All posts filed under: Features

Exhibit B: Third World Bunfight

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As my descent might imply, I’ve been growing up with the slowly fading burden of a sombre history, inevitably reminded of the gruelling atrocities of our ancestors in the 1930’s and 40’s. Whether it’s through exhibitions and talks, TV programs and films or simply school education, I’d say most Germans have a good awareness of their past, the debt towards other nations and especially the Jewish survivors of the Nazi torment. We mustn’t keep quiet about the bygone era – even though my generation shouldn’t be directly associated with the collective guilt – we address it, embrace it and remember from an early age. Because we owe it to ourselves. Maybe that’s why I don’t quite understand the hostile voices that call ‘Exhibit B: Third World Bunfight’ a racist art concept that oversteps boundaries, yet demanding a boycott of the exhibition-performance-hybrid. Based on the phenomenon of the ‘Human Zoos’ of the mid-19th century, emphasizing the racial superiority of ‘civilized’ Europe over the black African population, artist and project curator Brett Bailey vividly depicts the suffering of the oppressed throughout the centuries until the …

The King’s Peace: Realism and War @ Stills Photography

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Of late, the topic of war is unfortunately as present as ever. It almost feels as if there’s nothing else the media is reporting about. Whether it’s the Ukraine crisis, the Syrian Civil War, the struggle for supremacy in Iraq or the Gaza conflict. It makes us realize again and again that visual media is a powerful tool, which easily influences how we perceive a situation of conflict, threat and peace. Do we only get to see the Palestinian suffering or do we just close our eyes from the countless Hamas rocket attacks on Israel on the daily broadcast? Do we buy Israel’s repeated self-defence claims or is the grueling seizure of Gaza and its horrendous attacks on civilians an act of war crime? True or false, it is a matter of perspective. As part of this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival and the nationwide GENERATION programme, ‘The King’s Peace: Realism and War’ at Stills Photography questions the illusion of reality so easily achieved through the camera lens. Initially centered around Owen Logan’s brilliant photo-essay ‘Masquerade: Michael Jackson alive in …

Spot On: Google’s ‘Street Art Project’

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Maybe you’ve already noticed, but google has officially launched their newest interactive feature a few weeks ago. The ‘Street Art project’ is proudly advertised as a digital exhibition space, library and immortalisation of urban art for future generations. Sounds like a wholehearted call, but let’s face it: Practically, Maps & Street View are (a) predestined tools to locate all the awesomeness on our big city walls and (b) longevity is unfortunately a pressing issue with street art – quite often unappreciated and removed, painted over by other artists or those who shouldn’t consider themselves as such. Well, is this the end of those countless street art blogs, which so many of us have come to appreciate? Probably not. Rather just another – more organised and quickly growing – source of inspiration for art lovers, under the watchful eye of the media giant’s ‘Cultural Institute’. And after all, there’s something both things can’t replace anyways: The real thrill of exploration and discoveries, wandering the streets of Brooklyn, Paris, East London or Downtown L.A., always on the hunt for exciting bits and …

Feature: Kareena Zerefos

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Kareena is an incredible illustrator I wanted to feature for quite some time now. The Australian traveller, dog-lover and self-styled occasional artist impresses with a quirky and playful drawing style as well as her versatile use of different media and techniques – including pencil, tea, ink and graphite – and yet skilfully envelops her illustrations with a pinch of graveness, fragility and childhood nostalgia. Pretty effing great for something occasional, if you ask me. Follow Kareena’s work over here: kareenazerefos.com Facebook Instagram Twitter

Claire Droppert’s ‘Sand Creatures’

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Remember when we were kids, out and about in the outdoors, playing tag, climbing trees and lying in the grass, observing the sky, catching sight of imagined animals made of clouds? Photographer and visual designer Claire Droppert revisits exactly these childhood memories with the first instalment of her ‘Gravity’-project, but instead of letting us gaze upwards she carries her observer off to a shoreline and confronts him with her fantastical ‘Sand creatures’. Armed with an arsenal of frozen sand, a shovel and a high-speed camera, Claire sets off to capture these delicate moments of weightlessness. And well, what do you see here? Claireonline.nl Instagram Twitter

‘Enduring Light’ by Yaz Norris

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‘Is the importance of light in photography being forgotten?’ That’s the all-encompassing question that mirrors the haunting b/w series ‘Enduring Light’ of young photographer and ECA graduate Yaz Norris. For her, breaking through the natural barriers of how we perceive the world we come to accept as reality, shaped by the sensory forms of light and shadow, enables us to question our surroundings: ‘It personally came to me when I discovered the happenstance of a projection that mimicked the result of a camera obscura’, she admits. ‘While the wind sucked the blind into the window, the light hit a specific angle causing it to bend, with the result that the buildings opposite were delicately illuminated across the wall. The refraction was blurry and moving, but it occurred completely naturally, and completely by accident.’ If you look at her cracking images, she’s pretty much given the right answer herself. Check out Yaz’ website for her other projects or follow her via twitter.

‘Reasons why we cry’ by Rachel Hill

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Next one on my personal tour d’arte through ECA‘s seemingly endless halls filled with art exhibits is designer and illustrator Rachel Hill, whose eye-catching works nailed down this year’s collections purchase prize for illustration. Drawing from a wide repertoire of styles and themes, her degree show pieces included this organic, imaginative series of artworks based on the many reasons why we cry: Find out more about Rachel’s work here.

‘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 …

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

The Blue Angel Lounge ‘Desolate Sands’

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It’s incredible how quickly time flies. Could’ve been 12 years ago, when I sat down with my hometown friends Nils & Mel in an attic crammed with instruments, listening to track snippets, watching them jam and experiment, brooding over guitar riffs and bass lines. And in 2014, after the release of two mesmerising albums in the shade of mass media attention, sharing stages with the likes of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Interpol or The Dandy Warhols, the dimension of their musical aspiration has certainly changed quite a bit since then. If anything, The Blue Angel Lounge, paying tribute to the legendary New York club that offered Velvet Underground’s Nico her first shows in the US, show no signs of slowing down: ‘Desolate Sands’ is the second track from their upcoming 3rd full-length album ‘Sea of Trees’ – due on 5th May via A Records – and features a great fusion of familiar psych and post-punk elements. Check out the official video directed by Levin Goes Lightly: