All posts filed under: Art

‘Aden’: A silent narrative graphic novel by Laura Griffin

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What’s an easy-peasy way to find out about bright new talents of the creative fields? And no, I don’t mean pinterest or behance this time – it’s the annual art school degree shows. Edinburgh, here we go! For the second year running, the Edinburgh College of Art celebrated the innovative work of more than 500 graduating artists in an extensive 9-day exhibition. As I am still amazed by the illustration, product design and architecture pieces, I’d like to showcase some of my ECA discoveries over the next few days and weeks. Let’s start off with illustrator Laura Griffin, who exhibited original artworks of her 66-page, self-published project ‘ADEN’. Taking inspiration from black & white photography and the medium of cinema, she describes her impressive work as ‘an artistic silent narrative graphic novel about a man’s journey through a surreal dystopian location called ADEN and through his experiences it shapes his understanding of his own existence.’ Beautiful, thrilling and thoughtful, have a look: Find out more about ADEN and Laura’s other projects here: Lauragriffinillustration.co.uk Instagram Twitter …

Morvern Cunningham © Eoin Carey

Behind Grassroots Culture: Interview with Morvern Cunningham

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When I moved to Edinburgh I was keen and curious to find out about the artistic pulse of the city. Clearly spoilt with an overwhelming cluster of contemporary visual art, pop-up exhibitions and street art around almost every corner, it took a bit of adapting to the new surroundings. Looking past the rather conservative art scene façade, far from prime location galleries and the annual Festival Fringe extravaganza on Royal Mile, there’s a bunch of hidden gems waiting to be discovered in the midst of Edinburgh’s often neglected neighbourhood of Leith. One venture, that’s jointly responsible for the area’s growing reputation as a vibrant and colourful haven for creatives, is LeithLate. Time for a wee chat with founder Morvern Cunningham about art in the Scottish capital, ongoing projects and ambitions for 2014. Hello Morvern, for anyone unfamiliar with your work, tell us a bit about LeithLate. LeithLate is an annual multi-arts event that takes place across multiple Leith venues in the space of one night. We are also responsible for a number of public art initiatives in Leith including The …

Daniel Sax: ‘The Gap by Ira Glass’

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No matter where we’re coming from or what we’re doing, we might know exactly what we’d like to build, write, invent, create or achieve in our lives, but it’s a long, rocky road to success. Every creative human being must have had, currently does or will eventually find oneself in this stage of life. The Gap. Trapped somewhere in the contradiction between ones taste and expectations as well as the skills one has acquired along the way. Visual storyteller Daniel Sax terrifically captured the issue with his short film ‘The Gap by Ira Glass’, inspired by a typographic piece of David Shiyang Liu, who cleverly illustrated an interview of the US radio host about storytelling in 2012. True and motivational in every sense. frohlocke.com Twitter Behance

Hidden Door Festival @ Market Street Vaults, Edinburgh

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Now that the dust has settled, it’s about time for a wee photographic look back on to the magnificent Hidden Door Festival, which has taken the city by storm. Illuminating the long-forgotten Market Street Vaults with a 9-day showcase of Scotland’s breakthrough talents in music, theatre, art and film, it simply became a vivid and colourful analogue to Edinburgh’s often criticized, rather neglecting relationship with innovative contemporary arts outside of the Fringe circuit. And instead of just taking the visitor by the hand, the concept of Hidden Door dared the public to explore a place beyond the ordinary and uncover the shadowy secrets of each and every vault – as well as to embrace the extravaganza happening outside of the confined spaces. Even with the vaults soon to be transformed into retail spaces of some sorts (what a shame!), there’s gonna be another Hidden Door bound to be found by us, wherever that may be. Stay curious. Check out more snaps from the Hidden Door Festival on flickr.

Herakut Art @ Zaatari Refugee Camp, Jordan

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For the youngest dwellers of Zaatari, the world’s second largest refugee camp, there’s not much that brightens up their humble, troubled lives. Fleeing from the brutal civil war erupting in Syria and coming to this vast makeshift shelter in the forlorn desert wasteland of Jordan, even the smallest things are a welcoming distraction from their harsh daily camp routine. The recent visit of street art duo Herakut must have been like a dab of fresh paint in a world full of dust, distress and solitude, which entrench the imagination of the child refugees over the last two years. Invited by art charities AptArt and ACTED, Jasmin Siddiqui (‘Hera’) and Falk Lehman (‘Akut’) brought together young Syrians from the camp and Jordanian children from the surrounding cities to create these remarkable murals – and bring back those badly needed smiles on their faces. Herakut.de @Facebook @Instagram

Spot On: Will Bentham aka. Lowdown

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All too often, we don’t get the chance to discover the beautiful things that linger in between the mass of hugely hyped and even so uninspiring pieces of art. Thus, it comes in pretty handy if someone presents you with something stellar on a silver platter, right? My friend Eleni (hi there!) and her very own Curious Duke Gallery just swooped the fine talents of street art-infused aerosol artist Will Bentham aka. Lowdown. Smart move, girl! Have a look at his dark and gritty works, brimming over with feisty expression: Instagram Twitter Facebook

Quick Snap: Ivan Belikov ‘Social Networks’

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Pretty much everyone has a distinctive image of today’s social media in mind. Whether they’re considered useful, questionable or simply a waste of time, facebook, tumblr or the gazillion of other services (you perhaps never heard about) are destined to polarize. The young Russian illustrator Ivan Belikov reveals his very own relationship to social media in his juicy, two-piece design series ‘Social Networks’. While his first few artworks were loose interpretations of common logotypes, taking on twitter, instagram and dribbble, his more recent designs rather play around with the name and metaphorical features of each brand. Voilà: Tumblr Twitter Facebook Instagram

Illustration Wizardry: Bryce Louw

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It seems safe to say that London’s wonderful abundance of art can be pretty overwhelming at times and even turn your head into a dizzy mess, still I wouldn’t have discovered so many shining talents without it. Thank god, I was then curious enough to have a go at Hackney Wick’s creative hub Stour Space and its brilliant Dys-Wik show, which instantly made me fall in love with Bryce Louw’s illustration wizardry. And now, almost a year later (& his serpent artwork adorning my living room), let us take a closer look at this young South African expat, who wanders the streets of East London for inspiration and impresses with a disturbingly gnarly drawing style: His sketches invite you into a world of bestiality, bizarreness and voyeurism, inhabited by brooding, forlorn characters, always with a keen eye for organic aesthetics. Check out these links for more info. Maxeroo.co.uk Twitter Instagram

Behind the Mask: Sandra Chevrier’s ‘Cage’ series

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Honesty and authenticity are significant features I hold dear in people whom I am sharing intimate moments of joy and sorrow with: No make-up, no cheesy smiles, no false sympathy, no façades, just being your true self. That may be the case with our closest friends and families, who bravely tolerate even our greatest flaws and weaknesses. Outside of this sheltered entity, the world yet seems to be quite a different one. Whether it’s in front of our boss, co-workers or even team-mates, we often play a role defined by the irrevocable values of society and thus – intentional or unintentional – living a life behind a mask every now and then. Empathizing with the female perspective, the French-Canadian artist, illustrator and painter Sandra Chevrier visualises our ‘twisted preconceptions of what a woman should or shouldn’t be’ and their constant struggle to escape these prisons of identity. Brilliantly merging fine art with pop and street art styles, her Marvel & DC symbolism-infused ‘cage’-series illustrates society’s utopian expectation for pure beauty and perfection, asking the women …