All posts tagged: Feature

Lost in the moody hues: Maya Beano

Published by

I always have a knack for brilliant analog photography, but the level of atmosphere in Maya Beano’s moody images is off the charts. If there is ever a perfect moment, the perfect weather conditions, the perfect interplay of light and shadows, she’s right there and well knows how to use and command the elements. Whether it is playing around with haunting double exposures, long exposures, different filters of beautiful monochrome, purple, violet or turquoise colour hues or shooting on simple 35mm film format, there’s always something awe-inspiring to discover in her compositions. Of course, Maya’s skill didn’t go unnoticed over the years: Her stunning work has raised eyebrows at The Independent Photographer, has been featured in #PHOTOGRAPHY magazine, selected for a fantastic Oh Comely cover or listed as part of the If You Leave Showcases 2015 and 2016. And deservedly so. Check out more of her work here on her website and social media feed: mayabeano.com @instagram @tumblr

Say Hello to Boom Saloon

Published by

Having freelanced quite a bit in the wonderful magic world of indie magazines, keeping ad-free photography and adventure magazine Wildland Mag afloat, I was genuinely excited when I was let in on a new project idea. About a year ago, I met (then) twitter acquaintance Rachel Arthur for a chat and it felt like two magazine minds instantly clicked. We talked about the way media, journalism and the publishing industry shifted in the past years, old powerhouses falling by the wayside and how indie magazines have taken over bigger and bigger chunks of traditional readerships with exciting new content and financing models. And so we spoke about boom saloon, a new adventure she was scheming with friend and designer Jamie Smail.  At its core sits a beautifully printed magazine full of inspiring stories by a collective of international contributors, seeking to spur a movement, a wave to democratise creativity for good. As part of every issue, boom saloon selects a social project to support and champion creativity in underprivileged areas. It’s about taking young creatives by the hand, nurturing their raw talent …

‘Fixed It’: Obscured Portraits by Henrietta Harris

Published by

Henrietta Harris is a super-talented Auckland-based illustrator and painter, who already left her mark on the art world with exhibited works in places like Tokyo, London, New York or Miami’s edition of Art Basel. Her signature portraitures depart into the surreal with faces sometimes obscured and misplaced by the clean sweep of a brush stroke – something you can see in her cool new oil painting series ‘Fixed it’. Absolutely amazing, isn’t it?   henriettaharris.com @twitter @instagram @facebook

Alma Haser: Cosmic Surgery

Published by

As much as any kid, I was fascinated by its colours and patterns, mysterious reflections, interplay of objects that kept dancing from one mirror to the next, vanishing and re-emerging, over and over. No wonder, I instantly fell for Alma Haser’s ‘Cosmic Surgery’, which plays with the concept of the kaleidoscope in a brilliantly smart and yet refreshingly different way. The London-based photographer creates her eye-catching surrealist pictures by photographing her subject, printing multiple copies of the sitter’s face and folding them into beautiful origami structures. Eventually, these are placed over the original photo and replicated on film. The results are captivating – if only slightly disquieting – otherworldly portraits that certainly invite you to look twice. In fact, already last year Alma toyed with the idea of turning her award-winning photo project into a pop-up book to help visualise her origami designs in actual 3D. ‘I thought it was a shame that the viewer only got to see the images as flattened origami structures,’ she wondered. So with the help of the creatives behind Stanley James Press, she produced …

Melanie Gilligan: The Common Sense

Published by

‘Technologies change us – our attitudes, our behavior, and our bodies’, Melanie Gilligan observes with downright honesty. How new media and technology takes our daily lives into a stranglehold – with all its good and bad implications – has always been something that fascinated me. Are we still in control or are we turning into a meaningless, remote-controlled mass? Who are we or pretending to be behind an invisible mask? What does self-fulfilment and social interaction mean in our day and age? The versatile mixed-media Canadian artist, who works with video, performance, text, installation and music, incessantly asks said questions as part of her creative projects. Similar to previous works ‘Crisis in the credit system’ (2008) and ‘Popular Unrest’ (2010), Gilligan’s futuristic multi-episode drama series ‘The Common Sense’ delves into the effects of political and economical struggle on the individual and the collective as well as people’s ultra-dependence on technology. The experimental narrative of Phase 1 introduces us to a future technology called The Patch, a sort of prosthesis which makes it possible to directly experience the physical sensations and feelings …

Spot On: Chris Delorenzo

Published by

Sometimes it doesn’t take more than a few simple line drawings, striking patterns and elaborate geometry to create something incredibly expressive and graphic designer Chris Delorenzo certainly has the artworks to prove it. Playful, witty and fueled by his love for literature, poetry and cinema, his practice is all about crafting a visual narrative that invites the observer into a different reality or questions the very one we live in. Once an art director for Saatchi & Saatchi in NYC, the Massachusetts-native works as an in-house design weapon for clothing brand ‘Johnny Cupcakes’, juggles with brand design, logo, typography and editorial work and yet finds time to chase some pretty cool personal projects. If anything, check out the Be Brave Podcast he co-produces, which features interviews with young people who made a name for themselves in the creative industries and has Chris’ quirky style written all over it. Oh and have a look at his ongoing ‘Nude with phone’-series, which is, well, pretty hot right now. @Instagram @Twitter @Dribbble

Verónica Losantos: Screen Memories

Published by

When I grew up, my dad’s been following us with his faithful Canon AE-1 at every turn. The first smiles, the first steps, the first time sitting on Santa’s lap, mad birthday parties or my first day at school, you name it. But suddenly, things change. These important occasions become rarer, we begin to overlook the small moments and the gaps between collected memories in my parents’ photo books are getting bigger and bigger. Until there’s only blank pages left. Now, with literally everyone able to keep hold of the things we experience day in, day out with our smartphones, our lives are more documented than ever. There’s all the meaningful moments we keep safe in our hearts as well as those we would instantly forget and never revisit, if we wouldn’t have the technology at hand. But what happens if you never had the luxury of someone documenting your dearest memories with families and friends? What if there’s not a timeline from infancy to teenage years you can simply look back at? Photographer Verónica Losantos can …

The Monsters By My Side: Lucas Beaufort

Published by

If you’re into surfing, snowboarding or skateboarding, you might’ve come across one or two of Lucas Beaufort’s rad artworks. Be it for magazine covers, photo series, ads or even whole board graphic series, the French illustrator and painter bursts in on the scene with his acrylic drawings of edgy, colourful monster characters. And as they’re peering out of a window, lurking in a sewer tunnel, drinking beers, having fun and cheering the riders on, he gives the rough, jaw-dropping shots a twist of humour and weirdness that surely leaves you with a big fat grin on your face. While the artist draws inspiration from his dreams and particularly his nightmares, not every stunning photo he finds fits his painting makeovers. It’s not so much the action or the trick that he looks for, but all the elements that make up a great piece of photography. So before he experiments with the canvas and lets them creep right into the open, Lucas makes sure his monster brigades have enough space to hang out and support the cover boy/girl in their own, adorable way. Astonishingly, …

Spot On | Emma Abad

Published by

For some reason, I’ve never featured someone on here who’s (predominantly) working with collages. Well, every streak has to come to an end some day. May I introduce? This is Emma Abad. She’s a mixed media artist and Jersey native, who grabbed my attention by, well, just being awesome on my instagram feed. Her work merges photography, illustration and watercolours in beautiful image manipulations that seek to explore the relationships of identity and narratives encompassing our lives. “I’m forever influenced by narrative art. Creative stories without explanations or consequences that build self-discovery and awareness is an ever-growing process for me. There is a desire to always find an answer to a problem.” Indeed, there’s something incredibly mysterious, soothing and adventurous about her dreamy collages that resonates in between the layers and makes me want to play detective, uncover and suss out the hidden story fragments. Check it out, it’s pretty rad!               Check out more of her artworks & get in touch via social media. Emma Abad @Twitter @Instagram @Facebook

Short Film Gem: Mind The Gap

Published by

There’s these days when I dearly miss London & all the things I left behind. One of them is taking the Tube every day of the week. The noise, the strange anonymity, the familiar faces, the colourfulness and yeah, even the musty smell, unbearable heat and brutal density. Loss is also a fitting term for Luke Flanagan‘s lovely short film that was shown at London Short Film Festival earlier this year & captures Tube melancholy from a moving and saddening angle. ‘Mind the Gap’ tells the story of Oswald Lawrence, stage actor and announcer of the iconic three words and his widow who would visit the tube years after his death to listen to his voice. Heartbreaking & beautiful. Superb work!