Tree Light Installation

Farm Singapore created this beautiful, sculptural light installation called 'The Tree' at The National Museum of Singapore. The intricate and complex sculpture is said to represent a huge archaic Banyan tree, and represents the histories, stories and magic of the The Museum and the area itself . The lights on the tree are held together between metal frames, pulsating gently at night; dimming or lightening up depending on the level of visitor's voices below it.

Kiss-Mass Tree

The UK's first ever interactive kiss-mas tree is being launched in the UK today in Covent Garden on behalf of the Prince's Trust charity.

Rising star of lighting design, Paul Cocksedge Studio (together with partner Joana Pinho), is the architect of the technically ingenious lighting system, which is activated when two people hold the mistletoe under the tree and kiss eachother. The 'electricity of their touch' spectacularly lights up 50,000 red and white LED lights, creating a sensational light installation. If those lips are a tad dry, Body Shop are on hand hosting ‘pucker up’ stations, giving your lips a free makeover.

Merry Kissmas aims to raise over £25,000 for youth charity The Prince’s Trust, changing the lives of disadvantaged young people in the UK, through practical and financial support. An auction will be held today for the opportunity to kiss Christine Bleakley, who will officially turn the lights on and together with the money raised from this, organisers of Kissmass are also encouraging visitors to donate a minimum of £1 for every kiss they share under the Christmas tree.

Visit The Princes Trust website for more details.

Can You Draw The Internet?

Saint Creative have come up with a competition aimed at young kids as well as adult creatives to draw a picture of the internet. Seem fair? Well, the point of the challenge is to gauge who is more creative; the kids and their wild imaginations or the wisdom and experience of the creative industry. Working in the latter myself, I'm tempted to pick the former. The vast and never-ending realm of cyber space is clearly hard to define, which makes this compeition really interesting and there are some unique and pretty funny entries. Click here to have a browse of the others.

Lesley Flower Photography

Lesley Flower took a degree in photography at Southampton Solent University and bases her work around themes of passing time and contemplation. Just like the infamous landscape photography of Richard Long, Lesley is also interested by the objects people own and the traces they leave behind. Her large scale travel photography captures quiet yet dramatic scenes, void of human life, but full of nature's nuanced colours, rough textures, and gentle light. Click here to see more of her works.

Street Art Sketch Book- Tristan Manco

Just like this very happy lady above, I too got my hands on a copy of Tristan Manco's 'Sreet Art Sketchbook: The Journey' yesterday in Nottinghill. The book is really well put together combining plenty of sketches, visuals and interesting text from the secret world of artist's sketchbooks. This particular publication explores and captures practically every piece of graffiti art in South America.

Tristan Manco is an author and designer based in the UK specialising in art direction, curation and publishing.You can see more images inside the book here.

Look What I found

On a night out in Camden's Lock Lounge, I spotted this colourful parrot painting, spread between two canvases and the wall itself. The birds sit, play and fly off what appears to be a washing or power line, creating movement and an striking focus to the room. What a great way to fill a placid wall space. (Shame about the disco lights..!)

The 7/7 Memorial

I've been really suprised to see how much art is buried in Hyde Park, hidden in leafy corners or secret gardens. Aside from all the Anish Kapoor hype, (his sculptures are drawing crowds of tourists and security guards patrol around them) I've found some pretty amazing, and in this case touching, pieces that deserve just as much recognition.

One of the most profound I've seen was the 7/7 memorial, that consists of a number of tall, concrete poles, each emblazoned with the name of a victim and the location at which they died. On this particular day, the sun was shining and eerie shadows were cast on the floor, making the human-like sculptures seem like they were standing tall from the ground.

The way this sculpture is built allows you to weave in and out of it like a maze, and despite seeming simple in design, there was something compelling about it's symmetricality.

Thinking back to the calamity of that day, this memorial cleverly embodies the calm after the storm.

Kit Merritt's 'To Do List'

Art Licks is the latest website on the block to establish itself into a magazine, and had it's exclusive launch party last week at the Sasoon Gallery. Artist Kit Merritt, one of the many involved with the launch, asked attendees to write on to her To Do list as part of her interactive work.

Each written task had to be something that genuinly needed to be done by whoever was writing it and throughout the following week, Kit set about completing all the tasks herself. Her blog, called 'Things We Both Need To Do' shows evidence of this and includes the receipt from buying a train ticket to Brighton, a print out of car tax renewal and a map of Bethnal Green drawn from memory.

Kit focuses her works on archival practices and a 'compulsion to document autobiographical actions' which is evident in her seemingly obsessive preoccupation with lists. Another of her blogs called 'To Do' was started in 2008 after Kit continuously found herself writing list after list of things she had done and things she had to do.

Selfridges Shoe Hall

This September, Selfridges launched a mega 35,000 square feet shoe hall, displaying 4,000 shoes from over 150 brands. As I flip-flopped my way through the maze of suede boots, leather pumps and shiny stilettos, my attention was actually drawn to this colourful cascade of paper trainers and heels, which is hung in between the escalators, right from the tip of the ceiling down to the yellow tables below.

The shoes are intertwined using wire, along with banners that read 'what's your shoe story?' I was unable to find out who created the work, but I did notice that it ties in with Selfridge's online competition. The latter invites you to share the story of your favorite pair of shoes to potentially win a year's supply of them.

James Mylne at Canvas Gallery

Last night I headed off to Canvas Gallery in Wimbledon village to see James Mylne's solo show. To give you some background to this talented and very obliging artist, Mylne is renowned for his detailed ballpoint biro drawings that appear wholly photo-realistic in quality; so much so that visitors were having to take a very long second look.

I was intrigued to see his works up close and they definitely didn't disappoint- if anything I would have loved to see them on a larger scale, simply because of the clever craftwork involved. His subjects range from portraits, to horses, to buildings to abstract graphics and Mylne combines his love of Japanese print with portraiture; the former often livening up the backgrounds with subdued coloured patterens. Mylne kindly talked me through the laborious process of each piece claiming with a sense of tired satisfaction that his horse works take up to 40 hours to complete.

Mylne has grown quite a reputation of late. Having finished his MA in 2006, he exhibited last year in The Maverik Showroom in Shoreditch and The Coningsby Gallery in 2008. He says he finds his process calming: "because you can't make a mistake, it forces a certain kind of focus of mind that feels like meditation". I'm looking forward to what James will produce next.....who needs yoga when you've got a biro?

http://www.jamesmylne.co.uk/

Emotions in Motion

I'll admit I love people watching, so chance had it that a small photography book, 'Emotions in Motion' arrived on my desk this morning helping me indulge in this passive pleasure without having to leave the office. The book features work by self-taught photographer Toufic Beyhum, who positioned himself on the U-Bahn in Berlin and captured photographs of passengers unaware of his lens.

Throughout the 50 pages, we're presented with a series of touching, real-life snapshots of families, lovers, lost souls, punks, travellers and the elderly; some very emotive, while others simply interesting portraits. There's a real fascination about the vulnerability that stems from an un-posed shot- something that Behum clearly heroes. "Portraits are far more interesting when a subject isn't posing' he says, "that's when you capture their essence, the real truth behind their eyes'.

Beyhum has moved back to London after a stint in Berlin where he set-up and ran the FEN Gallery specialising in Middle Eastern Artists. His work (above) has also been featured in The National Geographic magazine.

The Human Printer

Louise Naughton Morgan, aka The Human Printer, takes on the role of the digital printer by breaking down images into their basic CMYK halftones, then spending up to 12-15 hours laboriously re-constructing them using felt tip pens, one layer after the next. Morgan's recent solo show at Shoreditch's KK Gallery was a great success and amidst all the hype and-dot-after-dot-after dot...I managed to tear her away for a quick interview.

Me: You said in a recent interview that our society has got too scattered with machinery and we've lost the essence of 'hand crafting'- can you explain this further?

I don't really want to dwell too much on this particular subject as I think there's been a lot said and written about it already. Its a subject people are very aware of. As a generalisation, my work reflects how our society is changing in to a more solitary and sterile place to live due to the reliance and use of technology. Though it has enhanced our communication opportunities and speed to complete tasks, it has removed the essence of the human touch.


Artists have often explored the idea of the 'reproduced'. Is this a continual theme we're going to see in your works? What else interests you?

I think the idea of the reproduced is a good communication tool. It is not something I wish to focus on or have as a continual theme, but mo something I utilise where I think necessary. My work is focused upon occurrences of every day life, through the creation of systems and processes, focusing on comparisons, analytical studies and humour.


Do you think artists rely too much on technology to help produce their work?

I wouldn't say so. Unlike traditional art which was concerned with skill and craft, contemporary art relies more often upon the concept. If the use of technology makes sense within your concept - helping to convey your message and aiding the development of an art work- I see no reason why it should not be used.


How long does an average print work take you?

Most of the prints that I do are around A4/A3 size. In general these take me about 12-15 hours, though the time alters due to the darkness and complexity of the image. Technology is an integral aspect of modern day life, so much so, that without it we may not be able to function.

You're style is similar to Pointillism, was this an influence?

No not at all. The process I developed was based upon the digital printing process and was developed as a reaction to the over production and over reliance on technological output. It just happens that the output is very similar in nature to pointillism.


You've just exhibited your work at the KK Gallery- was this your first solo show?

It is indeed, although its exhibiting as 'The Human Printer' rather than Louise Naunton Morgan. The project is not about me but rather a team of people providing a service.


What's next on the agenda?

Flags, symbols, degeneration, construction, production, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition.........

You can read more about Louise and The Human Printer at any of the following links:

http://www.louisenauntonmorgan.com/
www.hatopress.net
www.thehumanprinter.org

Kisses From Australia

Kisses From Australia is a month long celebration of Sydney's creative spirit that brings art, performance and music to colour the streets of the capital. This year's theme is the city itself, and artists will explore and question what it means to live in the bustling, busy environment, famous for succulent sushi, the opulent opera house and a shed load of sunshine.

The festival's Creative Director, Gillian Minervini says:

"You will see our diversity, strength, wit, ingenuity, quirkiness, vulnerability and most of all humanity, through the eyes of our talented artists, curators and creative communities. Vastly experienced voices have worked alongside more recent ones, and they have all brought an exciting and distinctive flavour to this event."

http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/ArtAndAbout/About/

The Paintings of Andrew Salgado

Canadian artist Andrew Salgado focuses his tactile paintings on themes of identity, sexuality and human nature, exhibiting them worldwide from Africa to New York. In Salgado's words, "my paintings present a perspective of a brutalized male body in heightened, melodramatic states. I am interested in depicting banal subjects as elevated and allegorical'.

Banal should certainly not be a term placed anywhere near these works- they appear to breathe with life through each swirl of every brush stroke. Next year, Salgado is set to exhibit at 10 Vyner Street Gallery, London, I will certainly be there.

Papa Issue

Papa Issue is a website displaying all kinds of art from the Latin world, covering every district in and between South and Central America. Papa Issue believe the art of the Latin world has it's own identity and characteristics, setting it apart from the rest of the world and the website allows you to scroll through illustration, performance, graphics, street art and the handmade. (To name but a few). Above, I've highlighted the work from two artists, Argentinian artist Diego Spivacow and fashion photographer Marta Julve Obon.

Manuel Vason

Italian photographer Manuel Vason says:

‘I live and observe the world as a huge museum with peculiar beauties and oddities’

Vason’s photographs focus on the human form and performance, often appearing as if taken straight from the stage with costumes, make-up and choreography still intact; all poised as if about to take the next step forward.

Vason has a fascination with movement and intricacies of the human body which he twists, distorts, compresses and elongates in various shapely ways. It’s not surprising that Vason’s work have been featured in ID, Dazed and Confused, Whitechapel Gallery and The Tate Magazine amongst others. Once again, a photographer has stolen my heart.

The British Art Fair

A swarm of tweed jackets, large price tags and gentle lah-dee-dah’s of polite conversations greeted me as I stepped hesitantly, (brushing the cat hairs off my jumper) into the opulent world of the British Art Fair.

Held at The Royal College of Art, the fair was organised by fine art gallery owner, Caroline Wiseman, also author of play ‘The Leonardo Question’. The latter re-lives and parodies the world of Modern Art through short sketches featuring major artists including Picasso and Duchamp, through to Pollack, Warhol and finally, Hirst and Emin.

Book aside, The British Art fair displayed a host of London galleries and after meeting and greeting Caroline, she kindly gave me a signed copy of her play and sent me on my merry way to explore the exhibition, which had paintings peppered upon the walls of two floors.

I’ll put my hands up now and admit that traditional fine art isn’t really my thing, but nevertheless there were definitely some more contemporary works that stood out, most especially Anna Gillespie’s Antony Gormley-like sculptures (see last image above). These depicted human forms in various poses made entirely of beech-nut casings. Turns out Gillespie trained as a stone mason in Bath before travelling to Italy to study with the sculptor and master carver Nigel Konstam.

Also from Bath was artist Nathan Ford, whose large scale portraits (also above) were extremely impactful. Ford focuses on identity and longing within his works and uses large, manic brush stokes to create emotive portraits that appear un-finished in quality but completely gripping.

The British Art Fair is a definite 'must' for all avid fine-art collectors with cash to spare, although perhaps the Affordable Art Fair might be more my style.

Save The Arts!

The Save the Arts campaign is organised by the London branch of the Turning Point Network, a national consortium of over 2,000 arts organisations and artists dedicated to working together and finding new ways to support the arts in the UK.

The Save the Arts campaign needs you to sign this petition to Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. The petition points out that it has taken 50 years to create a vibrant arts culture in Britain, which is subsequently the envy of the world.

By slashing arts funding, the government risks destroying this long-term achievement and the social and economic benefits it brings to all. They need 100,000 signatures to make an impact, so get signing!

The Tate Movie Project

I headed to the Thames Festival this weekend and came across an interesting project run by The Tate called 'The Tate Movie Project', which encourages 5-13 year old kids to contribute their ideas to an animated movie. Under a large marquee, a professional animator taught children how to mould plastercine figures into different poses, taking a screen grab of each pose, and then editing the sequences together into a full animation. There were a lot of kids watching, but also plenty of adults, who were equally fascianted by how animation works.

The Tate Movie project encourages children to create every aspect of the final film, from the hand-drawn characters and plot twists, costumes and comic sound effects. The website is a virtual film studio that forms the hub of the Tate Movie Project online community. Children can upload their pictures and ideas as well as voting on those already on the site

The Tate and Aardman Animations are running hundreds of similar production workshops across the UK from the Tate Movie Truck, a state of the art mobile learning space where children explore art and animation as well as generate ideas and drawings for the film. Galleries nationwide will also be hosting workshop. You can find out if there’s a workshop near you by looking on the site.

Biscuiteers

On my birthday last week, a great friend of mine sent me this biscuit card from Biscuiteers, an adorable London based biscuit company who provide all sorts of hand decorated biscuits for all occasions, sent straight to your door.

Some particular favorites of mine are their City Break box, which contains Paris or New York themed treats, and the Safari biscuit box which is full of giraffes, lions and zebras, all covered in multi-coloured icing sugar.

Biscuiteers pay a great attention to detail; each biscuit comes in it's own box, with coloured tissue paper and a small card that says 'Enjoy Your Biscuits'.

What more could a girl ask for?!

Edition One Hundred; Online Gallery

Edition One Hundred is an online gallery that prides itself on pricing art at an affordable rate; allowing a variety of great pieces to be purchased from all over the world, at any time. The 'gallery' aims to restore the economic power to the artsits and the collectors themselves, while giving a percentage of all sales to charitable causes.

The charities featured include the Abolish Slavery Coilition and Homeboy Industries. The latter helpes former gang-member youths to become positive members of society through job placement, education and training.

Each piece is priced at just $100, and although there isn't a huge selection, I can really see this website growing, just as the use of the revolution of the digital age continues to expand.

Carl Kleiner

As you've probably noticed, I'm a real sucker for colourful photography and have subsequently fallen in love with yet another photographer. This time it's Carl Kleiner a Swedish still life photographer, whose subjects range from fashion shots, to animals to landscapes. Each piece captures a unique moment, appearing even more picturesque under the freezeframe of the shot. Check out Keliner's diary on his website for a stream of fantastic images. I like this Granny best.

Wet Women

Nuzzled within Brick Lane's shopping district, adjacent to The Truman Brewery, sits No 6 Dray Walk; a trendy, urban clothes shop regularly visited by the young fashionistas of Shoreditch. Last night, and for one night only, the bright clothes, white walls and polished wooden floors housed an exhibition of American photographer Amanda Langford's 'Wet Women'.

...and not those kind of wet women before you ask. These glossy prints displayed various bikini-clad women posing underneath a simmering sunlight, each adorned with kitch 80's acccessories, large afros, bold coloured make-up and the last drips of water, which sit comfortably upon their oiled skin.

The electric-coloured photos were orginally exhibitied in the West Indies in 1988, and after their discovery in Langdon's attic years later, have been fully revived for a more contemporary audience. The exhibition iteself was curated by Reinform, a collective of creatives, thinkers and commentators. You can check out their website here, along with more photographs from the show.

New York Couture

Up and coming fashion label New York Couture revamps the 80's in an amalgamation of Lady Gaga: meets Hello Kitty: meets New York Diner.With it's burger skirts, studded coursets, tight red lycra stockings and glitter frosted leggings, it's certainly been nothing other than a catwalk showstopper.

I'd like to think they've taken an influence from the bright colours and bold images of Pop Art. Infact perhaps next in store we should expect a Campbell's soup mini-skirt? I can see Andy Warhole being smug with that one. Check out the rest of the arty collection here.

Diassembled Household Appliances

Art student Brittny Badger takes apart household appliances, placing their individual parts systematically and symmetrically onto a white sheet. Badger says her intention is to explore the 'brains' of each product, allowing us to view them from a very different perspective.

Jill Greenberg

I think I've just found my favorite photographer Jill Greenberg, who calls herself 'The Manipulator' which makes me like her even more.

Greenberg borrowed the name from the 80’s German large format magazine "The Manipulator", which covered art, culture and photography and was one of the many pop culture influences along with “The Face”, “Interview”, and “W”.

As you'll see from her website, Greenberg's chromatic, vibrant photographs capture striking portraits of anything from children, animals and music, to abstract locations, pop stars and CEO's. Her style is so attuned to detail that each subject appears like a waxwork; an effect obtained by the use of distinctive lighting and personally-executed post production.

Gum Walls

Check out this wall in Seattle covered in gum. It's hard to get the scale of it from this picture, but since it was begun in the early 1990's, thousands of pieces of gum have been stuck upon the brick, turning it into its very own tourist attraction. There's even a Wikipedia entry about it.

On the wall are messages within each piece- some people deciding to post their hometown or a few even moulding the gum so as to create words about hope and peace.

Since the 'Gum Wall' began there have been reports of other walls of gum created in various communities across the United States, but none to rival this one. Check out some more pictures here.

Taxidermy Is Back In Fashion

About a month ago I wrote a blog on Polly Morgan's taxidermy exhibition and it seems shes not the only artist cashing in on this bizarre artistic trend. Taxidermy is is the display of stuffed animals in innovative yet slightly twisted ways and low and behold the next artist to use such a technique is Julia deville (...now is it just me, or anyone else reminded of the infamous Dalmation slaughterer..?)

And as it happens this would be entirley appropriate. On her rather errie website- full of dark colours and Gothic writing- you can choose to flick through either Birds, Mice, Other Mammals and Skeletons; she even has pieces called 'Bird-Pin' and 'Bird Shoulder Piece' which admittedly look like roadkill simply scooped from the road, and attached to a necklace. 'Sparrow Brooch' is equally as alarming, once again appearing as if the small bird has been snatched from it's nest and strangled by a chain.

But wait for it. There's Kitten Rugs, which are equally as brash; both stretched cats look as if they've been peeled from underneath a tyre and simply stuck on someone's carpet.

Despite this supposedly being a serious art, I did happen to laugh uncontrollably at most of these pieces. Judge for yourselves......click here to see.

REFLECTIONS

Entitled 'Holiday on The Marina V', Danielle Eubank uses oil paints in this simple but effective painting to accuratley capture multicoloured relfections in water. Having spent months on the International Borobudur Ship Expedition as Exhibition Artist, Eubank is clearly used to these surroundings and has certainly aquired the eye for them.

More recently, Standard Chartered Bank recently commissioned Eubank to produce a portrait for its new headquarters in London, currently under construction. The painting will be part of an international traveling show before it is hung in the London office

Olympic Stamps

In anticipation of the 2012 Olympics, Royal Mail is issuing 30 artist designed stamps each depicting an olympic or paralympic sport. the stamps will be released in sets of tens (2009,2010, 2011) - one set each year leading up to the 30th olympiad. For a look at more designs, check out The DesignBoom website.

ARTISTIC GROUP: EN MASSE

EN MASSE is a non-profit organisation that brings together emerging Montreal artists to participate in an ongoing series of artistic projects. The group focuses on the creation of large-scale, highly spontaneous, collaborative black and white murals and public installations.

The picture above documents their revamp of Le Petit Hotel in Old Montreal, where they adorned a small awkward space with their black and white murial, transforming the interior.

The EN MASSE Mandate is twofold; firstly to increase the visibility of new young artists, both collectively and as individuals, and secondly, to foster community-oriented art events and programming, built upon a specific form of collaborative interaction and immersion between the chosen artists.

My Favorite Website

This is my favorite website. Especially because I happen to be extremely nosey. The Selby gives you a sneek peak into the lives of the world's top creatives; their studios, homes and hang outs. You can even find out what their cat looks like, what colour their sofas are and more importantly what they hang on their walls. Created by brainchild Todd Selby, a portrait, interiors and fashion photographer, The Selby began in June 2008 as a website, www.theselby.com, where Todd posted photo shoots he did of his friends in their homes. Requests quickly began coming in daily from viewers all over the world who wanted their homes to be featured on the site. The Selby’s website became so popular—with up to 35,000 unique visitors daily—that within months, top companies from around the world began asking to collaborate. I recently purcahsed The Selby's first coffee book, and the photos are really captivating and quirky.

Interview With An Artist

I came across Becky Czaicka's work at grad show, and got in contact with her to find out what lies behind her colourful, dynamic portraits. Becky graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a BA in fine art, but has been painting since the age of just 14. Her influences range from Psychedelic Art from the 60's, particularly the work of Wes Wilson and the Coloured Coat to more contemporary influences such as Ben Tour, Tatiana Arocha and Erin Petson.

Steph: Do you mostly do portraits?

Becky: No, I like to draw objects and love just mark making with paint. Since I started painting like I do now, I haven't really had the chance to broaden my content, but I will so when I have the time

S: You paintings are based on pop stars- was this for one particular project or a subject you enjoy representing?

B: It's a mixture of both. We had a brief given to us last November, the idea was to create a campaign to promote the essence and richness of British Music for a museum in London. I chose the brief because I love the cleanliness seen in photographs of musicians and wanted to create a set of images of British Music Icons. It took me a long time to really get into it, and when I got to the last week, I had to start the whole project over again. This is when I developed the style you see now. I found by using the paint in such an expressive way, I could portray the emotion of the music produced by these musicians. I plan to continue doing portraits of Pop Stars and would definitely be interested in album covers and music promotion.

S: Your paintings have a great sense of energy and movement. What are your techniques?

B: I like to use a mixture of paint, ink, glue and anything that can be manipulated when shaking a canvas. Depending on the type of image I am creating, I use different coloured paint and ink onto a canvas and move it around to see how the colours integrate. I love how the glue dries clear and cuts through the colours. For my portraits, I tend to decide on the composition from the original image and then afterwards decide which parts of the image can be more interesting and expressive, like hair for example. Colour palettes are very important to me; it's all about intensity and excitement and I like bold colours as they bring an image to life.

S: What is your end goal? Would you like to have your own show?

B: At the moment, I'm starting to experiment with mark making on canvas and would like to expand my range of content within pictures. I've got lots of ideas in my head as to where my art is going and as long as it's a positive direction, then I don't get too worried about where I will end up. Having my own show would definitely be something I'd enjoy, but I've got a few more years of experimenting to do before I'd be really proud to have a show.

To check out her website, click here.

SepiaTown

Ever wondered what your city used to look like 100 years ago? Now you can with SepiaTown, a website that allows users to upload old photographs of each area. Described as an 'online time capsule' the website's Then/Now feature allows you to compare a historical image to the current Google Street View, or you can map historical events, such as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 or the 1928 UK Suffrage movement.

Body Beautiful

Bill Durgin's interesting photography capturing the flexibility and curvature of the human torso, has certainly made an impression. Hitting headlines in Time Out, Paper and Elle, Durgin takes inspiration from dancers and other performers, photographing the elasticity of human form without heads or limbs.

I'm unsure what exactly make of his works and some would argue that the human body is only beautiful in it's full form, but at the same time, I think it's a clever risk to eliminiate the 'beauty spots' of the body and instead focus on a part that is often overlooked. I also like the way his works are playful on the eye- forcing you to look several times before you can really gather what exactly is on show.

Check out Durgin's website for more figure studies.

What Dreams Look Like

Some mornings I wake up and spend at least 15 minutes trying to piece back together the jigsaw of an extremely puzzling dream; one that in concious observation definitely had a start, middle and end, but at the time was anything but sequential.

Leondro Lima's work reminds me of what it would be like to trace your dreams pictorially including every minutes worth of wonderful, wistful wierdness. Or at least mine anyway. They're embedded with that alluring Dali-esque mysteriousness, with one part linking lazily onto the next resembling that all too familiar dream-like sense of foreign thoughts or images connecting and seamlessly blending one into one-another.

Ironically enough, this piece was actually designed for a bank. Ok this doesn't exactly scream 'alternative', but still, good on the bank for trying to be different.

Paper Creations

Le Creative Sweatshop have developed a range of weird and wonderful designs made entirely of folded paper. Products include jewellery, window displays, handbags, shoes and installations for brands such as Nissan, Stella McCartney and high-class fashion magazines.

Le Creative Sweatshop is the result of the encounter between Ndeur and Make a Paper World in January 2009: a conceptual agency based of modern communication means and mediums, through the lens of the DIY culture, working on volume and space scenography.