YE NAN- LIKE MOTHS TO A FLAME

Posted on 2012-12-10

The title of the exhibition Like Moths to a Flame comes from Ye Nan’s musings on the phenomenon of moths flying into flames. In scientific theory, the phenomenon is a result of the insect’s built-in celestial navigation. Moths rely on their inherent compound eye structure to determine their direction in relation to moonlight. However, when an artificial light source appears, moths misidentify the artificial light as moonlight and fly towards it. A nearby artificial light is of course no celestial moon. Instinctively trying to maintain a constant angle with the light source, a moth flies around the light in a spiral trajectory, circle after circle, until it dies of exhaustion; or it flies into the flame. From a scientific perspective, the act of moths flying into flames is purely instinctual; on the other hand, in a literary sense, there is deep pathos. Though it appears to be a rather stupid suicidal act, the moths’ immolation perpetuates the species’ phototropism, which could be just the meaning of living for moths.

In this exhibition, Ye Nan combines his creative process with the principle of moths flying into flames, as if to signify some sort of inner connection between his work or this exhibition and the spirit of moths. He covers the canvas surface with red phosphorous, turning the canvas into a large matchbox striker. He then strikes matches on the canvas like magical paintbrushes, creating light and energy in the dark. The energy leaves its traces on the canvas, forming an image within the painting frame. The whole process is akin to producing an artificial light that attracts moths to the image, constructing a scenario between the real and unreal. It is worth mentioning that human intervention did not ever cause moths to forgo their nature, in relation to Darwin’s theory of evolution. For the artist, none of these interpretations is important, what really matters is to embody the spirit of moths in the pivotal moment when trying to achieve the sublime, as flame turns into ashes.

Exhibition runs through to December 28th, 2013

Chambers Fine Art
Red No.1-D, Caochangdi
Chaoyang District
100015 Beijing
China

www.chambersfineart.com

  

PERIENNE CHRISTIAN

Posted on 2012-12-10

Perienne Christian layers images with archetypal myth, she maps eclectic territories and depicts natural landscapes bearing the marks of personal history and family heritage. Translating modes of representation -observational sketches, found photography, Victorian maps, press cuttings – into the levelling media of pencil, paint, or intaglio etching, she holds open spaces for contemplation. Christian’s psychogeography resonates with Blaise Pascal’s view of nature, as “an infinite space whose centre is everywhere, whose circumference is nowhere.” This is, equally, an apt description of a draughtsman’s world, in which hand and eye coordinate through deft line, sensing and recording depths of meaning in the angle, proportion, and tone of each branch and crag, figure and creature. As the conventional configuration of space and form is turned inside-out in images such as Crescent Moon Bear (2012) and Siberia Irrational Representation (2012), we are given permission to pause at each element – rich with a quavering touch – that speaks to our own stories, dreams and desires.

These intimate images are also the subject of Phantasmagoria, an ambitious work-in-progress, so far comprising eighty new drawings on paper depicting other people’s dreams. Psychoanalyst Melanie Klein described the unconscious as a “theatre within,” a stage on which the characters of our inner world perform. In Christian’s universe, these characters, emblems, and motifs are certainly diverse, and rely upon multiple layers of interpretation, from the participant’s take on the question of “dreams” to the artist’s translation of their words into images. Arranged in a grid format, the 8x10cm drawings display pictorial slippage across a collective fantasy space: wolves and dogs surround submissive humans in several sketches; still water and waves fill others.

Exhibition runs through to December 22nd, 2013

Lubomirov-Easton
50 Resolution Way
London
SE8 4AL

www.lubomirov-easton.com

  

PAULE HAMMER – INTERVIEW MAGAZIN 2

Posted on 2012-12-10

The focus of this show is on a series of interview pictures that the artist created by inviting old and new friends and acquaintances to his atelier to sit for a portrait and discussion session.
The artist’s own dreams as well as larger world-encyclopedia-like issues on the problems facing humanity had previously provided the starting material for Hammer’s motif-and-text-filled pictures, which combined personal experiences with stories from friends and media information. But now, in the intimate atmosphere of a portrait session held in his own atelier, the artist opens himself more than ever before to his subjects’ personal dreams, experiences, desires or theories about the world and humanity in general – yet always within the context of a straightforward social situation that forms the basis for this close exchange.

Landscape painting, the still life and the portrait are just some of the traditional art history genres that intentionally underlie the artist’s works. But Hammer takes these genres, surpasses their limits, and creates an expanded reference field. So they are not limited to representing familiar local situations or individual human characteristics, but transgress the limits of their own forms: ”Surpassing forms does not mean … breaking away from forms, alienating oneself from their location. To validate the formless does not call for non-forms; instead, it is about agreeing to work with forms.”[2] Two factors are behind the specific dynamics in Hammer’s works: the elimination of the rules governing traditional representation and the use of different contexts.

Exhibition runs through to January 12th, 2013

Jette Rudolph Gallery
Strausberger Platz 4
D- 10243 Berlin
Germany

jette-rudolph.de

  

BARBOUR X TOKIHITO YOSHIDA SKYFALL JACKET

Posted on 2012-12-10

Barbour x Tokihito Yoshida Sports jacket as worn by Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall is far from a movie prop. The multi-functional garment draws inspiration from genuine vintage sporting pieces, fusing Tokihito Yoshida’s functional design ethos with fabrics and details from the Barbour archive. The result is a considered, modern jacket, ideal for unpredictable, wet weather.

www.barbour.com

  

GIVENCHY SHARK PRINT HOODED TOP

Posted on 2012-12-10

Givenchy (and Creative director Ricardo Tisci) has added another product to their Shark-Print arsenal. The hooded top features the same shark-print as the brands Oversized Cotton-Jersey T-Shirt.

www.givenchy.com

  

ADIDAS CONSORTIUM – FIRST WOMEN’S COLLECTION

Posted on 2012-12-10

Since the relaunch of adidas’ top tier Consortium line last year, there has been a natural demand for women’s product with comparable quality materials and detailing. To respond to these requests, adidas Originals has joined forces with two Scandinavian retailers, WOOD WOOD and Sneakersnstuff, to create the first capsule collection designed specifically for women within the Consortium range.

The three silhouettes – Gazelle Vintage (WOOD WOOD), ZX 700 (Sneakersnstuff) and Basket Profi (adidas Originals) – are varied in style but all share a directional foundation. The look and feel of each shoe is considered, and as always with sneakers in the Consortium range, construction and high quality materials are fundamental.

www.adidas.co.uk