Aesthetica Issue 88 by Aesthetica Magazine

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Welcome Editor’s Note

On the Cover Tropico Photo is Michelle Norris and Forrest Aguar. The duo creates compositions devoid of time and place. Narratives move between buildings with fluidity; photographs revel in the lively blend of geometry and nature, as well as the charm of clean, minimal lines. www.tropicophoto.com (p. 24). Cover Image: Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris. Model: Michelle Norris.

It is an extraordinary moment in time. We are dealing with the disruptive impact of politics and the influence of new technologies on our lives. Together, they have created an undertow, which is so powerful that many of us are swept away by it. We have everything, but fundamentally we’ve lost something. I know all generations recall the past through rose tinted glasses, but I feel that we’re standing on the cliff’s edge. Right now, we are experiencing human evolution. By this, I don't mean we're about to grow new limbs, but we are emotionally changing. Social norms are different than they were 10 and even 20 years ago. I am different. This issue is a celebration of the human spirit. It provides a moment of hope amongst the chaos of the everyday world. Desert X is an innovative biennial in the tradition of American Land Art. It brings the movement into the 21st century with antisocial robots and a film installation that recalls the very first site of mass oil discovery. It’s a piece that demands your attention and asks you to reflect upon the effects of fossil fuels and the imperative need for change. We can no longer talk about these things; we must act. This year’s Diffusion Festival in Cardiff uses the theme of Sound + Vision to explore national identity, asking key questions about what "home" really means. This resonates with me because I am not British-born, but have spent 17 years living in the UK. These years comprise my entire adult life and I think constantly about what this signifies. Meanwhile, a new publication entitled New Architecture Los Angeles surveys the impact of LA’s experimental design, looking at how sustainable projects are leading a global architectural zeitgeist. We also highlight this year's Salone del Mobile, considering projects from cutting-edge lighting brands. In photography we soak up the vast range of styles on the circuit today. From structural and documentary, to fine art, conceptual and fashion, we look at a myriad of ideas and genres. LM Chabot, Michael McCluskey, Christophe Barneau, Massimo Colonna, Charlotte Lapalus, Tropico Photo and Nadine Rovner are amongst the names that present new possibilities for image-making. They will ignite your creativity. Cherie Federico

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contents

Art 16 Regular Features This edition includes a retrospective of Erwin Olaf, Circulation(s) photography festival, David Adjaye at the Design Museum and Kimsooja at YSP.

24 Colourful Movements Tropico Photo unites the minds of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris, photographers who unearth exciting visuals, bringing them into sharp focus.

36 A Global Awakening The evidence for climate change is overwhelming, from rising sea levels to shrinking ice sheets. Desert X biennial is part of the conversation.

42 Utopian Framework Massimo Colonna offers a journey through pastel utopias; balls, balloons, plastic bags and paper planes are transfixed in moments of stillness.

52 Hidden Narratives Nadine Rovner's No Vacancy series treads a line between expectation and reality, inviting viewers to uncover the stories from hotel balconies.

64 Lighting for Tomorrow The Euroluce show at Salone del Mobile returns, highlighting innovative and sustainable projects from the most cutting-edge design brands.

70 Land of Shadows Through jewelled reds, greens and blues, Michael McCluskey's works take hold of the night with an overbearing sense of calm and hazy lighting.

82 Forging Connections The fourth iteration of Diffusion Festival comes to Cardiff, looking at how the transmission and presentation of images is influenced by sound.

88 Enticing Compositions Charlotte Lapalus explores female figures in relation to their environments – casting an eye over intimate details and drawing in the viewer.

100 Rendering New Worlds What would happen if a daydream was brought to life? Christophe Barneau is a multidisciplinary designer bringing digitised landscapes to reality.

112 Beyond Categorisation Shining a light on Los Angeles' new architecture through ecologically responsible buildings that act as a test bed for global and social change.

118 A Sense of Opulence LM Chabot, a Montréal-based photography duo, features again with decadent images that are dripping with sensory information and details.

Exhibitions

Film

Music

130 Gallery Reviews Featuring Mapplethorpe at the Guggenheim, Dave Heath at The Photographers' Gallery and Tania Franco Klein at Almanaque Fotográfica.

134 Dissolution of Identity A sprawling love story set amidst a notorious gangster community, Ash Is Purest White is as much about romance as it is purpose and power.

136 A Commemorative Record In The End is the eighth and final collection of The Cranberries – a posthumous work completed in the wake of Dolores O'Riordan's tragic death.

Books

Artists’ Directory

Last Words

138 Experimentation by Design Phaidon's new text, Houses: Extraordinary Living, celebrates the remarkable diversity and beauty of residential sites from the last 200 years.

153 Inside This Issue A wide range of practitioners steers the course of experimentation, combining genres, forms and influences across a multitude of media.

162 Get Up, Stand Up Now Zak Ové discusses curating a landmark exhibition at Somerset House that celebrates the last 50 years of Black creativity in Britain and beyond.

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Erwin Olaf, Palm Springs, The Kite, 2018. © Erwin Olaf. Courtesy Hamiltons Gallery, London / Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York.

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Shattering Illusions ERWIN OLAF “What I want to show most of all is a perfect world with a crack in it. I want to make the picture seductive enough to draw people into the narrative, and then deal the blow,” says Erwin Olaf (b. 1959) of his signature approach to photography. Originally trained as a photojournalist, he soon shifted to a provocative, socially engaged style, often using graphic depictions of the human body. One such collection is the 2000 series Royal Blood – stylised portraits which reference royalty and celebrities who met tragic ends, including a lookalike of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, in questioning the cultural fascination with both fame and violence. Following the events of 9/11, however, his vision moved away from staged scenarios and high impact images towards reflective scenarios, considering responses to shocking events and the surrounding sense of grief. World events continue to shape Olaf’s practice, including the Tamed & Anger, self-portraits (2015) in response to the Charlie Hebdo terror attack in Paris. Born in the Netherlands, Olaf turns 60 this year. He is being celebrated with a major retrospective across two venues, presenting works in the form of installations in combination with film, sound and sculpture. The Hague Museum focuses on the artist’s craft, transitioning from analogue photojournalism to digital image-making and storytelling. The exhibition also includes a selection of 20 pieces that are considered sources of inspiration – from a vintage still life with roses by

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the 19th century photographer Bernard Eilers to self-portraits “Olaf turns 60 this year, and is being by Robert Mapplethorpe and Rineke Dijkstra. With a bold sense of curation, the show at Gemeentemu- celebrated with a seum den Haag begins even before entering. Through a life- major retrospective sized installation entitled Keyhole (2012), visitors are able to across two venues, watch two films through doors on either side. Upon enter- presenting works ing, audiences are greeted by pieces from Olaf’s acclaimed in the form of career, as well as new works from Palm Springs (2018), part installations, in of a wider triptych about cities undergoing change. The sister combination with film, sound and sculpture.” series are Berlin (2012) and Shanghai (2017). Palm Springs addresses climate change, whilst evoking a sense of nostalgia for 1960s America. The works venture into landscapes, still lifes and filmic scenes whilst also touching on narratives surrounding teenage pregnancy, racial discrimination, religious abuses and polarisation. Here, audiences see people withdrawing into gated communities to avoid the threat of reality invading their private paradise. The featured image ruminates around this tense economic grounding. The artist’s statement reads: “If you want to take your daughter The Hague Museum for a walk in the country, maybe a picnic, you’ll find the bus of Photography & doesn’t go up into the cool mountains, and you’ll make do Gemeentemuseum with the edge-grounds around a wind farm, where everything Den Haag blows through the dust and ends up in the bushes. There a Until 12 May lot of spikes in Olaf’s California – and his people are waiting with less optimism than they used to in earlier series.” www.gemeentemuseum.nl

Discovering New Talent CIRCULATION(S)

Luka Khabelashvili, from the series Feelings. Courtesy of the artist.

Since its establishment in 2011 by the Fetart organisation, and concerns of our current moment in history. “This year, the guest Cîrlig, for example, addresses present-day life in the former artistic directors Circulation(s) has been dedicated to discovering and promoting Europe’s young photographic talent. This year, Audrey mono-industrial communities which were created under com- hold a strong vision Hoareau and François Cheval – together forming a creative munism in Romania in Post-Industrial Stories, a long-term of what makes the collective called The Red Eye – are the guest artistic direc- documentary project. These are locales that once thrived festival unique. tors, holding a strong vision of what makes the festival unique. and whose inhabitants were celebrated as heroic embodi- ‘Demonstrating the “Demonstrating the ability to imagine, to reject competitive- ments of the Soviet-era working class, but with the arrival of ability to imagine, to ness and domination … Circulation(s) is what any cultural or- market forces erasing their previous identity, their people reject competitiveness. ganisation should be: a democratic entity.” The event supports now find themselves unemployed and adrift. Similarly, in Circulation(s) is and encourages the initiatives of all who participate through the jury selection, Ed Alcock considers the notion of identity what any cultural a horizontal and self-organising structure which stands in in the light of his home country, the UK, voting to exit the organisation should be: contrast to more hierarchical or institutional approaches. The European Union. The piece discusses the country with mixed a democratic entity.’” vision for 2019 involved creating a dialogue between differ- feelings of tenderness, irony and disillusionment. It ends with a sense of farewell, as, feeling excluded from an increasingly ent media – a committed vision for a troubled Europe. As such, the festival’s ethos is to be both open to all, yet rig- inward-looking Britain, the photographer obtained French citorous in its search for quality and originality, professionalism izenship. In the Guest Artists section are a number of exciting and passion. The programme is based upon a jury selection new names including Luka Khabelashvili. Just 19 years old, from around 1,000 responses to the international call for ap- the artist assembles his snapshots based on memories and plications. This year, as part of the Institut Français’ European interpretations of texts by archaeologists. The featured image exchange programme, the curation has a focus on Romania. (below) reflects on the gap between reality and representation. Expanding the festival’s strive for wider accessibility, Little Following a careful process of decision-making, the ninth edition of Circulation(s) features young Romanian photog- Circulation(s) runs alongside the main programme – an ex- Centquatre-Paris raphers, Iona Cîrlig, Mihai and Horatiu Șovăială, and Felicia hibition aimed at children aged 5-12. The strand features the 20 April - 30 June Simion. They join a line-up of young creatives from across the same series, but displays them on adapted boards, with intercontinent, producing work that responds directly to the fears active games that transform the experience of photography. www.festival-circulations.com

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GREECE. Athens. Circa 1936. Young man with laurel over the eyes. © Herbert List/Magnum Photos.

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Beyond the Surface THE BODY OBSERVED Legendary photographic agency Magnum Photos opens went on to influence Halsman’s “jump portraits”, a collection “From the 1930s to the its archives for a collaboration with the Sainsbury Centre that, as he notes, caused the subjects’ “masks to slip.” Here, present, the images for Visual Arts. This partnership show draws upon the many the line between authenticity and theatrics is pulled into delve into questions ways that photographers have approached the human body focus, touching upon the 21st century presence of digital of identity, intimacy, over the decades. From the 1930s to the present, the images identities and the contrast between private and public selves. sexuality and ritual, delve into questions of identity, intimacy, sexuality and ritual, Eve Arnold (1912-2012) also took to capturing well- acknowledging an acknowledging an element of voyeurism when considering known figures, with frank portraits of Hollywood legend Joan element of voyeurism the human form, as well as the boundaries of documentary Crawford. Many of the pictures refer to the constant labour when considering the and performance. The body has, of course, been an artistic of maintaining a public image at the top of the showbusiness human form, as well subject for centuries before the advent of photography, but world. Arnold notably stated: “Weekends we would spend as the boundaries of the rise of the camera – and indeed the smartphone – has at her house in Bel-Air, photographing. Those would be her documentary and presented countless opportunities for practitioners to play days for having her nails done, her hair coloured, her legs performance.” with visual codes, conventions and approaches, creating a waxed, her eyebrows dyed – all of which she wanted me to new visual language around physicality and performance. record on film, to show her devotion to her public.” More than 130 works feature in the exhibition, including Highlights of The Body Observed include Alec Soth’s Philippe Halsman's (1906-1979) Dalí Atomicus (1948), a Niagara series (2006) – a melancholy exploration of love. piece selected as one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influen- The compositions undermine the idealism of America’s tial Images of All Time” in 2016. The suitably surreal compo- best-known honeymoon destination. Alongside portraits of sition captures the essence of artist Salvador Dalí in a portrait newlyweds, some posing naked for the camera, the mundane in which all elements are suspended in mid-air: a bucket of motel architecture forms a stark contrast with the semantics water, a chair, a cat. Halsman developed a style of closely- of romance. Also featured in the show are poignant selections Sainsbury Centre for cropped portraits during a career of commercial series for from Susan Meiselas’ Carnival Strippers. New Girl (1975) is Visual Arts, Norwich fashion and cosmetic companies alongside photojournalism. a standout work, inviting the viewer to gaze upon a figure Until 30 June Dalí Atomicus was the culmination of several years’ collabo- whilst they clasp their chest and looks downwards – evoking ration with Dalí and took 28 attempts to successfully stage. It vulnerability and uncomfortable intimacy in audiences. www.scva.ac.uk

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An Intimate Perspective JOANNA PIOTROWSKA

Untitled, 2014. Courtesy of Southard Reid and Dawid Radziszewski.

Joanna Piotrowska's (b. 1985) artwork dwells on the dynam- in which Piotrowska engaged local people in Lisbon, Rio de “Often expressed ics of power. Often expressed within domestic spaces and Janeiro, Warsaw and London to create makeshift structures in within domestic spaces other manmade environments, her compositions document their homes. Capturing constructed environments and their and other manmade both the psychological and physical dimensions of human inhabitants, the resulting works include both children’s dens environments, the relationships, as well as the spaces which help to shape them. and temporary shelters made by the dispossessed and those compositions document Rather than employing a documentary style, however, the without a home, showing a universal need for a private space. the psychological images capture a range of gestures that have been carefully The compositions reflect upon a diversity of reasons for and physical dimensions of human staged and directed; they are intimate performances set up making shelters, from the freedom of play to fearful flight. Sara de Chiara, who curated one of Piotrowska's previous relationships, as well for the camera. Bodies take an almost sculptural role that verge on the edge of claustrophobia and danger. Referenc- exhibitions, connects such spaces to philosopher Michel as the spaces which ing self-defence manuals, the theatrical movements reflect Foucault’s concept of “heterotopia” – discrete locations help to shape them.” an ever-present threat of violence against women, whilst which seem to disrupt the flow of space and time. She writes: “The practice of building shelters does not completely end demonstrating the potential for empowerment. Polish-born and London-based, Piotrowska studied Pho- with childhood: as adolescents and adults we keep seeking tography at the Royal College of Art in London and the an intimate space where we can be in solitude, read a book, Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Over the past year, her work listen to our favourite music, or just rest. At the very opposite has most notably been included in the 10th Berlin Biennale of kids’ playful and spontaneous attitudes, the construction and Being: New Photography at MoMA, New York. For this first of shelters is the expression of an urgent need for immigrants UK solo exhibition, All Our False Devices, she has created an and homeless people searching for a lair in the rips of the installation combining 16mm films with carefully composed urban fabric.” The viewer is left considering whether these black and white images. It is the latest in Tate Britain’s ongo- somewhat absurd structures resemble a home to escape ing Art Now series of free exhibitions showcasing emerging into, or a trap. Participants barely fit within the walls. In this Tate Britain way, the exhibition considers the spaces we inhabit on a daily Until 9 June talent and highlighting new developments in British culture. As well as pieces from the Self Defense series from 2015, the basis, questioning the comfort surrounding domestic spaces show includes selections from the Shelters 2016-2018 series, as a projection of the self and of the psyche. www.tate.org.uk

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Theaster Gates, Where Black Power Lives, Gary, Indiana, 2018. Image: Madeleine Thomas.

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The Camera and Society FOR FREEDOMS In January 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made the in public life, creating greater inclusivity and fairer politi“Four Freedoms” speech, setting out goals for a democratic cal conversations. A selection of pieces from across the 50 society against the backdrop of a world plunging into con- State Initiative – which involved more than 300 artists – feaflict. The four strands – freedom of speech, worship, from tures at the New York gallery this spring. The programme runs alongside Your Mirror: Portraits from want and from fear – embodied a desire to protect human rights. In the post-war world, these ideas would become the the ICP Collection. In today’s digital age, millions of selfies basis of the United Nations charter in 1945. At the time are being shared every day – creating a visual culture satuthey stood as an argument to end America’s isolationism rated with images. The exhibition takes a step back and looks and confront the Nazi threats. Roosevelt’s manifesto was at the contexts of portraiture. It considers the history of how translated into iconic images in 1943 by Norman Rockwell people present themselves for the camera, who is deemed (1894-1978), whose paintings became synonymous with a "worthy" of representation and through what platform. Including studio portraits and snapshots, as well as docunostalgic and idealised portrayal of American life. This new show sits within another time of political turbu- mentary images, the compositions are realised in a variety lence, translating history into the present. Artistic collective of media, from a daguerreotype of a bedridden woman by For Freedoms – in a contemporary response to the themes Southworth & Hawes, to a cart-de-visite featuring Sojourner of Roosevelt and Rockwell – has addressed the anger and Truth holding her knitting, to Samuel Fosso’s performative division of the Trump presidency with a 50 State Initiative. A self-portraits, as well as an FBI wanted poster. Mark Lubell, significant programme of public art, exhibitions and events Executive Director of ICP, notes: “ICP was founded by Cortook place across all the states of the Union in the lead- nell Capa in 1974 to preserve the legacy of ‘concerned phoup to the 2018 mid-term elections. Founded by Hank Willis tography’ – images created as a means of action and social Thomas and Eric Gottesman, For Freedoms describes itself change. Thought-provoking shows like these help us look as a “platform for creative civic engagement, discourse and at and learn from the past – but set our eyes to the future. direct action … A hub for artists, institutions and citizens who There’s no more fitting way to close our time at 250 Bowery want to be more engaged in public life.” Subtitled Where Do and set the stage for the reunification of our Museum and We Go From Here?, ICP's exhibition explores the role of art School at Essex Crossing in fall 2019.”

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“Subtitled ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’, ICP's exhibition explores the role of art in public life, creating greater inclusivity and fairer political conversations. A selection of pieces feature at the New York gallery.”

ICP, New York Until 28 April www.icp.org

Beyond Architecture DAVID ADJAYE

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Image: Alan Karchmer.

Monuments aren’t simple. Relating to historical events, sig- of Athens (447 BC) to the 2018 Millicent Fawcett statue “‘Democratisation nificant figures and social movements, they provide an op- by Gillian Wearing in London. The presentation offers an does not mean that portunity for stories to be told. They render them physically insight into Adjaye’s design process, using video interviews monuments cease present. Even the ways in which they are experienced aren't and site-specific displays. The National Museum of African to be relevant; they fixed – each person brings their own perspectives to the table. American History and Culture room is centred around the are required to be Increasingly, memorials are less frequently static statues or Yoruba sculpture that inspired its form, demonstrating how transformed, so that plaques, more often appearing as open public spaces de- anthropology and sociology fed into the final structure. they have an inbuilt signed to facilitate remembrance and reflection. The shifting Also being shown is the new National Cathedral of Ghana in openness and can dialogues surrounding these types of structures are central Accra, which intertwines religion and local tradition, drawing be approached and to the Design Museum’s new show, Making Memory. It fore- on Christian architectural principles and motifs from Akan understood from grounds the work of British-Ghanaian architect Sir David culture. A room is filled with traditional Asante umbrellas many points of view.’” Adjaye OBE (b. 1966), who throughout his career, has ex- that influenced the form of the roof. Visitors are granted first access to ideas for the proposed Coretta Scott King and plored the ways in which design is a device for storytelling. Born in Tanzania, Adjaye later moved to the UK, eventually Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Boston, designed to be a studying at London’s South Bank University and the prestig- place which enables debate and assembly. The show highlights a number of past projects, including ious Royal College of Art. Of Making Memory, he says: “The monument is no longer a representation, it is an experience the Sclera Pavilion for the London Design Festival 2008, and of time and place that is available to everyone. Whether it’s a replica library area from the Gwangju River Reading Room for a nation, a race, a community, or a person, it is really in South Korea. Ongoing works comprise the new UK Holoused as a device to talk about the many things facing people caust Memorial and Learning Centre proposed for Victoria across the planet. Democratisation does not mean that mon- Tower Gardens in London, and the Mass Extinction Memorial uments cease to be relevant; they are required to be trans- Observatory (MEMO) set to be located on the Isle of Portland Design Museum, London formed, so that they have an in-built openness and can be in the English Channel, featuring carvings of the 860 spe- Until 5 May cies known to have become extinct since the dodo, and a bell approached and understood from many points of view.” The exhibition opens with a journey from the Acropolis which tolls every time a new extinction occurs. www.designmuseum.org

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1. © Anja Niemi, The Receptionist. Courtesy of the artist. 2. Clarence John Laughlin, (USA, 1905-1985), A Figment of Desire: Woman as a Sex Object, 1941. Printed 1981, gelatin silver print. High Museum of Art, Atlanta, purchased with funds from Robert Yellowlees, 2015.42. © The Historic New Orleans Collection. 3. James Bridle, A Flag for No Nations, 2016. Ellinikon, Greece. Site-specific installation, branch, mylar blanket. 4. Dorje de Burgh, from Dream the End. 5. Spaceport America#2 [Virgin Galactic], New Mexico, U.S.A., 2015. Vincent Fournier. Book: Noeve & Rizzoli, Space Utopia. 6. Mona Kuhn, AD 6046, 2014. Courtesy of the artist and Jackson Fine Art.

10 to See RECOMMENDED EXHIBITIONS THIS SEASON

Anja Niemi

Fotografiska, Stockholm Until 7 April

www.fotografiska.com Through tableaux-vivants, Anja Niemi (b. 1976) takes the self-portrait into realms of fantasy and imagination. Fotografiska’s exhibition In Character revisits the many characters and narratives created by Niemi through series that pose wider questions about divided identities. The compositions explore the construction and representation of femininity in society, reinventing cinematic tropes and the movement of “the other.”

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Strange Light

The High Museum, Atlanta 11 May - 11 November

www.high.org Clarence John Laughlin (1905-1985) was dubbed the father of American surrealism. Atlanta’s High Museum holds the largest collection of his work and presents the most comprehensive posthumous retrospective to date. The images ruminate around romantic depictions of decaying architecture in New Orleans. Strange Light features signature photographs from between 1935 and 1965 with more than 80 prints.

www.baltic.art A new group exhibition addresses the idea of the citizen in an age of fake news, virtual realities and voluntary surveillance of online presences. Have the same tools that dissolved our concept of privacy and created a threat to democracy also created the potential for new forms of community, togetherness and political activism? Subtitled The Precarious Subject, BALTIC’s show uncovers new digital languages as they are being written.

www.photoireland.org The 10th edition of the festival offers an ambitious programme in Dublin’s city centre. Two main strands titled The People of the Mud and The Invention of Memory focus on tradition and identity as key themes. Running concurrently is the opening of The Museum of Contemporary Photography of Ireland on 4 July, introducing three shows including New Irish Works, a group of 10 exciting names selected from an international jury.

Digital Citizen

BALTIC, Gateshead Until 16 June

PhotoIreland

Dublin City Centre 1 May - 31 July

Vincent Fournier

The Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam Until 11 May

www.theravestijngallery.com Space Utopia collects more than a decade of Fournier’s photographs of human exploration, including images from the NASA, European and Russian programmes, from research facilities to space stations. His latest images include the new SLS rocket, the most powerful ever built, which will drive NASA’s new generation Orion spacecraft. The vehicle is headed for an asteroid and, eventually, to the surface of Mars.

7. Zanele Muholi, MaID III, Philadelphia, 2018. Silver gelatin print, 90cm x 60cm. Courtesy of the artist / Stevenson Gallery, South Africa / Ingleby, Edinburgh. 8. Vivian Maier, Chicago, 1962. 1962. Ed. 8/15 Chromogenic print; printed 2018. 12 x 12 inches. © Estate of Vivian Maier, Courtesy of Maloof Collection and Howard Greenberg Gallery, NY. 9. To Breathe: Bottari, 2013. Mixed media installation with The Weaving Factory, 2004-2013. The artist’s voice performance sound, 5.1 channel, 9:14, loop. Photo by Jaeho Chong. 10. © William F. Wisnom Sr, Tullytown (PA), 8 June 1968. From Rein Jelle Terpstra, The People’s View (2014-2018). Courtesy Leslie Dawson.

Mona Kuhn

Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta Until 6 April

www.jacksonfineart.com Mona Kuhn: She Disappeared Into Complete Silence features a single subject, physically isolated in a gold and amber landscape. This latest body of work is named after Louise Bourgeois’s first book – He Disappeared into Complete Silence (1947). This compelling exhibition draws on architectural lines and shadows, whilst retaining a delicate treatment of the nude as its primary subject.

Sometimes I Disappear

Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh Until 13 April

www.inglebygallery.com Four practitioners take a subversive approach to the self-portrait, confronting and avoiding the viewer’s gaze, exploiting the strange contradictions of an art form where the self is both subject and object. The exhibition takes its title from a quotation by seminal artist Cindy Sherman, who features in the show alongside Francesca Woodman as well as Zanele Muholi and Oana Stanciu.

Photo London

Somerset House, London 16-19 May

www.photolondon.org The fifth edition of the fair brings together almost 100 exhibitors from 21 countries, including many of the world’s leading galleries. Alongside the main programme, the Discovery section offers a high-profile platform for emerging talent in a curated selection from 23 galleries. Also of note is this year’s Master of Photography title, which goes, deservedly, to American visionary Stephen Shore.

Kimsooja

YSP, Wakefield Until 3 November

www.ysp.org.uk For over 25 years, Kimsooja has used the idea of the “bottari” – the South Korean word for a “bundle.” This concept informs the artist’s latest show, wrapping and altering YSP’s chapel space. To Breathe transforms the structure through mirrored surfaces. Reflections permeate the interiors like water – drawing attention to the changing qualities of light throughout the day. A further layer of intimacy is introduced with the sound of Kimsooja breathing.

Robert F. Kennedy – Funeral Train Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam Until 12 May

www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl Rein Jelle Terpstra’s project The People’s View reconstructs historic events from the point of view of eyewitnesses. A selection of film and video, the show was inspired by Paul Fusco’s RFK Funeral Train series – images taken 8 June 1968, shot from the carriage which carried the body of the murdered US Senator. It captured grieving crowds along its journey.

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Colourful Movements Tropico Photo

Tropico Photo unites the minds of Forrest Aguar (b. 1988) and Michelle Norris (b. 1991), photographers who met whilst studying at the University of Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the duo creates bright works that pair bold shapes with compelling colour combinations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; unearthing exciting visuals in the landscape and bringing them into sharp focus. Together, Aguar and Norris produce compositions devoid of both time and place, moving between buildings and locations with fluidity. Each photograph revels in the lively blend of geometry and nature, as well as the contemporary charm of clean, minimal lines. Popping with structural asymmetry and choreographed performance, Tropico Photoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portfolio consists of both creative and commercial series that have been published in esteemed magazines such as The New York Times, Bitch and Suitcase, as well as commissions from the likes of Red Bull, Samsung and SanDisk. www.tropicophoto.com.

Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris. Model: Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris. Model: Spree Wilson.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris. Model: Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris. Model: Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris. Model: Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris.

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Photography by Tropico Photo, the collaborative work of Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris. Model: Devon Joslin.

art

A Global Awakening Desert X EVIDENCE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE IS OVERWHELMING, FROM SHRINKING ICE SHEETS TO RISING TEMPERATURES. DESERT X PLACES ART AT THE CENTRE OF THESE DISCUSSIONS.

“Desert X provides a roadmap,” says Neville Wakefield, Artistic of al fresco viewing. He has an impressive curatorial backDirector. From Jim Morrison to Burning Man Festival, people ground with MoMA PS1 as well as Frieze. In 2014 he also cohave visited the desert to discover themselves as much as the founded Elevation 1049 – a festival in Gstaad, Switzerland, place. This is a fact that Wakefield and his team have fully which brings large-scale constructions to the snow-covered embraced. It is the basis for a groundbreaking programme, Alps, providing a viewing platform that is just as much about which shines a light on climate change at a time when action braving and exploring the harsh terrain as it is about conis most needed. The free event is organised in the Coachella fronting new constructions. The event draws many parallels Valley, tapping into the visual allure of brilliant blue skylines to Desert X – having welcomed many of the same projects whilst encouraging audiences to take notice of the near-irre- such as Doug Aitken’s Mirage – a mirrored ranch-style structure that both absorbs and reflects the landscape, seemingly versible damage that has been placed on the environment. Based just 90 minutes outside Los Angeles, Desert X is disappearing into the background. It is a kaleidoscope of held every other year thanks to Desert Biennial – a not-for- light – a framing device between dream and reality. In Wakefield’s site-specific exhibitions, audiences are part profit organisation. Since launching in 2017, it has accrued an international reputation for breaking the traditional gal- of a one-of-a-kind experience; their interpretation of any lery mould, offering provocative exhibitions that change the given piece is easily adjusted by where they are standing, or face of non-commercial art events through a mix of “natural even the weather. “In gallery curation, you know the outcome wonders and attention to socio-political issues.” This year is before you begin,” he states. “In these situations, you don’t no different: over 18 public installations rise from the sand have that. The location – through its social, historical and poas powerful metaphors, urging viewers to respond. From VR litical contexts – becomes the mediator, and the space surand film screenings to mountainside sculptures, the projects rounding the works is just as important. It’s a non-prescriptive create a map rather than a white cube space – immersing show and you can come in at whatever angle you want. It’s about how the viewer shapes their own experience.” viewers completely and refocusing their attention to nature. For the 2019 edition of Desert X, the team has assembled Desert X is an initiative. It is rooted in the idea that geography has the potential to be transformed and, in return, alter an extraordinary roster of international talents that include people’s perspectives. Wakefield explains: “I’m interested in Pia Camil, Mary Kelly, Gary Simmons, Postcommodity and the way that art behaves outside institutional bounds and Julian Hoeber, amongst others. This collection spans a 50how a place can become generative.” Wakefield is no stran- mile stretch of arid land along the California–Mexico border ger to new, speculative types of exhibition design and has es- and, for the first time, also includes several nautical elements. tablished himself as somewhat of an authority on this brand A number of pieces have been conceived specifically for the

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Desert X installation view, Nancy Baker Cahill, Revolutions, 2019. Image: Lance Gerber, courtesy of Desert X.

“From VR and film screenings to mountainside sculptures, the projects create a map rather than a white cube space – immersing viewers in complete participation and refocusing their attention to nature.”

Previous Page: Desert X installation view, John Gerrard, Western Flag (Spindletop, Texas), 2017, 2017-2019. Image: Lance Gerber, courtesy of Desert X. Left: Desert X installation view, Kathleen Ryan, Ghost Palm, 2019. Image: Lance Gerber, courtesy of Desert X.

Salton Sea – a shallow lake in the valley. The common thread Error. In both submissions, Cahill draws upon Augmented Rethat weaves through the artworks – executed in a variety of ality to provoke unique encounters. Revolutions is located at mediums – is an intention for ecology to take centre-stage. a wind farm in the northernmost part of the valley. Turbines Each of the projects reaches out to the viewer with deeply have been remodelled into vibrant and explosive animations that foreground sustainable energy practices as an undeniingrained messages about the Earth’s precarious situation. Irish artist John Gerrard provides one such work. Western able route for the future. The work calls upon the viewer to Flag is positioned at the entry-point of Palm Springs. It is a download a “4th Wall app” onto their phones to reveal a muldeeply important structure that recreates scenes from Lucas titude of fluctuating geometric forms, becoming an active Gusher – considered the world's first major oil find – in Spin- participant in creating a sky filled with clean energy. dletop, Texas. On 10 January 1901, the gusher blew for nine Kathleen Ryan also comments on the fragility of nature. days, spilling out roughly 100,000 barrels of oil per day. Ghost Palm reconstructs a group of Desert Fan Palms – the This unprecedented quantity sparked a complete change in largest species native to California – using manmade maproduction, moving humanity into the age of mass combus- terials such as steel, plastic and glass. These pseudo-palms tion. In response to such a colossal moment in history, Ger- have windowpanes for a trunk and mid-century modern rard has superimposed a flagpole emitting smoky black gas chandeliers that represent the skirt of the tree. Clear plas– representing carbon monoxide – onto footage of the oil tic leaves stand in for real ones. These manufactured trees site, inviting viewers to confront the very real consequences stand face-to-face with a cluster of actual Washingtonia filof exploiting fossil fuels. (On their website page for climate ifera – a confrontation between organic and artificial worlds. change, NASA states that the planet’s average surface temThough this year marks only the second edition of the biperature has risen by 1.62 degrees Farenheit since the late ennial, it has already been established as a must-visit desti19th century due to the effects of manmade emissions.) nation. In 2017, it welcomed more than 200,000 attendees, In a similar vein, Danish art collective Superflex – whose and a search of the hashtag #desertx turns up more than members include Bjørnstjerne Christiansen, Jakob Fenger 50,000 hits on Instagram. In describing this presentation, it and Rasmus Nielsen – has built a home for future marine becomes near impossible, then, to omit the role that digital life that will inhabit the land once sea levels rise even more feeds have played in its success. The show’s larger-than-life dramatically. (NASA’s research says that oceans have risen constructions and awe-inspiring backdrop make it Instagram eight inches in the last century.) Shaped like a castle from candy. For its first edition, the organisers – due to time cona fish tank, Superflex’s Pepto-pink structure, titled Dive In, straints – eschewed a traditional media roll-out and relied forecasts a drastically altered landscape in the valley’s not- on social sites to spread key exhibition messaging. This tactic so-distant future. Meanwhile, Nancy Baker Cahill tackles this proved tremendously fruitful and, as Wakefield recalls, it was topic through two contributions: Revolutions and Margin of “a highly effective part of the overall PR strategy.”

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Desert X installation view, Pia Camil, Lover’s Rainbow, 2019. Image: Lance Gerber, courtesy of Desert X.

What is the upside of allowing online platforms to do the heavy lifting with regard to communication? Social media, namely Instagram, enables the event’s imagery and information to reach new and diverse audiences, thereby making the biennial – and contemporary art as a whole – accessible to a wider range of viewers. “We’ve got people coming who never would have visited a gallery – even one as transient as this.” Despite its power and irrefutable effectiveness in disseminating fundamental content to a broader audience, Wakefield concedes that there is a downside to events that are as digitally-friendly as this one: “You get a trophy-hunting experience.” He elaborates: “The artwork is really trying to slow you down, to draw you in. But social media isn’t about deceleration. Rather, it’s all about collecting the image and it favours only the most photogenic pieces, like Aitken's Mirage, not those that require a more gradual type of attention.” To get the most out of a visit, Wakefield asks visitors to spend time with all of the pieces, not exclusively those that have featured prominently on social media. Two of his favourite constructions don’t get a lot of play on digital platforms, despite being deserving of the attention for their conceptual complexity. The first example, Shybot, is still roaming the sands from the first edition. Created by Norma Jean – an anonymous artist who does not wish to be identified – the autonomous rover is programmed to avoid human contact, opting for total physical absence. “There weren’t even any images of it because the piece was made to stay away from photographers,” comments Wakefield. The little six-wheeled bot was so adept at this anti-social behaviour that it actually became lost for a staggering 16 months. (The biennial team was so hard-up for clues on its whereabouts that they

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even posted a $1,000 reward for anyone who could help track the curious Shybot down.) It was later recovered by a maintenance worker in July of 2018. “Though it has no visual elements per se, it has all of the meaningful beauty of what a desert piece should be because it’s a metaphor for the whole experience. We come to these types of landscapes to look for something, but we don’t necessarily find it.” Another highlight is Cynthia Marcelle’s Wormhole, a secret trapdoor to empty shops and temporarily disabled establishments in both California and Mexico. A meditation on opportunity, loss and abandonment, it features a derelict storefront. Through the windows, viewers can gaze at television monitors broadcasting images of other similarly distressed businesses. “Despite being hard to capture, this endless loop is incredibly poetic – it’s about the border between Mexico and the USA and the social divides in-between,” he remarks. In a similar way, Pia Camil’s Lover’s Rainbow ties into the creation of connections from point A to point B. Building on the symbolism of rainbows to establish hope and inclusivity, the structure bends from the sky to the sand. In doing so, it sheds light onto current immigration policies – with the link to Trump’s proposed wall being undeniable – prompting viewers to look from both planes of sight and consider the empty space which sits underneath the bow. Ultimately, the public’s appetite – both on social media and in person – for this festival marks a shift in our collective interest from commercial viewing outlets to less prescriptive, more responsive exhibitions. “These installations exist outside of parameters – just as anti-institutional American Land Art did. After all, the greatest form of ownership is through experience, and that’s what people get here.”

Right: Desert X installation view, Superflex, Dive-In, 2019. Image: Lance Gerber, courtesy of Desert X.

Words Stephanie Strasnick

Desert X, until 21 April, Coachella Valley, CA. www.desertx.org

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art

Utopian Framework Massimo Colonna

Massimo Colonna (b. 1986) has spent many years working in postproduction and retouching, during which he has developed a passion for renders and abstracted landscapes. Both technical and imaginative, these detailed modes of working have been highly influential in the creation of Colonna’s personal series. Images from Ambiguous, for example, invite the viewer into exotic landscapes filled with surreal objects – statues, ladders and sheets. Similarly, the (Non) gravità series is inspired by the architecture of Luis Barragán and Ricardo Bofill. Each digitally enhanced composition offers a journey into a pastel utopia where inanimate objects become active participants. Balls, balloons, plastic bags and paper planes are transfixed in moments of stillness. The results are both unnerving and visually satisfying – each location has been designed down to the last detail, defying gravity along the way. www.massimocolonna.com.

Massimo Colonna, from the series Ambiguous. Courtesy of the artist.

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Massimo Colonna, from the series Ambiguous. Courtesy of the artist.

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Massimo Colonna, from the series (Non) GravitĂ . Courtesy of the artist.

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Massimo Colonna, from the series (Non) GravitĂ . Courtesy of the artist.

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Massimo Colonna, from the series Ambiguous. Courtesy of the artist.

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Massimo Colonna, from the series (Non) GravitĂ . Courtesy of the artist.

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Massimo Colonna, from the series (Non) GravitĂ . Courtesy of the artist.

art

Hidden Narratives Nadine Rovner

Carefully staged, richly textured environments are charged with a sense of unease. The No Vacancy series tows a line between expectation and reality, inviting viewers to look beyond the surface and uncover the stories playing out on hotel balconies and open streets. Each character is a silent, encroaching witness who moves between public and private spaces. Philadelphia-based Nadine Rovner (b. 1982) has exhibited internationally, most recently in the 2018 Los Angeles Billboard Creative Show, as well as SCOPE New York and Photo LA. Her practice is built on orchestrating lush, cinematic scenes centred around anticipation, longing and desire. Rovner finds a space between past and present, drawing parallels between 1960s Americana – saturated by idealism – and today’s age of increasing hyperrealism. Nostalgic iconography is contrasted heavily with the resolution of crisp, digital photographs filled with tension. www.nadinerovner.com.

Nadine Rovner, detail of Avenue Motel, No Vacancy. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nadine Rovner, detail of Holiday Motel, Afternoon. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nadine Rovner, detail of Jackie and Nancy, Midnight. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nadine Rovner, detail of El Ray Motel, Early Morning. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nadine Rovner, detail of Lana, Golden Age Motel, No.1. Courtesy of the artist.

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Nadine Rovner, detail of Holiday Motel, Morning. Courtesy of the artist.

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art

Lighting for Tomorrow Salone del Mobile CUTTING-EDGE LIGHTING BRANDS ENGAGE WITH A NUMBER OF INNOVATIVE TRENDS; LOW-IMPACT AND RESPONSIBLY-SOURCED COLLECTIONS PLAY WITH AUDIENCE PERCEPTION.

This year's Euroluce exhibition – the biennial lighting fair ing. Making bold promises for the industry, these indelible at Salone del Mobile, Milan – presents bold, new ideas. tools tap into the therapeutic potential of light by carefully Interactive carousels, Art Deco inspiration, blown glass modulating intensity and direction. Where a dark, poorly lit that looks like fabric and lamps that mimic the morning space can decrease a sense of inter-connectivity, the flexsun. The 2019 designers are going for both fanciful, eso- ibility and reliability of more advanced LEDs can energise teric creations and hyper-functional indoor, outdoor and and improve health from the inside out. This is a key element for this year’s exhibitors. However, industrial options. They are transforming not just the way we experience architecture, but also how we feel in relation the brands are also coming up with surprising solutions to to the space. With concerns about the world hurtling toward responsible practices. Milan-based Artemide is one such a veritable doomsday of vanishing icebergs and rising sea example. The Italian outfit has collaborated with huge piolevels, sustainability is at the heart of new collections pre- neers like Zaha Hadid, Naoto Fukasawa, Jean Nouvel and sented this year. It’s a concern that cuts across a variety Herzog & De Meuron – stressing that “product efficiency is of disciplines in the design world. Function and aesthetics the first tool for a correct energy balance.” At its most basic, this means it is necessary to perform become one – or at least such is the stated goal. Euroluce – for its 30th edition – features 421 brands at at the highest level whilst using the fewest materials and the peak of their game including Artemide, Bert Frank, consuming as little energy as possible. “It is increasingly Bocci, Swarovski and Vibia. As per recent years, LEDs important, today more than ever, to respect our limited reare dominating the playing field, along with associated sources. We must confront ourselves with a new vision. We technologies such as OLEDs – in which a film of organic need to work through the lens of a humanism that not only compounds is placed between electrodes and intelligent connects us to our everyday needs but also to the comcontrol systems, or “smart home” domotics. The materials munity and the future of the planet,” said Artemide Vice are often locally sourced and recycled, which has the President Carlotta de Bevilacqua. She foresees “interactive” items as a concept that will soon redefine the relationship benefit of translating to major energy savings. Some appliances display an increasingly dizzying array between people and their wider surroundings. This is the of integrated functions – such as wireless connectiv- next step towards bridging the gap between the organic ity, adaptive intelligence, higher performance sensors and digital worlds, using crossdisciplinary practices. Euroluce’s 2019 brands showcase projects that respond to and systems that regulate colour and temperature. Solar energy is also powering some of the human-centric pieces, individual behaviours and feelings – putting the user first. focused on enhancing individual experiences and wellbe- “Everyone can choose their own item, modelling it in a more

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From the North Collection. Courtesy of VIBIA, Salone Del Mobile exhibitors.

“It is increasingly important, today more than ever, to respect our limited resources. We must confront ourselves with a new vision. We need to work through the lens of humanism that connects the community and the future of the planet.”

Previous Page: From the North Collection. Courtesy of VIBIA, Salone Del Mobile exhibitors. Left: Bocci, Pendant 21. www.bocci.ca.

flexible and qualitative way by varying the rhythm of light and shadow,” explains de Bevilacqua. In pieces like Ameluna, injection moulding is used in thermally conductive plastic to incorporate LED heatsink functions in the lamp body. Meanwhile, the aptly-named Silent Field features acoustic fabric, and the silicon-based Soft Alphabet can be shaped into all sorts of dynamic forms that still boast high mechanical and thermal stress resistance. Yet despite all these advances, companies are still harking back to the past as technical materials mix freely with the traditional. Hand-blown glass, for example, is still being made using age-old craft techniques at a factory in Venice. The glass encloses an RWB (red-white-blue) system seen as an alternative to the harsher and more widespread RGB (red-green-blue) grading. Direct, controlled emissions of colours mix with white diffused light that can be controlled separately – creating a system that actually helps plants to grow. There’s also a subtle play of transparency and opacity achieved through vacuum metallisation – a process which melts metal down to vapour to be sprayed as a film coating onto items. Collections realised by Neri&Hu, for example, reinterpret East Asian traditional aesthetics with contemporary flair using brushed brass and white glass. In another section, Tel Aviv-born artist Arik Levy has come on board to make a series of products for Spanish brand Vibia. For this, Levy has been inspired by the spontaneous and shifting phases of the aurora borealis. The resulting North collection may seem uniform, but its shades are suspended via a very thin steel cable which is in turn connected to an elongated carbon fibre rod. Neither suspended nor placed on the floor, the lamps fall

somewhere in between. “When you come into a space, the glow of the light is not where you expect. This starts to produce a different sense of gravity,” Levy explains. North is part of a movement of lighting design which enables viewers to see spaces in new, unprecedented ways. Several other collaborations are also featured in the 2019 edition of Euroluce. Swarovski has joined forces with IDEO (a California-based firm founded in 1991) to offer an illusion of depth with its Infinite Aura series. An optional decorative band of crystals ensures the effect remains even when the chandelier is switched off, and users can control and customise the brightness and temperature using a specialised app. In a similar way, Netherlands-based solar energy pioneer Marjan van Aubel is using crystals to make solar cells more efficient by cutting glass at angles to refract and focus the beams. The portable solar crystal in her Cyanometer stores energy during daylight hours so it can power a ring-shaped installation made of small stacked opal cubes that scatter beams similarly to the sky. The more energy harvested during the day, the brighter the installation. It harks back to the 18th century tool – invented by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure and Alexander von Humboldt – which measured the sky's colour intensity. The fair is also welcoming first-timers onto the field. For its preliminary lighting collection, Asia’s leading furniture brand, Stellar Works, commissioned Denmark-based OEO Studio. Lucent is a new item that combines a retro circle mechanism, sitting atop a sculptural base. OEO Studio drew inspiration from analogue experiences and rituals, such as playing vinyl on a record player or taking photos with a camera. Lucent echoes these principles with a simple

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From the North Collection. Courtesy of VIBIA, Salone Del Mobile exhibitors.

mechanical joint between the arm and base. Few things are as evanescent as a single breath. Essential for survival, yes, but it comes as quickly as it’s forgotten. And yet one group of engineers has found a way for people to literally cut a path by blowing into sensors that then cause dozens of opal crystal spheres to glow. “It is our vision to connect people through light,” explains Preciosa Creative Director Michael Vasku, who made an installation with Andreas Klug for last year’s edition of Salone del Mobile. The piece has triggered a sense of wonder so intense that it is being brought back for this year’s Euroluce. Preciosa – like many other exhibitors using crystals – is thinking about the origins of materials, from the sand used to make glass to the wood for the moulds, which is sourced from the regions surrounding their factory in the heart of Bohemia, Czech Republic. As such, their new Joy of Light installations take visitors on a sensory journey. A playful new carousel boasts an undulating curtain of nearly 8,000 spheres in opal, amber, clear and pink frosted hues that stretch above an eight-metre rotating platform with modernist rocking horses to live up to its name. The spheres produce a soft fade as visitors progress through the installation. Meanwhile, a massive chandelier – that easily stretches above a table for 12 – reacts to sounds within the room, rising and falling like a sea swell. Clink a glass and the 700 handmade triplex opal spheres come to life. Bocci – which was launched in 2005 between Vancouver and Berlin – also focuses on both the decorative and functional potential of their products, taking a sculptural approach. 73V looks more like a translucent canvas bag than ceiling light. Conceived by Creative Director Omer Arbel, it comes in vibrant colours, realised by blowing molten glass

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into a heat-resistant ceramic fabric. The Canadian brand also showcases an alternative to conventional track lighting, in which LED spotlights rest inside mirrored spheres. The process allows for greater control over the placement and size of each light beam. Experience is central to the functionality. True to sustainability concerns, the system also relies on low voltage coaxial cable intersections. Meanwhile, with hand-finished brass as its core material, London-based Bert Frank casts an eye over Art Deco traditions, which are playfully reflected in geometric wall decorations and velvet pink seating in their stand at the fair. White Carrara and Green Guatemalan marble provide accents to the Spate and Trave collections, enhanced by luxurious soft touch opal glass. Available as a pendant, wall sconce or table lamp, Spate has marble spheres hanging below an opal stepped glass shade with soft satin brass. It emits light in every direction, resulting in both better distribution and improved energy efficiency. Particularly stunning is Bert Frank’s Rote collection, with slotted, laser cut diamond leaves affixed to an illuminated brass ring. It’s also one of the “smart” options available, with Bluetooth dimming capabilities. Durability is central for the brand, with co-founder and designer Robbie Llewellyn saying they "oppose the throw-away culture we live in today.” Technological innovation may reign supreme, but nothing can replace some of the traditional processes necessary to produce glass – a material that has long been ingrained into lighting. The skills passed on from generations of glassmakers are simply irreplaceable, though 3D modelling, nanotechnology and laser cutting enhance their work today. Salone Del Mobile proves even the most advanced processes are imbued with the handmade.

Right: From the North Collection. Courtesy of VIBIA, Salone Del Mobile exhibitors.

Words Olivia Hampton

Euroluce, 9-14 April as part of Salone del Mobile, Milan. www.salonemilano.it

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art

Land of Shadows Michael McCluskey

Born and based in the American Midwest, Michael McCluskey (b. 1984) considers truth in unexplored places, uncovering concealed layers of meaning. Working across editorial, commercial and fine art photography, McCluskey translates an interest in film and music into cinematic images that challenge the viewer to live, think and breathe in a world of shadows. Realised with deep, vibrant colours, the works carry the palette of stained-glass windows â&#x20AC;&#x201C; jewelled reds, greens and blues permeate the settings and capture a day passing by. Mist, smoke and light are intangible characters that can be seen throughout. They cut through the photographs to create hazy worlds caught within a deep fantasia. McCluskey takes hold of the night, depicting an overbearing air of calm that is at once captivating and threatening. He is represented by Open Doors Gallery, London. www.opendoors.gallery | www.michael-mccluskey.com.

Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Model: Sarah Denick. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Model: Tomasz Gasior. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist.

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Michael McCluskey, Untitled. Model: Tomasz Gasior. Courtesy of the artist.

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art

Forging Connections Diffusion THE CARDIFF-BASED FESTIVAL RETURNS FOR ITS FOURTH EDITION, LOOKING AT HOW, IN CONTEMPORARY VISUAL CULTURE, IMAGES COME TOGETHER WITH SOUND.

In 1927, the film industry was changed forever with the release of The Jazz Singer. Many aspects of Alan Crosland’s work are now painfully antiquated, but at the time, the movie was startlingly, terrifyingly new. It was the first motion picture to include aural lip-synchronous speech. Due to this, the film effectively ended the silent era, with its wide-eyed, histrionic modes of performance and explanatory title cards. It heralded a dramatic introduction of cinematic landscapes built around sound. These were known for years afterwards as the “talkies.” Crosland had looked at moving the audiovisual medium closer to the depiction of reality, marking a pathway for a multi-sensory revolution the world over. The Jazz Singer is not – within the far-reaching history of photography and filmmaking – all that long ago. The first partially successful camera image was made in approximately 1826 by the French inventor Nicéphore Niépce. After Niépce's death in 1833, his partner Louis Daguerre continued to experiment and by 1837 had created the first practical process – the daguerreotype – which was publicly unveiled in 1839. In 1840, across the English Channel, Wiltshire-based polymath Henry Fox Talbot perfected a different process – the calotype. Sound, in films, therefore, is about half as young as photography and is still largely unexplored. Whilst almost all contemporary cinema spends as much time on the music as the images, those interested in creating visual arts are still looking at a rather more complex relationship. London’s esteemed Royal Academy, for example, has just closed a far-reaching video-art exhibition, Bill Viola / Michaelangelo: Life Death Rebirth.

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At the frontier is Diffusion. Throughout April, the Cardiffbased festival highlights the most recent developments in new media, whilst drawing upon the shifting identities of Britain and Europe. The theme: Sound + Vision. “I have always been interested in how sound changes a viewer’s perception,” says David Drake, the Director of both the festival and Ffotogallery. “I travel the world and see a lot of exciting practices which are crossing traditional boundaries.” Carrying this ethos, Diffusion places special emphasis on pieces that define themselves as Virtual or Augmented Reality experiences. “With the availability of immersive technologies, one’s repertoire can progress into areas of interdisciplinary and hybrid media. The possibilities are endless, and we are at the beginning of an exciting journey.” The 2019 edition of the festival offers a multitude of projects which investigate concepts of displacement and belonging through interdisciplinary methods – sparking new conversations along the way. Many of the exhibitions discuss the aftermath of being marginalised, victimised or defined by exterior sources or communities. “A sense of social exclusion, political disenfranchisement, otherness or identity crisis is as much due to cognitive, perceptual and emotional factors, as it is to social and cultural circumstance,” Drake continues. “I’m interested in artistic series that reflect the prevailing Zeitgeist, teasing out complex issues in subtle ways, rather than through didactic approaches.” One such example comes from Michal Iwanowski. In 2008, the photographer found some graffiti in his neighbourhood. It stated: “Go home, Polish.” A decade later, two years

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Michal Iwanowski, from Go Home, Polish series, 2018.

“Diffusion, as a whole, is engaging with visual languages as they are being written – opening up discussions about our place within the world and connecting communities through that which is not always seen or not always heard.”

Previous Page: Michal Iwanowski, from Go Home, Polish series, 2018. Left: Michal Iwanowski, from Go Home, Polish series, 2018.

after the divisive Brexit referendum, Iwanowski set off on a I felt somehow that I owned the slogan. I stripped it of its 1900km trip, on foot, between his two homes – Wales and venom and turned it into something more positive.” These series, Drake says, articulate the distinct role visual Poland – with a passport in each hand. His goal was to ask people about the idea of “home” and what it signifies art plays in a world more democratised by photography during a journey that would take 105 days to complete. The than ever before. “I’m somewhat sceptical about ideas such resulting exhibition recounts the story of the expedition as as art being a ‘mirror’ held up to reality or a ‘hammer’ with it unfolded through a new political discourse and changed which to shape it,” he notes. “In an era of flux and mutability, into something different entirely. "It took many years of art is a prism in which meaning is conveyed between the artist simmering, but eventually the small sting of the phrase and audience by a combination of its content, the context in turned into a thorn in the context of the 2016 referendum which it is being presented and the aesthetic and technical results. I was finally ready to respond to it. And I did so language used. We’re providing a platform for projects with literally,” Iwanowski notes. “Having lived in the UK for 17 strong narratives, like Go Home, Polish or X-Ray Audio’s years, I had no doubt that I was home already, but the issue story of cold war culture and bootleg technology. Both of belonging was so much more complex and suddenly also shows are multi-layered and still evolving, acquiring new extremely politicised. I knew that ‘home’ was a bargaining meanings through being displayed in Cardiff at this time.” X-Ray Audio – an installation by The Bureau of Lost Culture chip for the propaganda tube, but I was curious about what it meant to real people, in the UK and across the continent, as – looks at how music has been used as a form of resistance. In the Soviet Union, an underground community defied the wave of nationalism was gathering momentum.” Art has long been a mediator for making sense of shifting government censors by copying and distributing forbidden landscapes – conceptual, political and social. Diffusion, albums – building recording machines and cutting their own as a festival and a movement, is looking not only at the tracks with X-ray film. As a further exploration of the cultural surface achievements of lens-based media to communicate significance of jazz, and leading on from their award-winning, to audiences, but the stories that are hidden in the gaps. Indian-based film Liminality, Cardiff-based collaborators Iwanowski continues: “I decided to point the lens at myself, Matt Wright and Janire Najera present jazz and trip-hop band the Polish immigrant, interacting with the landscape in a Slowly Rolling Camera – a merging of live compositions very instinctive way. I would set my camera on a timer and and still / moving imagery. Other events include John Rea’s walk into a lake or squeeze myself into a roll of wire. I was Atgyfodi, an introduction of lost voices from the archives claiming the land I was standing on. Emotionally it was a of St Fagan’s The National Museum of History. The strand healthy process, and the initial anger and confusion gave comes in the form of an immersive installation, with found way to confidence. I approached the slogan with auto-irony and specially filmed images interwoven as a contemporary from the get-go – that was my modus operandi. At the end, audio-visual composition. Then there’s Finnish director Jonna

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Michal Iwanowski, from Go Home, Polish series, 2018.

Kina’s Foley Objects, a collection of items used by various out, it’s built into our modes of communication – from the Right: Michal Iwanowski, from foley artists and sound designers. The work contains images etymology of “disability” onwards. Through the images, Go Home, Polish series, 2018. of objects with seemingly unconnected definitions, offering a audiences are encouraged to see these children as people who can challenge our ideas of what constitutes an ability sense of synaesthesia between perception and reality. Building on Iwanowski’s social preoccupations, another or lack thereof. “We often think we are fully capable in key highlight is the deeply human series Children of Vision, every way. But how do we learn to transcend and overcome by Alina Kisina. The photographic works are nominally difficulties? That’s the beauty of the human experience.” At first glance, the compositions are simple portraits. based on the Ukrainian artist’s long-standing relationship with the Kiev Special School of Art N11 for Children with They’re not actively sensationalist or expressionist. They Impaired Vision and Other Disabilities. Kisina can remember don’t push us to feel. They are pictures of people taking one moment in particular which sparked the series. She enjoyment in quiet moments that pass by quickly. And yet, watched as one student closed his eyes, trying to imagine grouped together and suspended in time, they have the cawhat the music was saying. Years later, she realised the pacity to teach us something, and that lesson is profound. child had, quite unwittingly, changed the course of her life. “We should learn to accept disability fully, to recognise it in Bogdan was seven years old, a pupil in the Art N11 School. others, but never see it as the sole aspect of one’s identity.” Diffusion, as a whole, is engaging with these visual lanHis eyesight was severely limited. Kisina watched him take hold of a pair of headphones and listen to a Ukrainian guages as they are being written – opening up discussions classical opera. His facial expression began to transform as about our place within the world and connecting communities through that which is not always seen or not always he became completely absorbed by the music. “It was a still, silent moment,” Kisina says. “I stayed in that heard. It is here that the senses are truly brought into the space with him. Then I realised, even though he could not light, and innovation gives way to understanding. As Iwanoswki summarises: “These types of conversations look clearly with his eyes, he could still see.” Kisina raised the camera and took a portrait of the boy. It marked the are wholly important because of how we live today: we are Words birth of a new project focusing on changing perspectives. nomads again, we commute between countries and explore Tom Seymour “These children often have a different relationship with the the world. This is not new, but we’re witnessing globalisation material world to many of us, but they have a vast inner on extreme levels. With all this movement, the idea of being world. I wanted to try and communicate that, but I couldn’t from ‘here’ is no longer the same – as a concept it struggles Diffusion Festival, with change. Slogans like ‘Make Britain great again’ are a 1-30 April, Cardiff, work out how to do it. He showed me how it can be done.” Disability is often misrepresented in today’s world – using perfect example of that – contrasting the desire to create various venues. the lexicon of victimhood or describing a person’s life in the an accepting and inclusive society with a romanticised past. context of care. As Kisina, a student of linguistics, points That’s why it is important to ask these types of questions.” www.diffusionfestival.org

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Enticing Compositions Charlotte Lapalus

Born in Marseille, Charlotte Lapalus (b. 1987) is a photographer full of passion – eager to connect to audiences through warm, inviting images. She often works to bring the female experience to the foreground – using contemporary architecture and natural surroundings as playgrounds for the senses. In this way, she translates fashion photography into something more tactile and rooted. The works transfer a feeling – the touch of a material, feet weighting into the ground, a shadow across the face. Sunlight is used as a soft, intimate detail. It falls through windows and across each of the models as a connective thread, easing the edges and diffusing both interior and exterior landscapes with an almost affectionate glow. Burnt oranges, pale blues and balmy yellows move through the pages as a confident and consistent aesthetic. Lapalus’ various credits include Isabel Marant, Seasonly, Veja, Marie-Claire France, Milk Magazine, Schön, NR, L’Oréal and more. www.charlottelapalus.com.