Tent Digital; Michael Eden, Lab Craft

September 23-26 sees Tent: London take over the Truman Brewery for its multi-faceted design show. ARTS THREAD previews the event and picks out some of the talents to visit.

Tent Digital is the showcase for digital creatives and digitally enabled design and this September’s selection includes Lab Craft: Digital adventures in contemporary craft from the Crafts Council. Lab Craft features 26 designers who mix traditional craft methods with new technology such as rapid prototyping, laser cutting, laser scanning and digital printing.

Tent Selects: Tortie Hoare & Harry Parr-Young at New Designers

Tent Selects is an area dedicated to 10 upcoming designers – all recent graduates. Look out for Tortie Hoare, who won the BDC New Designer of the Year at New Designers this July with her boiled leather furniture, as well as fellow New Bucks University graduate Harry Parr-Young, also snapped by ARTS THREAD at the Islington event.

Bucks New University are also the new Enterprise fellowship sponsor of Furniture Magpies, a small team of designers set up by Nessa Doran O’Reilly, Sivan Metzer and Sua Lee. The team also have the support of the National School of Furniture and the Worshipful company of Furniture Makers. The company specialise in regenerating old furniture to create new pieces as one-offs and say ‘Although our assembly methods are not always traditional our materials are!’

Lovely Legs collection, Furniture Magpies; One to Many collection, ByAsli

Also looking at recycling is the One to Many collection from ByAsli. Unwanted plastic bottles are transformed into stackable components and made into coffee tables, shelves, bottle racks, hooks and bird posts, with the addition of wood from reclaimed construction site boards sourced from the Bromley Wood Recycling Project.

Cloth pendant lights, Orchard studio; Enclosed Spaces 2, Anna Glasbrook

Daniel O’Riordan, a graduate of Bath Spa University, has set up Orchard Studio to showcase his furniture, interior products and also lighting  – using advanced 3D modelling, digital simulation, 3d printing and CNC technology with traditional techniques and materials. ARTS THREAD saw his work at New Designers and loved the Cloth pendant lights: digital simulations of fabric falling that are 3D printed and then flocked internally to produce vibrant pendant lights.

Anna Glasbrook, also from Bath Spa University, brings her Enclosed Spaces, a series of three-dimensional, sculptural textile designs for use as free-standing panels, room-dividers or wall-hung pieces. Large-scale images of her work can also be printed onto Perspex or glass panels; each piece is made using double-faced satin ribbon, transparent net fabric, backed with silk fabric and encased in an aluminum frame.

Fade Vase in Purple Clay, Xin Yaoyao; Merry Go Round Clock, Haoshi Design Studio

Xin Yaoyao is a recent graduate from the Jiangnan University School of Design in China and brings to Tent London her work which uses traditional Chinese techniques in new ways, such as her Rice Paper lamps and Purple Clay vases.

Haoshi Design Studio was set up in Taipei, Taiwan in 2009 and the name comes from the Chinese for ‘Good things’. The label focus on joyful fun jewellery and time pieces.

Minotaur tieback, Jessica Light; Side Table, Ashley & Boyle; Leaf Chandelier, Aline Johnson

Jessica Light is one of the last working trimming weavers left in England, producing innovative and contemporary passementerie of the highest quality. Everything is handmade to order in her East London workshop using methods dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries.

Ashley & Boyle, Danielle Boyle and Alexandra  Ashley, both studied textiles at Chelsea College of Art and Design and have developed a range of innovative furniture using hand embroidery and Perspex, combining traditional craft techniques with contemporary materials. Look out also for Aline Johnson’s glass leaf chandeliers.

Book online for Tent London until September 17 2010.

Tent London
Tortie Hoare
Harry Parr-Young
Furniture Magpies
ByAsli
Orchard Studio
Anna GlasbrookXin Yaoyao
Haoshi Design Studio
Jessica Light
Ashley & Boyle
Aline Johnson

Fred Farrow, ArtEZ

This summer we headed to Arnhem for the graduating crème de la crème in fashion from the Netherlands. That’s the reputation ArtEZ has built up in the past few years. Not only are its collections always jaw-droppingly inventive, ArtEZ is creative location-wise too. One year we crossed the river Nederijn in a ferryboat to a huge industrial unit. This year buses took us to a deserted, slightly freaky location. The first row gave us a perfect view.

Fred Farrow has already scooped a job at Balmain in Paris, where he interned in 2009. His collection L’heroine makes this perfectly understandable, looking at a white leather coat embroidered with white beads in a square pattern, finished off with Tibetan lamb. Or rock-style painted tights with diamonds or a dress made entirely of headscarves?

Jennifer Busking, ArtEZ

Wool, wool, wool is the essence in Jennifer Busking’s Lifted. Threads of wool are cut, simply hung, carefully draped and finally knitted on, in, and around her feminine, often silk pieces. However it’s her subtle play with bronze, blacks and cool greys, which is spectacular.

Lotte van Schijndel, ArtEZ

Lotte van Schijndel found her inspiration in photographer Deborah Turbeville and the time women were liberated from wearing a corset. Her quite graphic collection Untitled is complete in black, white and ecru and puts a subtle emphasis on a woman’s curves.

Britt Tan, Artez

Britt Tan’s collection Get Hustle had a colourful, folkloric look. Heavy knitwear is patched onto smooth silky sometimes see-through fabrics and black leather.

Tishya Oedit, Artez

Tishya Oedit presents a little girl’s fairytale, in which rule pastel shades, loose knitted wool skirts, ruffled bonbon dresses and a beautiful thirties teal overcoat.

Marloes Hankel, ArtEZ

Loud rock music introduced the models of Marloes Hankel, one of the many designers working with headscarves to accessorize. Her collection Square is defined by a bright colour palette, suede jackets with carved out prints and colourful burka-style dresses with men’s shoes underneath.

Annie Ching, ArtEZ

Ready for bedtime is Annie Ching with the multiple use of a square-blocks pyjama print in baby blue, pink and pine green. The collections title Tribe is therefore slightly confusing, but it might be in the white thick knitted and buckled vests.

Nienke Hoekstra, ArtEZ

Nienke Hoekstra focused on pastel shades, sports inspired silhouettes and ruffles. Glossy red pumps with white socks completed her collection entitled She is as bright as yellow.

Melissa Siegrist, ArtEZ

A white-blue striped fancy shirt with a carved-out flower print and the men’s style shorts with the interlining showing underneath were included in Melissa Siegrist’s masterpieces. Her California collection is defined by a boyish, sober silhouette with white, khaki and light blue accents.

Bianca Herranz van Roeden, ArtEZ

Bianca Herranz van Roeden should be designing for the Swedish label COS, that is how clean cut her clothes look. White, grey and black dominated in her collection Summertime, until the last model came out in a bright, ultra pink layered dress!

Annika Vonk, ArtEZ

More knitwear in Sugar Girls by Annika Vonk. Thigh high, ivory knitted tights are combined with high wasted pants and an occasional jumpsuit.

Kris Berden, ArtEZ

Kris Berden showed his insect-inspired collection entitled Apoidea. The theme translates to a serious black, charcoal grey and fern green colour scheme, crepe fabric and a lot of delicate pleating.

Sarah Petersen, ArtEZ

Sarah Petersen’s pretty collection Reborn exuded a somewhat spiritual sense with long layered dresses, high-pleated collars and vintage knitted lace.

Piotrek Panszczyk, ArtEZ

Last but not least, Piotrek Panszczyk, who ended the graduate show with beautifully flowing slim jumpsuits, which slowly seem to transform into dresses and kaftans.

Image credits: photography by Peter Stigter

ArtEZ Academy of Art and Design

Linda Tetteroo, WdKA

Most students carried out an assignment for a company, such as Linda Tetteroo, who designed incredibly colourful campaign material with smart slogans for the Ramadan Festival.

Maxime Biekmann, WdKA

Marloes Kripestein, WdKA

Roos Mertens, WdKA

Marlieke Kroon, WdKA

Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam

Analysis of La Chinoise by Jean Luc Godard, Julia Andreone

The Graphic Design BA (Hons) graduate show for Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design (CSM) took place this summer at the Nicholls & Clarke building, Shoreditch High Street, alongside Illustration, Advertising and Photography. ARTS THREAD takes a look at some of the work on show.

Julia Andreone’s Analysis of La Chinoise by Jean Luc Godard is explained by how only by watching a film many times do you see and understand all the visual details. Julia says, ‘I watched ‘La Chinoise’ by Jean Luc Godard over and over, in order not to miss any angle. I classify the images without keeping the film in the logical order and eventually visualise the ideas I had from it.’

Połlysz, Olenka Aspinwall

The Połlysz project by Olenka Aspinwall is aimed at ‘building bridges, improving cross-cultural communication and relationships between native Polish and English speakers.’ Olenka continues, ‘Połlysz deals with language, a key expression of an individual’s identity…Połlysz combines Polish phonetics with the English language, allowing non-Polish speakers to communicate in a quasi-Polish with native Polish speakers.’

I Believe in a Nine-Country World, Yichen Song

Yichen Song’s project is concerned with censorhip. As a Chinese citizen, there are only nine countries in the world Yichen can visit freely without a visa. Yichen explains that if we are optimistic, then we have to believe in a nine-country world full of fabulous places.

Yichen’s Endless Board Game is a comment on Chinese Internet censorship. The players use a board made from fine porcelain, the instructions are hand painted in blue. ‘As the game continues, the players encounter countless censored politically sensitive words until the point when they realise the playing process itself has been an irritating and endless ‘online journey’”.

Blurring invisible boundaries, making the social hold, Zara Kim; Vanishing, Jason Chow

Zara Kim created an installation-come-mobile that examines the invisible boundaries between people in a public space. Zara questioned people who sat at the back of the upper desk of a London bus, when the bus was nearly empty from late afternoon til late at night. Black and white photographs of her interviewees were strung across the gallery space (an X denoting someone who was camera shy) and on the back of the image, their quote as to why they sat at the back.

With his project entitled Vanishing, Jason Chow has created a ‘devise that visualises the process of vanishing. Information is printed onto a water soluble film and is slowly inserted into the tank of water. The information doesn’t last longer than a couple of seconds before it is gradually deformed and becomes dust’.

Language as a carrier, Nia Murphy

Nia Murphy’s project Language as a carrier explores language structure, writing and typography and their relationship to culture and communities. Nia gives us the following quotes, ‘Language is a carrier of culture, reflecting past and present culture and tradition. Without knowing the language of a community, its culture, which means its whole life, cannot be thoroughly understood.’ Sri Lankan writer, Martin Wickramasinghe.

‘A new way of looking at things can be enhanced enormously though a second language. For the structure of each language gives us different ways of dealing with and experiencing realities, by bringing more than one language on a problem, we obtain depth.’ Austrian-born industrial designer, Victor Papanek.

Deconstructing Uniform and Livery, Jamie Hearn

Deconstructing Uniform and Livery by Jamie Hearn is an ‘exploration into how the principles of iconography, form and typography were applied to the identitles of common household brands before the age of computer technology. The visual appearance of each product is deconstructed, allowing different elements to be repositioned within the composition of the two pictures. This aims to highlight how each use colour, form and typography to communicate their identity, however, with differing degrees of success.’

Graphic?, Su Jean Kang & Min Jeng Kim

Graphic? by Su Jean Kang and Min Jeng Kim is wall of coloured cards that express visually the opinions and questions of the two designers. Black cards spell out the word GRAPHICS?, while the designers’ national colours of South Korea, blue, red, black and white, are a mix of thoughts on their three years in London studying, from the price of paper in London to the pressure of deadlines-deadlines = deathlines!

Olenka Aspinwall: olenka@olenkadesigns.com
Yichen Song: gnoseener@gmail.com
Zara Kim
Jason Chow: iamjasonchow@gmail.com
Nia Murphy: niamurphy@live.com
Jamie Hearn
Min Jeng Kim: m.kim100@csm.arts.ac.uk

Adieu, Anne Birkkjær Bitsch

During the recent Copenhagen Fashion Week held August 11-15, the first day saw the catwalk show from The Danish Design School, showcasing its seven MA fashion students and a selection of work from its eight Bachelor graduates.

ARTS THREAD takes a look at the collections and shawcases both runway images and the prepared styled shots of the designers.

Anne Birkkjær Bitsch’s collection Adieu is based on her personal interpretation of an old French film. Anne worked with different textiles experiments, colours and silhouettes to express the essence of the deeper layers and meanings in the story. Sober colours, smocking effects, exaggerated and intricate sleeve heads and dramatic roll collars create a strong mood.

Dreamt for lightyears in the belly of a mountain, Lisa Frederika Åslund

Lisa Frederika Åslund’s collection was inspired by a dream and is entitled Dreamt for lightyears in the belly of a mountain. Neutral pale grey and sand tones mix with transparent plastic, guipure lace trims and obvious zips. Ruffles and pleats are unexpected and dramatic.

The Fall of Virtue, Caroline Wilckenschildt Fossum

The Fall of Virtue by Caroline Wilckenschildt Fossum is inspired by the traditional female weaknesses, as seen by Christianity and how they could be seen as virtues. Caroline has interpreted this theme into eight characters and outfits. Black pleated collars become veils, a cape of fur pelts sits atop a figure-skimming iridescent dress.

Piece by Piece, Trine Elmkvist

Trine Elmkvist’s collection Piece by Piece is designed to ‘challenge the ways in which knitting is used in the process of creating clothing.’ Trine continues, ‘The principles of collage are the underlying theme of the project’. Pastel colours are used in oversized textures that are reminiscent of patchwork blankets, designed into short sexy mini dresses.

I like to remember things my own way, Annakarin Lundgren

Annakarin Lundgren’s collection, called I like to remember things my own way, is based around a specific mood and feeling of a film that does not yet exist. Working in the abstract, Annakarin is now working on a short film about the collection around a script that follows from a series of words. An exert reads ‘peaceful, deserted, dry, art deco, slow, cubism, futurism and Russian constructivist art movements, architecture….’ The collection revolves around ivory, sand and neutral tones, incorporating layered strips, dye effects and unpredictable ruffles.

Mutasious, Mette Maegaad Kristiansen

Mutasious by Mette Maegaad Kristiansen is based on the beauty of imperfection. Mette says, ‘I wanted to combine these two contradictory universes of perfection and imperfection in order to create a collaboration that on first impressions should be experienced as desirable and only at second glance reveal that there might be a darker side to it.’ In scarlet and black, the collection featured strong silhouettes of short cocktail dresses.

Rites of Passage, Yasamin Zafar Mohtashemi

Yasamin Zafar Mohtashemi’s collection is inspired by the Iban Indians of Borneo’s rainforests and their spirit world and rites of passage in a land of mysterious Gods, legendary heroes, omens delivered by birds, dreams and customs, rituals and taboos. The collection mixes naive block prints,  laddered knits and tufted shrugs in a concise palette of black, white and sand.

Bachelor collections, The Danish Design School

The eight Bachelor collections were shown first and included work from Nadja Düring Friis, Sandra Møller Svendsen, Mia Shil Aaland Kirkegaard, Tine Winther Rysgaard, Nhallely Gustafsson, Stefan Autzen, Marie Franciska Hjermov and Sascha Mai Poulsen.

The Worms at Heaven's Gate, Tine Winther Rysgaard

Image credits: all images courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week

Copenhagen Fashion Week
The Danish Design School
Anne Birkkjær Bitsch: anne_bitsch@hotmail.com
Lisa Frederika Åslund: lisaaslund@gmail.com
Caroline Wilckenschildt Fossum: wilkenshildt@gmail.com
Annakarin Lundgren: aklundgren@hotmail.com
Mette Maegaad Kristiansen: mette_kristiansen@hotmail.com
Yasamin Zafar Mohtashemi: yasamin.zafar@gmail.com
Tine Winther Rysgaard: tirys@student.dkds.dk

Emma Jane Bloxham, Bucks New University

This was a particularly good year to see some exciting textile design at the New Designers annual showcase of graduate talent. ARTS THREAD rounds up some more of our favourites from 2010.

Here we spotted Emma Jane Bloxham’s terrific work, which earned her a first class honours degree from Bucks New University, and has application for both fashion and interiors. Emma is a mature student, who previously taught English in South East Asia for many years. Her experiences there have been a large inspiration for her work.

Surviving the terrible experience of the Tsunami, she decided to return to education and art. We loved her wonderful embroidered mirror, which is a part of her final project ‘Up Close and Personal’. Emma has also created a collection that explores the concept of contemporary fashion and its environment: the dress and the dressing room.

Kirsty Ronnie, Bucks New University

Bucks New University’s graduates never fail to deliver some great and inspiring work, and this year they were the deserved winners of the New Designer’s Best Stand Award. Also at Bucks, we loved the luxurious textures created by Kirsty Ronnie. Punched and laser cut techniques were used on animal skins to create some great effects. She has also produced some interesting padded knits and sees her pieces being used for upmarket menswear.

Joy Salvage, Bucks New University

In contrast, taking a far more sober and measured approach was Joy Salvage, who has created her collection of knits inspired by the collection of alphabet samplers in the V&A museum. She was intrigued by the intricate lettering which had been meticulously hand-embroidered by young girls since the 18th Century. Focusing on differing fonts and using a limited colour palette of yarn and some subtle embellishments, she has created a collection with a great nostalgic look.

Alexis Richards, Bath Spa University

Continuing with the nostalgic vibe, and with great commercial appeal – Alexis Richards from Bath Spa University is influenced by nature and has created a vintage feel in her fabric pieces, which have echoes of both the 1930’s and 1950’s.

Elena Muñoz Gomez-Trenor, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design

Elena Muñoz Gomez-Trenor from Central Saint Martins is riding high at the moment after winning the Knit Prize at the recent Texprint First View showcase in London. Her innovative pieces are based on her research into “organic architecture; that of human bodies and insects”. 
She says, “I worked on transparencies and layers, trapping thick yarns inside thin yarns and intertwining them with bulky cables. The result was to emulate the way textures of muscles, fibres and veins merge to create an organic system”.

Elaine Fleming, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology

Elaine Fleming’s great quirky prints have been inspired by her “idyllic childhood experience of growing up on a farm in the countryside”. A graduate of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Elaine explains, “My memories result in an eclectic and at times surreal mix from my childhood experience of farm life due to shifting seasons and work focus. Mundane farm items become decorative avant-garde designs – I have created interior products which are aimed at the alternative, high-end market.”

Aimee Kent, Glasgow School of Art

Aimee Kent’s work from Glasgow School of Art (GSA) caught our eye at New Designers with its vibrantly colourful spontaneity and freshness. Aimee has collaborated with award-winning fashion designer Henrietta Ludgate, designing bold and abstract Scottish Highlands-inspired textile prints for her Autumn/Winter 2010 collection.

Rebecca Louise Scott, Glasgow School of Art

Also at GSA, we also spotted Rebecca Louise Scott’s work. She has created some great fabrics for fashion, featuring laser cutting and produced some stylish visualisations to showcase her pieces. Rebecca’s inspiration came from the unlikely source of the shipping industry. She told us, “I focused in on brackets and pipes piled up in shipyards, creating interesting shapes and shadows. I worked on making this industrial and rigid concept into something with movement and delicacy for the fashion industry”.

Marcus Lee, University of Derby

Finally, Marcus Lee’s work is highly individual and graphic – and by applying his designs to skateboards he ensured standing out from the crowd. Experimenting with wood, fabric and vinyl, his cartoon-like characters in urban scenes create engaging crazy narratives and patterns, which attracted a lot of attention.

New Designers
Emma Jane Bloxham: babyblox@mail.com
Kirsty Ronnie: kirstyronnie@hotmail.co.uk
Joy Salvage: joysalvage@hotmail.com
Alexis Richards: lex2478@gmail.com
Elena Muñoz Gomez-Trenor: elenamunozgt@gmail.com
Elaine Fleming: brittstown@yahoo.com
Aimee Kent: aimee@aimeekent.com
Rebecca Louise Scott: louisescott13@hotmail.co.uk
Marcus Lee

Katherine Lichwa; Jessie Coffey, Somerset College

Susannah Owen; Holly Spencer; Rebecca Stead, Somerset College

Susannah Owen presented a beautifully paired down collection in powdery teal, charcoal, nude and white inspired by London’s architecture and the River Thames. Draped silhouettes, asymmetric lines and floaty chiffons were belted and offset by structured jackets and shoulders.

Holly Spencer layered whitewashed floral prints, with cut away lace and intricate embroideries for her floor-sweeping dresses and funnel neck wool coats. Also worthy of mention was Rebecca Stead’s ‘Victoriously Vintage’ collection. Wartime is a recurring theme in graduate collections, but rarely well executed. Highlights included washed out floral tea dresses suffused with studded leather panels and contours inspired by the construction of WW2 planes.

Emily Hawkins; Hana Schofield; Richard Maynes, Somerset College

Wearable showstoppers and softly structured tailoring came from Emily Hawkins, presented in a palette of pale gold, charcoal and red. Covetable shift and floaty maxi dresses featured graphic cut outs and sculptural shoulders encrusted with diamante droplets.

In antithesis the show drew to a close with stories of decay and darkness. Richard Maynes presented an apocalyptic vision of ‘The Digital Dark Age’, with rag and studded leather dresses, ominous trenchcoats and spiked shoulder details. Hana Schofield’s collection layered fragile and translucent fabrics with hard-edged leather and latex. Key pieces included a crumpled white dress with wired hemline and leather collar piece and a pleated asymmetrical kilt with chunky leather belt and braces.

Nature in Design, Iceland

Nature in Design is an exhibition that takes visitors on a journey through nature objectified by Icelandic designers and offers insight into the underlying ideas behind the products. Nature in Design is a collaborative project of the Iceland Design Centre and Landsvirkjun and is open daily until 28th August 2010.

The exhibits encourage reflection on wildlife conservation, sustainability, manmade environments, and beauty. Each designer has a unique perspective on nature, and their treatment is as varied as nature itself.

Fjörulallar, Guðrún Björk Jónsdóttir

Diverse natural phenomena and fond memories of nature past find expression in works such as ‘Fjörulallar’ (Beach boys) by Guðrún Björk Jónsdóttir – large rocks which have been washed up to the beach and transformed into seating. The exhibition includes interviews with some of the designers, such as Hrafnkell Birgisson, Katrín Ólína, Sigríður Sigþórsdóttir and Steinunn Sigurðardóttir.

Furnibloom, Dagný Bjarnadóttir

Furnibloom by landscape architect Dagný Bjarnadóttir is a series of transparent plexi glass tables and stools that have plants growing inside them – reminding you constantly of nature.

Vik Prjónsdóttir Collective, Shield of Wings

The Vik Prjónsdóttir Collective was formed in 2005 by the designers Brynhildur Pálsdóttir, Egill Kalevi Karlsson, Guðfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir, Hrafnkell Birgisson, Þuríður Rós Sigurþórsdóttir and the knitting factory Víkurprjón. Vík Prjónsdóttir is influenced by myths and stories, from the past as well from the present, such as the Icelandic Seal Pelt and Shield of Wings, inspired by the sea eagle. Fascinated by nature as well as urban life, the collective believe in the beyond and respects the hidden world. Vík Prjónsdóttir has passion for local cultures, materials and production.

Black or White, Vik Prjónsdóttir Collective

The knitting factory Víkurprjón Ltd is located in Vík, which is the southernmost village in Iceland, around 200 km from Reykjavík. The company was founded 1980 and is one of the oldest and best known knitwear producers in Iceland. The largest part of the production involves creating all kinds garments from Icelandic sheep wool. Víkurprjón uses traditional methods with the original colours and national patterns as well as designing and producing clothes.

Kría jewellery

In the exhibition, ‘Súkkulaðifjöll’ are Chocolate Mountains that replicate the geological strata of the rocks found in Iceland. Designed by Brynhildur Pálsdóttir and hand made by chocolatier Hafliði Ragnarsson. Kría, the name of the arctic tern, is a jewellery label created by designer Jóhanna Methúsalemsdóttir. It started when Jóhanna found a skeleton of the bird by the same name nestled in the sand of a black lava beach in eastern Iceland in the summer of 2006.

Katrin Olina, 8+8 Made in Hafnarfjordur

Also exhibiting is Katrin Olina, much of her work contains natural elements that combine the fairytale and the sublime, consisting of lush landscapes inhabited by real and fictional creatures, as well as characters tied to her own personal history. 8+8 Made in Hafnarfjordur was a project aimed at at collaboration between designers and local manufacturers. Katrin worked with concrete manufacturer Mest. Experiments with the material resulted in two different pieces of furniture, a bench and a stool. While the bench is molded into a rigid form, the stool communicates the fluidity of the concrete.

There are over 30 participating designers, including Brynhildur Pálsdóttir and Guðfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir, Dagný Bjarnadóttir, Guðrún Lilja Gunnlaugsdóttir, Hanna Jónsdóttir, Hafsteinn Júlíusson, Jón Björnsson, Katrín Ólína, Jóhanna Methúsalemsdóttir, Hildur Yeoman, Snæfríð Þorsteins and Hildigunnur Gunnarsdóttir, Sruli Recht, Vík Prjónsdóttir, and Tinna Gunnarsdóttir.

Inspired by Iceland
Nature in Design
Guðrún Björk Jónsdóttir
Dagný Bjarnadóttir
Vik Prjónsdóttir Collective
Kría
Katrin Olina

Il n'y a pas de guerre juste, 1994; Ceres Franco ‐ screen print, 1974

The Royal College of Art recently showed a major retrospective exhibition of work by the extraordinary Roman Cieślewicz. An extremely significant designer in Eastern Europe and France, Cieślewicz has strangely had little attention in the UK. Curated by David Crowley, Andrzej Klimowksi, Jeff Willis and Anna Grabowska-Konwent, the exhibition features a broad cross section of work from the 1950’s right through to the end of his life in 1996.

Curated in chronological order, the show begins with a significant selection of Cieślewicz’ poster work produced during his time in Soviet Poland circa 1955.

Party ‘Photocollage’, 1976; Prince – screen print, 1973; Hung Up In Spite of Himself, 1976

“Producing work in Soviet Communist Poland during a period where there was no commercial pressure resulted in a surprising amount of artistic freedom,” explains David Crowley, curator and Head of Department of Critical Writing at the RCA. Given our preconceptions of Communism, it’s surprising to hear that there was much room for artistic expression in a totalitarian government. Yet it is clearly evident when we view the examples of Cieślewicz’ early poster work that he was given the freedom to openly reject the conventional design clichés of that period: in the East there was the Soviet Communist propaganda and in the West, Hollywood posters where the star of the film was the driving force behind the promotion.

For his theatre and cinema poster designs, Cieślewicz combined reproduced images from the media with painterly fine art techniques, often hand-painting the typography. Poster designs on display such as his designs for Katastrofa, Nafta and Vertigo are perfect examples of his juxtaposition of minimalist photo-montage and painting, all of which hint towards strong Surrealist influences.

Vertigo, Warsaw, 1963; Amnesty International, New York, 1975; The Prisoner, Warsaw, 1962

There is a lot of evidence throughout the exhibition which shows that Cieślewicz’s self-initiated work regularly informed his commissioned pieces – particularly his experiments with photomontage. Cieślewicz commands a very minimalist approach to collage.

“By the 60s, Surrealism was pretty much bankrupt in the Western art scene, yet it thrived in Eastern Europe,” explains co-curator and RCA Professor of Illustration Andrzej Klimowski. “The core vocabulary of surrealism thrived and expanded. Lots of ambiguous images are played out by Cieślewicz and we chose many images which play out these surrealist games.”

But why was Surrealism so potent?

“Surrealism was almost realism at that time in Eastern Europe,” reminisces Klimowski. “You would go around the shops and there would be nothing in them. You would visit a a shoe shop and inside there would be one box with a single heel inside. Life was absurd so surrealism was the perfect vehicle to express that period.”

As the exhibition progresses and we approach his work from the 1970’s we witness how life turns from the absurd into something much darker. The main body of work from this period was produced while Cieślewicz’ wife was dying of cancer and by looking at these pieces you get a real sense of the tragedy which was playing out. The murky, inky darkness of Bloomusalem and Diably z Loudun (1974) testify to the torment Cieślewicz was suffering in his personal life. The images are dark, brooding and often unsettling, highlighting Cieślewicz’s clever understanding of the capacity of an image to provoke and upset people.

The Danton Affair, Warsaw, 1974; Forefather’s Eve, 1967; Telingater ‐the Graphic Work, Paris, 1979

Working with lines of symmetry Cieślewicz composed mirror images reminiscent of Rorschach ink-blot tests. Bodies form frightening, headless shadows, others become grotesque amputees or cycloptic demons. Many of these experiments in mirror imagery have been reworked into designs for magazines and posters; the Wiestaw (1971) screenprint can be seen to directly inform the Sprawa Dantora theatre poster produced three years later.

A broad range of editorial and book designs add further dimensions to the exhibition, giving us a broader insight to Cieślewicz’ working practise. Highlights included his series of 26 designs for Ann Radcliffe’s  The Mysteries of Udolpho, for which Cieślewicz combined details from old Renaissance master paintings alongside imagery from glossy magazines to create a contemporary response to the gothic romance novel.

Katastrofa, Warsaw, 1961; Ty I Ja magazine, 1963; Opus 3, Paris, 1967

Another highlight was the third and final issue of Kamikaze, published posthumously in 1997. Filled with strikingly stark reproductions of black and white images from the media juxtaposed with laconic captions. The real highlight, however, was the issue of Ty I Ja on display. Essentially a women’s magazine, Ty I Ja was produced entirely out of recycled materials with the majority of the layout being created using a simple cut and paste technique, appearing almost like a scrapbook.

Running consistently throughout, the Roman Cieślewicz exhibition highlighted work which continued along the artist’s pre-occupation with the themes of dignity and the individual. We see his double life, working as a commissioned designer for the likes of Elle and as an independent, producing startling work under his own steam. Most importantly, we witness how his personal, self-initiated work informs his commissioned pieces  and how he turns tragedy in his personal life into extraordinary art.

Aristophanes, Lucy Spink; Bring us back to life, Yi Ka Janice Chan

The combined Illustration, Advertising, Graphic Design and Photography BA(Hons) exhibition for Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design (CSM) took place at the Nicholls & Clarke building, Shoreditch High Street. Here we take a look at Illustration – look out for Graphic Design later this week.

Lucy Spink took a passage from Aristophanes’ play The Birds for her illustrations; a passage that ‘depicts a dark but interesting and unusual portrayal of the creation story. In the beginning there existed only Chaos, Night, Black Erebus and Dreary Tartarus; there was no Earth, no Air, no Sky. It was in the boundless womb of Erebus that the first egg was laid by black-winged Night; and from this egg, in due season, sprang Eros, the deeply-desired.’

Detail from Bring us back to life, Yi Ka Janice Chan; Illustration at Nicholls & Clarke building, CSM

Yi Ka Janice Chan tackles the issue of the vanishing butterfly species in the UK, with her project celled Bring us back to life. Only 56 species now remain in Britain….My aim in this project is to bring four extinct British butterflies back to life by making butterfly origami. Four kits were made for each species. The kit includes an illustrative information booklet, an origami folding instruction, and a butterfly pattern template for each butterfly… I assume that from making origami and reading the information booklet, it will help us to gain a better understanding of protecting our world.’

Frog, lily, dog, frond and stick, Helen Lovelee

Helen Lovelee, in her project Frog, lily, dog, frond and stick, investigates the relationship between the indigenous and Western European cultures in Australia. Helen says, ‘I identified ecology as common ground for all Australian people and an issue that could unite aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australians. ‘Frog, Lily, dog, frond and stick’ is a set of five hand-drawn, digitally printed works that communicate the essence of the traditional aboriginal Australian philiosophy.’

The Salmon, Joo Hee Kim

Joo Hee Kim created a concertina book about the lifestyle and reproduction of the salmon. The designer says, “The salmon is an extraordinary and mysterious fish. For centuries mankind has wondered how it is able to survive both in freshwater and saltwater and how it navigates thousands of miles to feeding grounds in the oceans before returning to the burns of its birth to reproduce. The outlines are linocuts and the details were added and manipulated with Photoshop.

Helen Lovelee
Joo Hee Kim: joohee.kim1125@gmail.com