, are. They’re waving a signed confession of certifiable insanity in your face, yet all you want to do is give them a hug. And fly on their planes.

Art & Culture

In Conversation; Mariel Clayton

We spoke to an artist who depicts scenes of murder, rape, child abuse and torture with Barbie dolls. Strange? A little. Sick and twisted? If you were a Daily Mail reader. Perversely brilliant, and utterly engrossing? Of course they were…

“The first one I did, with Barbie committing suicide in the tub, was more a visual ‘gag’ – something I thought was really funny…”

Fashion

Puma House, Tokyo

Prolific Japanese designers Nendo gave us an optical delight with the mesmerising interiors for Puma’s Tokyo press office. Also serving as a backdrop to meetings and events – the pseudo-staircases lent a very Escher-like quality to the space.

“Vine-like pseudo-staircases that act as display stands wind up and down exposed concrete columns, whilst rich woods and black fixtures complement the sparse warehouse aesthetic…”

Travel

The Zetter Townhouse, London

Clerkenwell’s The Zetter Hotel added a new baby to the family with this fabulously opulent salvo of eclecticism. Less was not more. We were one of the first through the door prior to the official opening, and were suitably blown away.

“Taxidermy, eclectic antiques and opulence battle for space with street art, mid-20th century retro classics and an abundance of lavish fabrics – all perfectly balanced, all perfectly outlandish…”

Art & Culture

Gestalten Space, Berlin

Super-cool publishing house Gestalten opened up a physical outlet in Berlin, that was much more than meets the eye. Slick and inviting – the ongoing events and exhibitions are enough to induce overdose in visual junkies like us.

“Super-cool publishing house Gestalten have recently opened a 350 square-metre hybrid-space showcasing their unparalleled exploration of visual culture. The space combines both a shop and gallery while also serving as an exhibition and creative space…”

Lifestyle

BrewDog’s Craft Beer Bars

The Scot punk-brewers continued to add to their growing chain of industrial craft beer watering holes, in typically uncompromising style.

“Under strict instructions to rebel against big budget contemporary design bars, inspiration for the concept design was found in old and abandoned factories in Eastern Europe…”

Manifold Editions’ online gallery launched in 2011 as a response to a demand from friends and fans for an easy and affordable way to own art. As any online art gallery, or store, will testify; parting with cash over the net is a tricky business for high value goods you haven’t physically seen. If you do however sell works by well known artists, and have the backing of a high-end hotel, then you’re on to a winner. The prints are of top quality and great care has gone into the production, as publishing experts you can be assured top quality papers, inks and printing processes.

The exhibition runs until 27th May; The Front Room St Martins Lane, 35 St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2

Photograph © We Heart

Photograph © We Heart