All posts tagged: Japan

Going round & round: YamanoteYamanote

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Travelling around Japan earlier this year has got me seriously falling in love with the country’s beautiful places, people, food and culture. Give me a little nudge, a gentle reminder of Nippon life and I’m easily thrown into a nostalgia-induced state of wanderlust and itching to jump on the next flight eastward. Thus, I was more than fair game for Tokyo-based Swiss graphic designers Julien Mercier and Julien Wulff, who yanked me from my daily routine with excellent poster project YamanoteYamanote. Following the eponymous circular train line that whirls around the bustling metropolis and serves downtown hotspots Shibuya, Shinjuku or Akihabara, the duo creates two corresponding designs for each of the 29 Yamanote stations and their characteristic surroundings. Every new design, combining minimalism, hushed colours, a clever mix of Japanese kanji and Latin letters, is then presented at a one-time exhibition at a venue near each station. 素晴らしい! Keep up to date with the Yamanote Yamanote project here: yamanoteyamanote.com @instagram @facebook

© Matiinu Ramadhan

Creative Findings #2: Of nature myths, wanderlust, empowerment & creators

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So there we are. Time for another bunch of creative gemstones I loved reading about and marvel at over the last few days. Maybe you’ll love em, too? Mighty mountain ridges have fascinated photographer Charles Emerson since his early childhood & I suppose he happily embraced the offer to travel the world and create such an impressive photo essay for Intelligent Life Magazine. The online release of ‘Myth and Mountains’ has now been launched by the good folk at Bristol’s Antlers Gallery and features breath-taking shots that literally look like impressionist paintings. Fab work! We all probably know him by the name of Walter Jr. And after his breakthrough role in cult series Breaking Bad, RJ Mitte’s career as an actor and producer has taken off big time. In the latest issue of Schön Mag, he talks about how he uses his media fame to turn his own disability into a voice of empowerment for others. Read it here via ReadBug. Oh, and no spoilers, promised! For someone like me who has worked with magazines before & tries …

© Sergej Vutuc

Into the Wastelands: Interview with Sergej Vutuc

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Up until a friend from Hamburg told me about an exhibition called ‘As something could be…’ a few weeks ago, I had practically no clue who photographer Sergej Vutuc is. Outright intrigued and eagerly browsing the web for his portfolio, my eyes fixated on the stunningly disturbing b/w shots he brought back from his trip to Japan. Fukushima, to be more precise. So I dropped him a line if he wants to do an interview for Wildland Mag. He was instantly hooked. After a lengthy back and forth between Scotland, Germany and the US (where he’s currently residing) we eventually pulled off an exciting Q&A that gives a short glimpse into Sergej’s upbringings, the way he understands and lives photography, the DIY culture, skateboarding and his fearless journey to the wastelands around Fukushima on the hunt for crazy spots. Hello Sergej, let’s start with a small introduction. Tell us a bit about yourself and how would you describe your photographic work? Well, it’s always the hardest thing to talk about yourself. I was born in …

Acrylic Etchings by Takashi Yamamoto

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‘Well, Hello Sir. I like your style.’ That was probably the initial thought resting on the tip of my tongue when I came across Takashi Yamamoto’s cool portfolio and my eyes couldn’t help but cling to his acrylic etching works. Looking closely at everyday life objects and random sights of his native surroundings, the printmaker and illustrator from Saitama, Japan combines a dainty yet sharp technique with ambient shading and colouration.