All posts filed under: Features

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: Double Exposure Portraits by Dan Mountford

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Everyone who has played around with analogue cameras and experimented with double exposures for a while probably came across some weird, astonishing, funny and sometimes very creepy images. I suppose most of us are simply not as talented as folks like graphic designer & photographer Dan Mountford. Well, this might easily be an old hat, as his stunning double exposure portraits have been eagerly featured on quite a lot design-savvy sites in the last few years, but they might still cause some jaws to drop after all. Especially if you bear in mind that all of his beautifully surreal images were created inside his camera, using Photoshop or Illustrator solely for post-production purposes. danmountford.co.uk Twitter Tumblr

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 …

Pentti Sammallahti: ‘Here, far away’ @ Photographers’ Gallery

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To some, his name appears to be as inexpressible as the delicate beauty of his works. Despite a fairly challenging pronunciation, the Finnish photographer Pennti Sammallahti is in fact a pioneer, innovator and globetrotter that inspired many of his peers over the last four decades. On his fascinating journeys through the icy Scandinavian scenery, the chequered vegetation of Siberia, Japan, India, Nepal and large parts of the African continent, his panoramic camera followed him at every turn. The result is an intriguing exploration of relationships between humans, animals and nature amidst the remote, forlorn and staggeringly beautiful regions of the world. Meditative and humorous at times, his b/w snaps generate a feeling of Wanderlust, an urge to merely take along one’s dearest things and leave everything else behind, renouncing modern technology, social obligations and rules for a life in the pristine wilderness. And to get you even further into a daydreaming mood, London’s Photographers’ Gallery celebrates a retrospective of Sammallahti’s works in its small ‘Here, far away’ print sales show, which still runs until 5th January …

‘Project Fifty’ by Little White Lies

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As we all know far too well, people’s tastes tend to differ quite a lot and films are certainly no exception here. Before even seeing a flick in its entirety, we’re inevitably biased by trailers, posters, reviews and most of all by our personal likes and dislikes of certain actors, directors, genres or themes. Still, there are definitely a few movies that almost everyone refers to as outstanding, timeless classics. Whether it’s Casablanca, The Godfather, Forrest Gump or Oldboy, you’ll find pretty much everything that shattered, revolutionised or redefined the world of cinema in IMDb’s infamous Top 250 films of all time. Well, but how on earth does, let’s say Charlie Chaplin’s remarkable City Lights from 1931 (#37) get beaten by 21st century sci-fi blockbuster Inception (#15), you might think? Fair question. Maybe because it oddly feels like comparing apples and oranges. ‘So why don’t we just cherish the most outstanding film of each year instead of compiling a general highscore list?’ was probably the initial thought behind Little White Lies’ exciting ‘Project Fifty’. Genius! In celebration …