Original amalgamation of laundrette, bar, hairdressers, and all-round hip hangout
Belgian design studio Pinkeye (yes, I know) did the business here, lining up the washers and dryer in two separate rows with the pipes and wiring hidden in the cellar creating an atypically pleasant environment. Incidentally, the washers have the names of grandmas above them, and the dryers grandpa names, which is a lot sweeter than numbers.
Artist subverts the rules of style and composition
Timothy Taylor Gallery‘s current exhibition, Fiona Rae: New Paintings, doesn’t need much explaining, but the works comprising Rae’s third solo show at the gallery do bear closer inspection – especially the Where’s Wally-style game she seems to be playing with the pop-up pandas that are surreptitiously dotted around the large canvases of the 2012 project.
Gourmet coffee comes to Hong Kong, with a Victorian twist
When you think Hong Kong, you think China, you think British colony, you think tea, right? Of course tea is still a big deal in this part of the world, but coffee is rapidly replacing it as the brew of choice for the discerning drinker in the upmarket areas of Hong Kong, and at the very top of the tree is The Coffee Academïcs (don’t know what the umlauts above the i mean for the pronunciation, academeeks, academurks?), taking the science of bean roasting, blending and brewing to hitherto unheard of levels, a veritable university of coffee. And it looks nice too.
Beautiful interiors and branding at Mexican taco joint
Manifesto Futura describe the project as a difficult one, but their perseverance certainly paid off. They used raw materials as the starting point, giving carpentry firm Paterna plenty to do with all that wood, and while they didn’t polish things up too much, the interior of Taquería Canalla is a refined place to be.
Designer takes fashion to its limits with ring made from his own leather
A 110mm x 10mm strip of skin from Sruli Recht’s abdomen, removed in what he calls a ‘surgery-performance’ (video, for the non-squeamish, below) by a plastic surgeon, is treated and mounted to a 24 carat gold band – complete with a DNA certificate and DVD. Powerful stuff.
What’s in a name? Not as much as in a logo, it seems…
Big-name branding as an art in itself is something that doesn’t get a lot of love; it’s most prominently concerned with consumer products, which in themselves are commercial and hence get purist noses pointing in the air. That it’s unfair to dismiss the skill and power of branding is brought sharply into focus by Ewan Yap and his Big Brand Theory.
Two-week creative workshop bears the fruits of its labour this weekend
With its call to arms declaring “new work for work’s sake”, Edition opens to the public this evening and will showcase over the course of the weekend the works that its army of militant creatives have been mass-producing over the last fortnight. Like a sordidly brilliant mashup of Warhol’s infamous New York studio The Factory, and an acid-infused Blue Peter ‘make’ session – Edition typifies the anti-commercialism of DR.ME’s bracingly brilliant design work, and epitomises the thriving innovation that makes Manchester one of the world’s most culturally significant cities.
Shipping container hotel is on the move
It must be at least a week since the last bright idea for repurposing shipping containers – the things are everywhere these days – but just when we thought there were no other neat ways to make use of the steel boxes, up pops Sleeping Around to confound our pessimism.
German street artist looks at the ugly face of crime
There is some serious talent to Max Strasser, who goes by the more brand-friendly moniker MAST. His latest collection and first major exhibition, Identity in Transit, also deals with some adult themes, among them Victorian crime. The villains certainly didn’t play about in those days. He used mugshots of nicked rogues from the period as the starting point for his re-interpretations, examining how we view and interact with faces. This abstracted rogue’s gallery is lining up against the wall at Shoreditch’s The Book Club from 21st February to 5th May.
Photographer’s instant film obsession captures some familiar faces
Fusing the words portrait, and Polaroid, DeMint’s Portroids are candid snaps signed there and then by their subject, who invariably will be the proprietor of a famous face. From Hollywood glitterati to hip-hop superstars, the President of the United States to homeless ‘icon’ Radioman – over the course of 10 years, DeMint has pulled his instant camera out on more celebrities than many of his subjects have popped champagne corks.
