This vibrant installation is the result of the multidisciplinary trio – Fos. This bright installation gives a new angle to street art, adding a splash of colour to Lope de Vega street in Madrid. This eye-catching installation has illuminated the façade of the vegan restaurant Rayen, drawing in passers-by intrigued by the large yellow triangle, which lights up the dull ratty-grey street. This innovative installation was the creation of Eleni Karpatsi, Susana Piquer and Julio Calvo. All three creatives are based in Madrid and share strong artistic backgrounds, giving them a wide depth of knowledge across several creative fields including architecture; interior design; art direction and graphic design. This installation in particular breaks the boundaries of predictability, adding a sense of humour and spontaneity to the world of art, which can often be pretentious and boring. With more than 250m of bright yellow tape and a few staple living room items the trio added a
playful twist to the exterior of the restaurant, painting a yellow beam of light from an industrial light over the entrance, creating a visual perspective exaggerated by the coloured volumes. The yellow paint extends down the walls and onto the stone floor of Vega Street, cutting through anything in its path on the way – painting chair and lamp included.
Though the installation by many was considered to be a fun take on street art or a controversial marketing strategy for the restaurant, the deeper meaning derives from the name – the golden beam of light represents ‘fos’ which means light in Greek and melted in Catalan.
Amongst the busy urban landscape surrounded by detached dwellings and office buildings is a family home lit entirely by natural light. Despite the burly assortment of buildings surrounding this modern establishment, a soft light is diffused through the entire house throughout the day. This natural source of lighting is down to the 29 arched translucent skylights, which cover the roof of the single-storey house. The light is diffused as a result of the curved acrylic ceiling vaults, which vary in size and distance veiling the room with a warm soft glow. This innovative creation is down to Japanese architect Takeshi Hoskaka.
With its obvious advantages, the natural light provided by the ceiling also helps regulate temperature. The air space between the vaults and the roof provide an ideal space for a forced air system to eject heated air out in the summer. The air in the winter is used as a source of insulation, working as a thermal buffer maintain and regulate the temperature indoors. Despite being immersed by tall buildings and general cramp terrain, the home was designed to make the very best of available natural resources and the evident beauty of the ceiling, seems to conquer the bulk of the surrounding buildings. Although the ceiling is the key element to this state-of-the-art construction, the natural light provided further heightens the interior. The height of the roof ensures the entire establishment has a constant diffusion of light. The single storey home has a large living area with 4 smaller bedrooms, which are half the ceilings height, ensuring the perception of the light above is not compromised. The timber walls line the interior with only a few low windows, ensuring sufficient privacy whilst allowing the residents to see outside, without being overpowering. The open plan layout prevents the sense of claustrophobia you would expect from such a closed-in residence. The entire building feels unified despite the folding partitions that separate the bedrooms from the rest of the living quarters. The name itself does not simply imply the sunlight but refers to the light throughout the day rain or shine, night or day.
Despite studying mining and geo-enviromental engineering, Maria Louceiro is actually a photographer, renowned for creating captivating ghostly images. After finding herself more intrigued When did you realise you had a by the mines themselves as a real passion for photography? composition, Maria’s knowledge of It grew on me! With time. humid mineral galleries developed into a passion for photography. Where did you study? Creative processes allow her to I studied at ESAD - Escola Supericreate beautiful ethereal scenes, or de Arte e Design. which are further amplified by the veiled lighting and duotones. Where is home for you? These beautiful atmospheric I live in Porto but strangely doesn’t compositions are a recognizable feel like home. characteristic, consistent throughout her body of work. SYNC D had Who are you, as a person and the pleasure of speaking to Maria as a photographer? about her work. Quiet person. I like to observe. How long have you been a photographer? Since 2008. It has been noted that you originally studied mining and geo-environmental engineering – how has this influenced your work? I don’t think it influenced my work directly, but how I work. While you study engineering you are obligated to work a lot, to be disciplined and responsible. I learned the first two, at least. Also, I am so bad at math, it also ended up teaching me to never give up quickly.
Your work has a very distinctive style – How would you describe your photographic style to someone who had never seen it before? Lately I have noticed that people have a very different vision of my images, so I don’t think I could describe them accurately to anyone. I feel like your work has a very strong sense of narrative and expression. How do you create this through the techniques you use? I think the techniques provide the sense of narrative; the process is the project, etc. Veiled lighting seems to be a recurring element throughout your portfolio – what does light bring to your work? Even with different degrees in each person, light can turn our mood down or up. That kind of veiled light is the type that makes me feel ok. What type of cameras do you shoot with? Everything I can get, from a cheap digital, to analog or a more expensive camera if needed. Most people have someone or something, which inspires their work. Do you have an original source of inspiration? Old images, either photographs or movies. Design thinking is helping me a lot too! Also, Yamamoto Masao is my all time favorite artist.
Do you have a favorite place to work? I had, but it doesn’t exist anymore. I’m trying to find another one. Besides photography, what are your other interests? Where would we find you out of the studio? Wandering around, going to concerts, but in the end everything is related to taking photos. And I mean for almost anyone nowadays. Is there a defining theme that is present throughout your collection of work or does it vary throughout? I always end up doing work related to the human vs nature theme. But I might be done with that for a while. Now I am more interested in the relationship of image and music. You were recently involved in ‘The French Kiss Series’ – a series of 5 different books which show 5 different artistic
international photographers. This will be your first ever book release – Did you enjoy the project and did you learn anything from it? The project was developed in a not-so-pleasant period of my life, so it was a bit difficult, but I try to learn with everything I possibly can. What is next for you professionally – do you have any projects/ collaborations planned? I am planning of living and working outside of Portugal, I hope I can achieve this quickly!
New York based designer, Semaj Bryant is a concept-driven designer that draws appropriately from multiple disciplines. From this he develops a final outcome that focuses on creative direction; progressive cutting techniques and creating and innovating materials. It’s a year after the debut of his first collection ‘thoughts on light and space’ - SYNC D caught up with Semaj to discuss his collection, future career plans and projects. Tell us a little about yourself. My name is Semaj Bryant, I am 23, and currently live in Brooklyn, New York. I moved here four years ago from right outside of Washington, DC to pursue fashion... Its probably one of the best decisions I made in my life. When did you know you wanted to be a fashion designer and what inspired you to take it seriously and purse a career in the fashion industry? I have always been surrounded by design... I come from a semi-cre-
ative family and my mom was an avid shopper, so there’s always been that emotional/gratifying reaction to acquiring and admiring these objects. I would always be the shopping buddy, so I saw it all (clothes, interiors, art, food) and really began to develop an eye and a taste toward beautiful things... This was sort of intensified when I quit playing sports in high school and chose to explore “other things” in hopes to find my major in college and took an art class and that was sort of that... I wavered between architecture and fashion, but I think that tactile connection really pushed me into fashion. It has been noted you focus on creative direction, progressive cutting techniques, and creating and innovating materials – Is this the ethos your brand will continue to pursue or do you think it will develop over time? Like most brands and designers, I feel that there is a foundation that you build from... To me, that’s what I really base myself and my
thoughts out of. Heavy development, lots of thought about fabrication and how we can excel the ordinary means of using it, as well as the cutting techniques are to me what grounds a lot of my work. Your collection ‘Thoughts and Light and Space’ was showcased at the Pratt Institute in New York last year. What kind of feedback did you get from your collection and how successful do you think the show was in terms of generating exposure for yourself? It was great... the process leading up to the show, we had to go through a selection process and a lot of critique as well as a panel of experts, other designers, press, and critics, so it was really great to hear from people first hand their thoughts on the collection... I feel like the show gets kind of muffled, so it was great to have that before hand. From what I heard it was mostly positive (so obviously I was happy), I’ve had looks shown on Style.com, New York Mag, I was
in print in WWD, and received an acknowledgement from the CFDA for the collection... So it was super exciting, and its opened a lot of doors to be able to work and speak to people that I would never had the opportunity to interface with, so I’d call it a success. Many young graduate designers today have the advantage of using social media platforms to generate awareness; social media has become an integral part of modern society. Years ago social media was not readily available. Do you think this has created a divide between well-established designers and new designers? It could be argued that well-established
designers route into the industry was more challenging as they had to tackle the industry from a different angle in order to gain the necessary exposure? I feel the fashion industry as whole is a whole different animal than what it was before social media became a thing... I try not to measure social media... I mostly use it as a way to keep visual record of my thoughts (as corny as that sounds)... I’m not really vying for attention so much. I always sort of go back to an interview that Rick Owens gave a while ago, where he said something to the affect of “There are just so many voices now...” and 10 years ago this was not the case. And, it’s so true! I guess it may seem antiquated in
a way, but I would love to go back to the times of fashion being a meritocracy and the true visionaries and true talent rising to the top. I just think social media has made it so easy for anyone to have a collection or a career. It’s just extremely over saturated and not as curated and stated as it could be. But then, one could also argue that social media is its own grind that is its own gamble and doesn’t always work (haha)... I think it’s safer to say, its very easy for someone to be “in fashion” now than it was say in the 80s and 90s. But, when you look at the success of brands like Hood By Air... It literally has been from the ground up built by social media, which gave them a voice to be seen, so there are stars in the
mix, but its just hard to see through all the voices. Your recent collection is noted as ‘serving as the meeting place for both light and space to be explored enveloping the human body and the visual tactile realities associated’. You are clearly a very concept-driven designer – how do you develop these concepts and is there a particular process you go through before generating your final outcome? Yes, I would say that I love to put together a concept... It’s awkwardly exhilarating to me... Most start as these very convoluted clusters of thoughts and images that I collect, most of which get filtered
into these subjects that I have a reaction to. I would from there create a board around that subject and everything gets edited and curated down into the final concept. It’s a lot of reflection and sitting and letting things marinate and feel themselves out, but I feel that’s the best and most natural way for me to work.
oddly enough... I decided that I really want to transition into a MFA program and further refine and expand my knowledge... so, I’m in the process of doing that while learning and working on projects in other mediums.
Do you have any collections planned for 2015 – if so can you give us a brief insight on what to Many designers have a source expect from them? of inspiration i.e. – family mem- I have a concept planned for this ber, role model which sparked year, I doubt, because of funding, it their initial interest in fashion will get made, but I have one! It’s a and helped drive their work two-part exploration and reflection ethic. What is your source of on youth. Both are capsules, one inspiration? titled “#youth: a supremacist comI think in terms of a person, my position” and the other “the teenmom had a lot of affect on my taste age lantano”. They sort of serve level and being exposed to art and as an entry into these “Thoughts design of all kinds... I would also on...” subjects, which is sort of how say that I am driven by the process I’m treating these collections at the of creating... I think that for all of moment. the stress that comes with it, there is so much genuine joy that I feel working. Do you feel there’s significant interest for young designers at Your collection has been referthe moment? enced in several magazines (syn Yes, it’s a bit of a crowded space, magazine, one magazine, dew but I do think that people are magazine and creem magazine); looking to the future for talent and what is next for you profession- seeing good things. I think that it’s ally? a very special time in the industry Well, I took a little bit of time off to for the young designer, and I’m regather myself after that whirlglad to be apart of it! wind thesis year, and to plan and have perspective on what I want to do next... Very similar to my journey that lead me to fashion
In your own words – how would you describe your design aesthetic? For some reason the phrasing “exaggerated minimalist� comes to mind... I take so much stock in there being a cleanliness and audacity to every look, and I think that the duality that I like strike... Very clean, intentional, and bold. What is the best/worst thing about working in what is such a saturated and challenging industry? I think the worst is the worry of it being super saturated and not being seen or valued/appreciated (esp being a minimalist), which takes such an emotional toll at times. And, in the face of stress, it can spiral into less than happy moments. But inversely, the reward of people understanding your work and finding value with it is so rewarding... And when its good, its like your on cloud 9 because all of those times of feeling bad are validated, which is its own cycle, but its life, I guess. I can also add that I have met lifelong friends while working and that alone has been such a reward...So, just having that fashion community/support group who understands the experience/ gets the struggle (or have gone through school with in my case) can and has been such a treasure and has had its own, positive, emotions. Womenswear is very varied in terms of the rapid changes that occur season to season; I feel
as though there is a lot more to consider in comparison to menswear, which can be quite limiting in terms of variation. Are there any advantages/disadvantages of being a male womenswear designer? Um, I would say that I feel like at times men can get removed from the conversation of “how it feels to be a woman” and how to translate that into the clothing... I design for both, but I find womenswear to be more about consideration and building the look around that... I might change a length, move a slit down, or raise a neckline... pockets in everything! (lol) I find myself more ‘look’ oriented at times, not really focusing on a gender, but more so the cuts and fitting them to whomever... I wouldn’t call it Unisex, but I just feel like the only thing that separates men and women, clothing wise, are a difference in a couple of measurements... I try not to find ways to separate them... you just pattern and cut accordingly. We actually tried a couple pieces from the Light and Space collection on a male model and they looked different, but good, so there’s a lot of room for sharing between the two for me.
there is so much genuine joy that I feel when I’m working’’
I think that for all of the stress that comes with it,
‘‘I would also say that I am driven by the process of creating...
Spotlight is one of the newest additions to the rainbow venues and Digbeths nightlife scene that has advanced over the past few years. The quirky event space is located underneath Lower Trinity Street’s imposing arches, combining industrial chic with a rough elegance achieved through original dark brickwork, high ceilings and unique décor. Mood lighting, cherry red leather chesterfield sofas, street art and steel bar stools add
to the elective yet comfortable feel of the venue, offering an alternative experience to clubbing on Broad St. Despite its grubby brummie exterior, the venue wouldn’t look out of place in trendy Shoreditch providing gritty chic to the masses, through its diverse range of entertainment on offer most weekends.
The varying range of events on offer cover a wide scope from Funk, Soul and Jazz to Hip-Hop, House and indie – this venue is accommodating to a wide spectrum of people – there really is something for everyone. Despite it being a one-room event space Spotlight will not disappoint, offering a refined vibe which you rarely find these days. The intimate venue capacity adds to the raw feel of the place which is home to some of the best local talent and underground DJ’S nationwide. A night out at this unique
venue is a must if your heading down for the weekend. This trendy hangout is also home to ‘’Digbeth Dining Club’’ – Birmingham’s solution to a growing demand for Street Food and winners of the Best Street Food Event at the British Street Food Awards. The multi award winning event started in 2012 and has continued to develop into an all-encompassing event of food, music and entertainment ever since attracting the attention of food fanatics nationwide.
What inspired you to make the bold move of starting your own label instead of designing for other ones? Ah, I don’t know. It just came naturally. Sometimes I only had a small amount of financial help, but you have to be smart and survive even if you have to make collection out of two types of fabrics, just do it. We all know what we are capable of and we have to just ride.
is a lot more to do and create. I always feel like each collection is just half a step forward. A lot depends on you as a person and how strong you are.
There are hundreds of design students that graduate each year from universities around the world. What do you think has been the key to your success so early on? Just consistency and desire of succeeding and staying inspired all the time. There were a lot of struggles and disappointments but you just have to keep your head up and believe in your vision. You are already successful within the industry and have the knowledge and experience to back this up. What is next for you professionally and do you have any projects/ collaborations planned? Jo will just keep developing my vision - there
How has your work developed since your first label ‘Dejan Despotovic’? Its developed a lot – it became more serious, more precise. Each season my work tends to develop in every aspect, reaching a higher level each time. In your own words how would you describe your design aesthetic? Dark, gloomy, elegant and chic; masculinity is always present. I really like to mix all this but with certain boundaries. Everything needs to be new, strong and very wearable.
I can see the pro’s and con’s that can be associated with having such a strong identity within the industry so early on – Do you feel designing all black collections limits you in any way and do you find the design process challenging as a result of this? Not at all. I love black colour as a presence. Right now I am trying to create a white shirt with strong form and detailing. Despite its pure colour, the shirt will reflect strong, dark feelings.
I can. I was there for one season and had to go back to Serbia to finish college and in 2011. I then moved to NYC where I live and work at the moment.
You have three labels in total: Dejan Despotovic, BLACK and your newest label BLACK’D. What makes it different from your previous labels and do you have a favorite? Yes. I had. In Serbia when Belgrade gave designers cheaper space to build our stores I decided to do a cheaper/ second line BLACK by Dejan Despotovic. It had an amazing response but since I moved to
Your recent collection BLACK’D SS15 was inspired by experimental classical music. Do you approach each new collection with an open mind or do you have a set research process, which directs your work? Yes, I don’t really have an exact inspiration while creating collections. I enjoy classical music in the dark room and I just follow my dreams and vision about gloomy, chic, dark and feminine yet masculine silhouettes. I really think that if someone has vision, inspiration is always present.
NYC I have focused on BLACK’D. I loved every moment no matter what line I was working on. What sort of feedback did you initially get from the label? BLACK’D is getting a lot of support from celebrities, major stylists and magazines right now. I enjoy doing it and I will just continue presenting my vision and I hope one day it will become big, well-known label.
You first began designing in Serbia – how have these experiences helped define your creative processes and does Serbia still have a great influence on your work? I lived in Serbia until my 25th. I really enjoyed Belgrade because there are a lot of creative and extraordinary people in the fashion industry. It is a small market, that’s why I decided to leave. But Serbia really was nice place to do fashion because people loved to see something different. Serbia is a bit conservative when it comes to the fashion industry (conservative in the way they don’t consume high end fashion that much because of the economy situation). Energy from people in the fashion industry keeps you alive. You worked in London in 2008 - how did the change in culture help you to develop your work further and what did you learn from your intern experiences – have they influenced any of the decisions you made? I came to visit my friend and entered two wellknown studios to help in executing collections for fall 2009/10. It was amazing experience... Short, but I have really learnt a lot since. I want to learn as much as I
Tell us three things about yourself. Motivated, direct and consistent person
my recognizable name for my future designs.
You debuted your namesake label at the age 23 so I presume you developed an interest in fashion at quite a young age? What sparked your initial interest and what made you want to take it further and make a full-time career out of it? I always loved art. I always drew, and I did painting as well. I started creating fashion sketches at an early age and it naturally developed into my primary calling. My grandmother was a seamstress as well, she did a lot of work while I was with her and I probably got to love fashion even more at that time. Yes, I started my namesake label in Belgrade in 2001. (I started presenting clothes to the public) It really became something people loved and so people wanted to see what I had to offer next. Despite a lot of people talking, saying I was too young at that time it gave me the strength to continue. Now I am designing under the label BLACK’D (contemporary rtw) which will be
Founder and designer of BLACK’D label NYC, Dejan Despotovic is one of the most intriguing young designers of our generation. After releasing his namesake at the age of just 23 Dejan has gone from strength to strength, receiving several awards for his innovative designs that never fail to impress. Despite his designs comprising a moody dark edge, they remain elegant and delicate, placing emphasis on silhouettes and complex details rather than colour. After gaining considerable recognition within the industry over the past 7 years; Dejan has acquired a large established presence and international following, including the likes of renowned fashion icons Lady Gaga and Brandon Maxwell. Lucky for you, SYNC D had the privilege of catching up with Dejan.
To display this conflict the Norwegian photographer inhabits a house in the middle of the Californian desert, bringing to life the character envisioned. The isolated house is the perfect backdrop to demonstrate the intricate relationships we have with ourselves - each pho-
tograph shows Darlene and her ‘other self (both played by Niemi) which got in her way. The characters exhibit a wide range of emotions which are delicately laced with a sense of dark humour often displayed within her work.
‘Darelene and Me’ explores the relationship we have with ourselves taking on the role of the fictional ‘Darlene’ played by Niemi. The initial idea behind the series materialized after Anja discovered an abandoned suitcase from 1959. The case belonged to a beauty counselor who’s failing career was epitomized buy the content – the suitcase contained make-up samples, most of which were left untouched apart from a few items which had traces of finger prints. Alongside the samples and brochures Anja found two receipts – both items sold to Darlene herself. As there were no more receipts, we are led to believe that Darlene didn’t make anymore sales. This deep-rooted sense of failure exhibited by the suitcase questions the relationship we have with ourselves – the only thing standing between Darlene and success was Darlene herself..
Her most recent collection ‘Darlene and Me’ was exhibited at Fulham’s Little Black Gallery earlier this year which is now her third exhibition at the gallery. Mirroring the success of her last projects ‘Do not Disturb’ and ‘Starlets’, Niemi revealed herself once again as the master of cinematic self-portraiture.
Her compelling body of tive provided within each work is the result of the image, leaving the ultimate conclusion down to the intriguing compositions viewer’s own interpretawhich unfold within each tion. series. This dual role Niemi undertakes allows her to have complete control over these staged self-portraits.0 which explore the complex relationships of fictional characters. Each character has a unique story depicted through the loose
Despite being one of the most innovative and successful photographers of our time, you’ll be surprised to discover that Anja Neimi works completely alone. There is no ‘behind the scenes’ team, which help to create these stylized self-portraits; Niemi alone functions as director, photographer and subject.
discovering new music and supporting “smaller” artists and labels. As for the worst thing, in my opinion, I’d say the devaluation of music as a whole, especially from some promoters. “Pay for Play”, not paying artists for shows and offering only “recognition and exposure” is just a bit selfish to me. Especially when they’re making money from the artists. Can’t buy groceries with exposure!
get the word out, and soundcloud and bandcamp provided the platforms we needed to deliver our music. We also had a lot of awesome promotion from a few youtube channels and blogs.
Can you offer any advice to budding producers? What has been the most effective way to get your music heard? Just stick at it! Remember that everybody started somewhere, and that creativity is important. Don’t worry about sounding like somebody else, sound like yourself! Once you get that part down and you’re not worrying about making a “banger”, it’ll start falling into place. Connect with other artists and creatives and believe in your sound. Have social media platforms played a role within your label in terms of exposure for City By Night in general and for your artists? Definitely. Back when the label started, facebook worked great to
push good music that we enjoy ‘a beautifully laid back 12 track and make a little bit of money album’. Who can we expect to to support that along the way. see from future releases? We think creativity is massively It’s a great LP eh? haha. We important and believe that the have quite a few releases lined City By Night platform allows that up so far, and a lot of plans for to flourish. future ones too. We’ve got an excellent EP forthcoming from SORA at the end of March, some of the most forward thinking music I’ve ever heard! I can’t really talk about other artists yet, but there are some gems in there for sure. It has been noted that you run the label solo, which I feel, is a very bold move considering the music industry is extremely demanding. What is the most challenging thing about running your own label?
Time management and trying Over the last few years therenot to be broke haha. But in all has been a flood of new record seriousness I really enjoy what labels, most of which only I do. We’re beginning to expand survive a few months in the innow and I’ve recently brought in dustry - what do you think has my good friend Brady (OSLO/ been the key to your success? Alaskan Tapes) to help run the I like to think it’s because we’re A&R aspect of the label. not all about making money, and we don’t just release anything. The most rewarding? We always want our artists to Putting out a release that I truly stick with us and have multiple releases, and we usually release one EP or LP each month so that believe in and seeing that others we don’t oversaturate. We just all love it too. We have the most enjoy what we do. amazing loyal fans that support us and our artists. That and What do you think is the best/ getting to work with some of the worst thing about the music most creative people i have ever industry right now? met. Each release is always The best thing? The way indesomething special. pendent labels and artists are carving their own way, away Your latest release O S L O Vol- from the major labels. Just goes ume 1 has been regarded as to show that people are still into
‘‘We pride ourselves on
standing with our artists together. We’re more of a collective rather than a regular net label’’
putting out music that I think is absolutely incredible. We’ve got loads of new stuff coming up, both from artists already on the label and some new ones too.
Most of your releases incorporate electronic music, focused around ‘’laid back vibes’’. There are pro’s and con’s with establishing such a distinct identity so early on. Do you think the labels ethos will stay the same throughout or adapt with the dynamic music industry? Our outlook has always been the same. We’re not bothered about making millions. We just want to
City By Night is an independent record label based in the UK. The label never fails to impress, covering a wide scope of genres from ambient to future garage to the sublime fusion of acoustic and electronic sounds. We caught up with Jon Maynard, founder of City By Night to learn more about this unique label and what it has to offer. Could you give us an insight into City By Night records? Where did it all begin and what inspired you to create the label?
City By Night Records in an independent record label based in Manchester UK. I formed CBN in 2012 and it was originally to push my own music as Soular Order after a few releases with other labels. Around 6 or so months later I got talking with Izzard, and we released his first single with a few remixes and it took off from there. What would you say set’s City By Night records apart from other labels? We pride ourselves on standing with our artists together. We’re more of a collective rather than a regular net label and we wanted CBN to be more of a home for
City By Night Records in an inour artists. Everybody who is a part of CBN plays a huge part for the label. Do you have a particular criteria when looking for artists? Yes and No. Genre’s don’t matter too much to us, because we’re more about “moods” than genres. All of our releases have similarities in some aspects, but each one is different. We want artists to feel at home on CBN without restrictions in genres. What does your label bring,
that artists cannot do for themselves? We’re all artists ourselves and we’re our own little community, and we think that’s an important aspect of music. All of our artists are good friends, and we all work together to help each other out. We have licensing and retail sales and all of that, but I think most of our artists would agree that it’s the community aspect of CBN that makes artists want to work with us. So far this year who would you say is your favorite artist on City By Night? Everybody! All of our artists are
Long exposure allows Rut to use light sources which emanate from the street. Neon lights, streetlights and office blocks provide a luminescent glow to the surrounding darkness which is a recognizable characteristic often displayed within her work. Rut’s work from ‘a modern project’ is featured on the London Underground and has also been endorsed by the music industry. ‘Towering inferno’ illustrates a high rise tower block building, polluted with an artificial glow and is featured on The Streets album cover for ‘Original Pirate Material’. Her work also graces the cover of Bloc Party’s album ‘A Weekend in the City’. Despite the lack of narrative throughout her work, the series clearly makes the unnoticed visible which is a challenging concept to tackle, considering the environment she photographs is familiar to many of us.
seem threatening, offering an alternate viewpoint outside of our usual frame of reference.
The photographs give a difA modern project explores the ferent perspective to environ- cityscape in London at night, ments that are often avoided at transforming the dreary landnight, injecting the landscape scape which is consumed by with a luminous beauty. The an assortment of towerblocks, eerie lighting accentuates the council estates, carparks and haunting ambience which is other modernist structures simultaneously ominous and into illuminating picturesque alluring. scenes. These mystifying compositions, change the context of areas in the city which often
Exploring urban landscapes and capturing the essence of the scene is a specialty of German photographer Rut Blees Luxemburg. Her vibrant yet gritty photographs, capture the beauty of public spaces which are concealed with obscurity and neglect. The compositions emphasize the atmosphere despite their depopulated appearance.