Attraction/Aversion

Damn...It's been too long. Can't believe a month has slipped by since I last posted. Not even sure where it's gone! I need to try really keep up with this.

Anyway...

THIS is the work of innovative and creative contemporary jeweller and jewellery artist Kerry Howley...

At first glance, these delicate, intricate necklaces could be mistook for lace of thread work, but it is in fact made from human hair. This often evokes two emotions, often at the very same time; attraction to the beauty of it and aversion from it because of the material used. These responses were the reason that Kerry Howley chose to experiment with such a material in such an unusual way. Kerry wanted to explore how people can feel seemingly opposing emotional responses simultaneously.

Human hair was perfect for this exploration as it is a familiar material that we take pride in and can be considered truly beautiful and very attractive, however, once off the body it becomes an almost instant innate source of aversion and often even disgust. Kerry wanted to see if she could make discarded hair attractive again. Through using patterns and symmetry, inspired by wallpaper patterns, that are instinctively aesthetically pleasing and through the familiar form of a necklace, Howley has successfully created a delicate balance between the viewer/wearer's feelings of aversion and attraction.

Personally, I think her pieces are gorgeous and really exciting. I love the detail and I can't help but marvel at the detail and the intricacy. I wonder how on earth she does it, apparently Howley used broken saw blades to fix the hair (provided by a friend's mother!) together.

They look so effortlessly woven together yet I dread to think how long each one must have took, with painstaking accuracy and delicacy. You cannot help but be in awe of them. Although saying all this, I'm not entirely sure how I'd feel if I were to actually wear one...it is definitely hard to get over the fact that it is someone else's hair wrapped and winding so gently around your neck and collar bone...But I would snap one up if displayed in a frame no question! Perhaps if it was made from you're own hair, would that be better? It's quite a confusing subject and without doubt plays off quite strong emotional responses.

Kerry Howley recently graduated from Middlesex University with a First Class BA(Hons) in Jewellery and Accessory design. Attraction/Aversion is Kerry's award winning graduate collection, winning the Museum of Domestic Architecture's Arthur Silver Award for graduate innovation and excellence. Kerry is "fascinated by the power materials have to influence our emotional response to jewellery, with a particular interest in how these emotions can be conflicting".

"Kerry is happily available for commission.
Your commission need not be jewellery, Attraction/Aversion is displayed in exhibitions as wall pieces, and a commission could make a personal, elegant and unusual talking point framed in your home.
For more details about a possible commission contact Kerry at; kerry@kerryhowley.co.uk"

- http://www.kerryhowley.co.uk/

I will be very interested to see what's next for this talented new designer and as a fellow graduate I wish her the best of luck!



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Horsing Around

 Advertising that really jumps out at you

This amazing 3D street art is in fact a unique and original form of advertising. It is the brainchild of FOAM agency, and in particular, their creative and talented intern Xavier Barrade.

It all came about when Xavier was introduced to a new band signed to RCA called Dry The River. It turned out the band loved the paper-craft work Barrade had done as part of his fictional contemporary art exhibition,  Retrospective. Award winning creative directors at Sony Music Entertainment and founders of the new company FOAM, Steve Milbourne and Phil Clandillon, challenged their Intern to create huge 3D posters and the result is, frankly, beautiful. Also a brilliant example of how amazing and effective Guerrilla Advertising can be...a subject that I find really interesting...

Xavier created a series of three-dimensional paper-craft hoses galloping out of thin air at B0 size. The flat poster background was screen printed by Bob Eight Pop; an award winning hand bench screen printing studio in East London, whilst the horses themselves were designed in 3D using Google Sketch Up. They were then printed out in their component parts and hand assembled. Each one taking around 35 hours to complete. No mean feat for Barrade but clearly a passion of his when you look at some of his other fantastic previous work and projects.

 Once the horses were finished they were hung around London in opportune places simply with some rusty nails. Continuing the lovely humble, hand crafted feel. Director Ricky Stanton made a short film showing passers'-by reacting to the posters whilst showcasing Dry The River's brilliant single 'No Rest'.

The project achieved great coverage in the art, design, creative and music press, and the Dry the River official video (an equally beautiful and creative video) shot up from 10,000 views to 256,000 views as a result of the publicity caused by the campaign

I absolutely love Dry The River's emotive, soulful and slightly wistful style, they only have 5 songs up on spotify though at the moment and a further 4 on their website...I want more! I reckon these guys are gonna be big, they deserve to do very well. They have that special something that really captures you and gets into your heart. If you like Mumford & Sons and that sort of chilled out, slightly raw vibes, definitely check these guys out. Among many other live dates planned they will be playing at Reading, Leeds and Bestival this year before setting off to Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and France. Catch them wherever you can...

Anyway, before I love and leave you again, back to Xavier Barrade; here are some images from his Retrospective project, amazing stuff...

Retrospective, 2010 - Ongoing, Digital images.
Retrospective is an art practice which only exists through pictures.

 

And another project; The Book

The Book is a photo book about the presence of books.

FOAM. Definitely keep an eye on these guys for some truly innovative advertising and marketing ideas; Also if there's any creative types out there; in particular people who like making things. People who have a passion for any creative disciplines, it could be art, design, programming, electronics, animation, writing... looks like FOAM offer some really amazing interning opportunities...check it out here

http://www.xavierbarrade.com/
http://www.foamagency.com/
http://www.drytheriver.net

[ Made In Britain. ]

Not long ago, if someone had said the word 'satchel' to me, I would have thought of quite boring, plain, "dated" bags. Practical? Yes. Beautiful? Probably not. But this was before I was introduced to Zatchels...





Launched April 2011 Zatchels is an exciting new UK fashion brand, in the heart of Leicester, a city once famous for it's leather shoe manufacturers. Zatchels produces hand-made, bespoke leather satchels and it has been created, developed and driven by Dean and Brian, who already had history in the footwear and leather industry.

The media snapped them up, featuring their bags in newspapers and magazines across the country. When Zatchels.com launched they were an instant hit, with thousands of clicks and amazing feedback (not to mention a lot of very lovely tweets!) people fell in love with their vibrant and beautiful bags.
And it's really not hard to see why! Polka dots, plains (both vibrant and pastels), floral prints, reptile skin style, distressed, tartan, metallic, crackled and even union jack prints, there really is something for everyone. Made from wonderful quality leathers, the possibilities are endless. The only problem I found was that I loved them all so much I would have no idea which one to choose!

Even if you finally decided on a design...what size? Zatchels come in a variety of sizes; 16" perfect for a laptop and notebook or folder, 14.5", 13" and the smallest at 11.5" perfect for sliding your iPad into. Needless to say I'd love one of each for every eventuality if I had the opportunity!

Aside from their gorgeous classic appearance they proudly carry a slightly off kilter, quirky union jack design on their labels - and its not just to be 'pretty'...they are 100% British manufactured and proud of it. Keen to promote British manufacturing because unfortunately many of these long held traditional skills are being lost to overseas competition. Another excuse to buy one (as if you even needed one!).

On Thursday July 28th I was lucky enough to get to attend Zatchels' informal 'launch event', with the From Dusk To Dawn magazine team. It was held at the actual factory where 'the magic happens' in Leicester and I absolutely loved it. You could really tell how passionate the guys were about their products and their brand, and it was really fantastic getting to see where and how the gorgeous leather creatures are born.  Although I had been drooling over them on my laptop screen for weeks it wasn't until I actually picked one up, felt the quality, the weight, the strong yet elegant design and the sheer perfection of every stitch...that I truly fell in love.

The meeting room was covered in satchels in all the different colours and designs, with a big window all one side looking out onto the factory floor. It was so interesting seeing all the bits coming together to create the final product and it was even better when we got given the chance to be shown round and told about each stage they go through. We even got a sneak peek of a possible new addition to the Zatchel family...Ahoy me Heartie!

Whilst there we also saw some bags that were a result of a collaboration between Zatchels, and La Maison De Sacs, a small exclusive boutique in Leicester. It is run by a group of young, creative and product focused individuals with over 8 years experience in fashion and retail, who aim to create a forward thinking retail/lifestyle store/website, that not only keeps their customers interested but also informed. They say they make every effort to constantly look out for and globally source products that are renowned for their quality, design and craftsmanship.

They have brands such as Lulu Guinness, Galliano, Rick Owen, Alexander McQueen/ Hussein Chalayan x Puma, Ugg, Alexander Wang, and Matthew Williamson to name but a few. They also say that they are keen to support young talent, which is always good, whilst also nurturing ongoing partnerships with established labels. All sounds very exciting, especially the collaborations they seem keen to be involved in; I will definitely be keeping my eye on these guys.

 "We are keen to support young talent and nurture ongoing partnerships with established labels, so that we provide our customers a truly unique shopping experience and one that they can rely on for new, innovative and rare examples of the most premium and sought after products, upcoming designers and rare collaborative pieces." -- La Maison De Sacs

All this talk of beautiful bags has got me lusting after one big time, I better start saving up my pennies, after all...my laptop really does NEED a new travel home, and anything less than a Zatchel would just be cruel!

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Bart Hess

Curiosity got the better of me since stumbling across artist Bart Hess on one of my random website wanders, and I decided to try find out more...

His website is clean cut and fresh in appearance with links to several of his collections and projects, however there isn't all that much information on himself at all. So I begun to dig deeper. He is from the Netherlands and graduated from the Design Academy, Eindhoven in the Man and Identity department. This department apparently looks at finding new materials, and forecasting trends in fashion and culture, which in itself sounds intriguing yet rather vague!

Even just from a quick glance through his work you can tell that Bart Hess' interest indeed lie in this experimentation and discovery of new materials not normally seen or used - especially not in the context he finds for them. You can also tell he has a fascination with the human form - whether it be manipulating and abstracting it, or surrounding and encasing it. His work seems to explore several different field, including material, animation, video and photography and it seems to have links to both the commercial and the art world.

Echo from bart hess on Vimeo.

He plays around with imaginary form and future shapes, creating things that are both beautiful and disturbing. Apparently he 'works with instinct' and 'starts by using material on the body, exploring volumes and ways of re-shaping the human silhouette.' You can tell throughout all his work that he is constantly using the human form not only as a base structure but an inspiration...a blank canvas of what it could change, mutate or metamorphosis into...perhaps not even just in his imagination but in the future.

A Hunt for Hightech is one of (if not 'the') first collection by Bart Hess in which he designed and created a range of 'fake fur'. It touches on elements of fetishism, human instinct and new animal archetypes. He created them based on a fantasy world of his own design rather than attempting to mimic the real animal kingdoms. He imagined fantasy animals; animals that could be genetically manipulated, part robot, part organic, how they would move in their environment and what they felt like to touch.

"I then took my (imagined) gun and 'hunted' them, looking for their extra ordinary, high tech furs. I thought about tactile qualities like reflection, the way the hair grows and three dimensionality and took these characteristics, magnified them, manipulated and exaggerated them." -- Bart Hess

The materials he used were not organic and were a thousand miles away from those normally found and used in the fashion world. Hess blends plastics, silicone, metallic, foil and papers to name but a few, and it's not just the materials themselves that are so extraordinary but also the unique and inspired way he uses and combines them.

"Prosthetic technology, where robot or machine meets with human nerve ending and flesh is definitely an inspiration but not an obvious link when you see the result of my project. Genetic manipulation has a clearer connection where it allows or dictates a new or changing evolution. This combination of nature, technology and evolution inspired me to create my own new animal archetypes. In my "Hunt for Hightech Animal Kingdom", animals can change their prints to distract predators, or grow their hair meters longer to appear bigger." -- Bart Hess

In an interview with 'we-make-money-not-art.com' Bart explains how his work is met with a variety of responses. Some people are not freaked out at all but finding it very attractive; intrigued and fascinated by the furs; they "discovered the fabrics were quite soft, even though they were made from needles and sharp metallic's". Whilst others can't get past the shock of seeing such ideas as breathing shoes and couldn't see past the fear of the unknown or unusual; "these were the people who would get hurt touching the furs".  Hess says he wanted to communicate tactility and spire emotion between the viewer and the fur, and no doubt this happened regardless of the reaction.

What is fascinating is that perhaps this work is actually more than just an experiment or art or an attempt to get a reaction; perhaps it is the future. What with issues of, and the debate of wearing fur being ever present, why indeed kill and animal then reform the skin if you could in fact have it shaped perfectly to your body, have it living and breathing around you? Perhaps it is a concept far too shocking and weird for many but videos and images such as Hess' certainly inspire, question and get the imagination racing...

Lucyandbart is a collaboration between Lucy McRae and Bart Hess. A collection of photos presenting alternative bodies or body accessories. Their imaginations and creativity coming together to create human bodies and faces physically altered with shocking but artistic realism. Although on the surface they may seem shocking and repulsive I find a deeper sense of peace a beauty within them. Perhaps it is the lack of emotional state captured in each subject.

They seem neither surprised, upset, excited or disgusted about their drastic and shocking change of form. I like that they don't seem bothered, or disturbed, they don't feel the need to hide imperfections and abnormalities in a way that society would most likely normally encourage. 'Mutations' that society would have us be ashamed of and underlying beauty that would be shunned...

"I work with Lucy McRae in a primitive and limitless way. We work fast, for one day at the end of the week expelling all our creative energy and stress, making a series of photos that capture an atmosphere. We share a fascination with genetic manipulation and beauty expression, but it is not our intention to communicate this. I think unconsciously our work touches upon these themes, we create future human shapes and new body form's. LucyandBart is blindly discovering a low - tech prosthetic way for human enhancement." -- Bart Hess

 

Bart Hess' latest collection consists of both photographs and a video. In both he experiments with 'slime' (which was featured in Lady GaGa's Born This Way video - and what led me to Hess in the first place!) apparently this slime is a substance that was created by accident in a search to produce synthetic rubber, but Hess has found a very unique and interesting use for it!

Again it combines disgust with beauty in a way that Hess seems so skilled at. Obviously the slime 'outfits' are created solely for the moment they are captured either in still or animation and in the video you can see how it almost enhances and compliments moment of the human body. exemplifying even the smallest motion and abstracting the form and silhouette, hiding and revealing as it goes.

Ephémère from bart hess on Vimeo.

It is safe to say I am very glad I stumbled across Bart Hess and his work, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next! Incredible.

"I can get a fascination with almost all kinds of material. With a new found material, I exploit it’s limits and explore its every possibility. It is amazing to see how a material can change in appearance and original purpose, when you incorporate the skin and body" -- Bart Hess

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