.artist talk
* Michael Sailstorfer

written Monica De Vidi

LE MILE caught up with conceptual artist Michael Sailstorfer after the opening of his new group exhibition, Nine To Know, at Ruttkowski; 68 Gallery in Paris.

Born in Velden, Germany (1979) and based in Berlin, Sailstorfer is known for his experimentation within the field of sculpture. His work defies natural dimensions and physical characteristics, creating an immersive and totalizing experience for his audience while transcending common aesthetic boundaries and challenging sensual perceptions. 

What made you decide to focus on sculpture? What was your first conscious work within this field of art?
As long as I can remember, I built things with my hands, either at my father’s stone workshop or at my grandfather’s farm. There are old photos of me holding a hammer before I was even able to walk. Art always played an important role in my family’s life since my father studied art in the 1970s. We often visited important exhibitions, such as Skulptur Projekte Münster, Documenta Kassel or La Biennale di Venezia, as well as with artist friends. When I applied at the Academy of Arts with my drawing portfolio, I received the feedback that my art was rather sculptural, so I applied for the sculpture class and got in. My first piece at the Academy was, of course, sculptural. For Waldputz (2000), I transformed a natural space – the woods near my father’s house – into an artificial space by cleaning the forest ground and the tree trunks. It was about removing material instead of adding anything new. Waldputz is one of the works that is still presented quite often and one edition is part of Centre Pompidou’s collection.


Your work inhabits galleries and art spaces, but the presentation itself has never represented the final product. Site-specific interventions are part of your vocabulary as these spaces feed off of your work. Is the relationship with the space spontaneous? How do you switch from natural contexts to gallery spaces?
My early works originate from a natural context. Back then, I was a student and didn’t have the opportunity to exhibit my art in galleries or institutions. When I started to display my work in gallery spaces, I was suddenly facing new challenges, since the interaction between space and sculpture is more present within a white cube exhibition space. For me, it’s highly important that all my sculptures are site-specific.


You are known for recycling and repurposing a range of different materials and found objects. Do you think that metamorphosis always represents positive development?
Deterioration and deformation generate a substantial value. When an object is degenerated, its function value ceases to exist, whereas its artistic value generally increases.


Is the new story always better than the former one?

It’s not about better or worse, it’s about telling a story and creating temporality from the start to the endpoint.

.artist talk
Michael Sailstorfer
speaks with
Monica De Vidi
first published in:
issue 28, 01/2020
*utopia / dystopia

What is more powerful for you as a source of inspiration: nature or artificial objects?


Usually it’s the balance and contrast between them both, creating excitement and determining the quality of an artwork.


What stage is more important for you, the initial concept or the final completion of the piece? Is there any correspondence between the two?
Both stages are equally important for me and can’t be considered separately. Generating ideas for a new artwork is always a magical process, but these ideas have to be concretized at some point. This happens during the execution phase, resulting in the final completion of the piece.


How did you come up with the idea of introducing kinetic devices to your work?
Isn’t this instability a paradox for sculptures? I started to work kinetically to provide the sculptures with temporality and vitalize them.


When is your exhibition complete?
When it’s accessible to the public. No work is complete without the observer who perceives it.


And what happens next? Does each of your works have an end?

When I show Zeit ist keine Autobahn (Time is not a motorway), I install a new car tire at the beginning of each exhibition. Over time, the tire wears out, but the work itself doesn’t. It’s the tire that is finite, representing movement, progress, and resources whereby it generates a picture in the observers’ head.



How does your work read into contemporary society? 
Every work can be considered from different angles, also from a political or playful one. At first glance, the playful side often provides access to the work, functioning as an icebreaker. But at second glance, the work has to be meaningful enough to withstand daily media coverage.


With The Popcorn Machine (2012), you managed to capture visitors using scent, sound, and sight. Is the link between object and surrounding space still tangible? 
The question is: what can sculpture be and how physical and present can a tiny piece become by adding media, such as scent or sound. We can just think about Andy Warhol who loved perfume and used it to bolster his presence.


credit
header image (c) MICHAEL SAILSTORFER
content image (c) Artist Portrait of MICHAEL SAILSTORFER seen by Ina Niehoff

.artist talk
* Kensuke Koike

written Hannah Rose Prendergast

In a world where art imitates life, you can find contemporary visual artist Kensuke Koike. His approach is multidisciplinary, working with everything from stop motion video and analog morphing to self-portrait collages and switched vintage photographs. As for his subjects, they hide in the every day just as much as the olden day and these encounters are often overlayed with optical illusion. One paper cut at a time, a new narrative begins where the past, present, and future exist simultaneously.

In this exclusive interview with LE MILE, Kensuke Koike shares the wit, wisdom, and mystery to be expected of a self-proclaimed alchemist.

Who or what do you consider to be your biggest inspiration(s)?
Everyday life. I don’t look for anything special. I wake up and have a coffee. The things that surround me can always give me a hint, for example, how the hinge of a window works or how the stem of a flower bends.

You’ve experimented with so many different mediums of visual art, which are your favorites to work with and why?
I have no preference of medium but I tend to use paper because it is always accessible; you can find it anywhere and it is easy to experiment with.

The recurring theme in your work is that there is more than meets the eye, why do think this is so important to understand especially in the digital age?
Manipulating objects or matter can always lead to unexpected situations which wouldn’t necessarily occur if you only used a computer.

How does it make you feel to be able to use existing materials and breathe new life or a new story into them?
Anything that surrounds us needs only to be moved. At that moment you have a different point of view, a different shadow which leads to slightly different colors and a different background. All you need to do is be aware of this fact.

.artist talk
Hannah Rose Prendergast
speaks with
Kensuke Koike
first published in:
issue 26, 01/2019
*black issue

As someone who works heavily with vintage photographs, what do you think can be learned from exploring the beauty of the past?
I don’t choose the photographs because they are beautiful. I choose them because they are real. I like to use vintage photographs because I’m obliged to not make any mistakes, so I cannot work on a vintage photograph without having thought out the project beforehand. It’s a sort of respect for the beauty of the photograph itself and, of course, what it represents.

You’ve spoken about how ghosts and monsters were always something that stuck with you as a child. How has this contributed to your art? Has creating helped you to confront and/or overcome monsters of your own?
Superstitious fear has always inflamed the imagination of ignorant men and imagination feeds back into fear. Through my works, I try to investigate how human emotions tick.

How big of a role does your Japanese heritage play in your work?
It’s difficult to say what derives from my native country and from my acquired country. All my work is the result of my being born in Japan and living in Europe.

In a sense, your art defies the theory of predestination, do you believe that you were born to be an artist or was there something or someone that intervened to change things for you?
I’m simply curious. I became an artist because art is the way to satisfy my curiosity. Had I been less curious I probably would have been a scientist or a chemist. Now, I call myself an alchemist because I’m working with something that is not scientific; this poses a continuous challenge.

In keeping with this issue’s theme, what does the absence of color (“Black”) mean to you and your work?
My main medium is vintage photographs which happen to be in black and white.

How has your work evolved since you started creating and what can viewers expect to see from you in the future?
I started off with paintings, sculptures, and videos. Now, I’m transforming old photographs and certainly, in the future, I will be doing something else. Always inspired by that window hinge and flower stem, my evolution is an everyday thing.

credit
header work (c) Kensuke Koike

.aesthetic talk
Before the conception of the Metaverse, Pet Liger was already designing for it

written & interview Tagen Donovan

Conceptualised by Constantinos Panayiotou, a designer specialising in 3D motion graphics. With early influences steeped in 90's manga illustrations, and a UK music scene heavily inspired by the onset of pioneering genres such as Garage and Grime.  

Panayiotou migrated with his parents from Cyprus to Great Yarmouth, England at just five years of age. A year later, Panayiotou would find himself living in London; the city that would inevitably become the blueprint for Pet Liger. Armed with a contagious enthusiasm for innovation during the age of hyper-connectivity. Pet Liger explores subtle nuances plucked from obscurity, striking a balance between the simple and complex. Unearthing a quest for beautiful anomalies, Constantinos occupies an engaging intersection within design. Interweaving a multitude of disciplines that cultivate a genuine emotional connection to his work, while accentuating a vital sense of wonder.

credit header image
(c) the artist Pet Liger, Constantinos Panayiotou

.artist talk
* Samuel de Saboia

written Nikkolos Mohammed

In this time of Post-Internet art-making, what does it mean to be an artist? The universal understanding of art is using visual expectation as a tool to shed light on the condition of life today. A generation of visual documentation is integrated in everyday life. What is the role and expectation of the artist?

Tomorrow’s interest is already gone. The visual information of life is fast paced. This generation of young artists is accepting the process of “The Now” and not limiting that process as it carries over multiple disciplines. Samuel de Saboia is the reflection of the visual process of the Now.

What do you believe is your contribution to the history of art?
The history of art already exists, my mission is creating a new one; the history of dreamers; an archive of heroes; a path for those who were denied all the other routes. It’s for us and by us.

You began your professional art career at the age of twelve. How many of those ideas are still present in your work today? What are the developments and commonalities?
The principles of faith and love are still, and probably always will be, surrounding my art. Sometimes I try drawing a line between it and politics as well, but at this moment, in our society, it’s quite hard. I’ve improved my techniques since I was a kid, but in the end, it still is pretty much about passion for the craft and letting emotions take over when needed.


What does your art question? Do you think it solves a problem?
When was the last time you saw someone saying that they were hopeful? That they could see and expect better days? We are a hopeless generation that lives towards our parents doubts and debts, and their frustrations and dreams. Since you are born, you are expected to be something or nothing at all and this tends to reflect on society as a whole. Art is beginning conversations and discussions that are necessary, but once it’s made only to fulfill “art-funds,” residencies, curators, galleries/gallerists, and stops being a medium of unlimited expression — it loses a huge part of its purpose.

As an artist/model, is the body separate from the art? When do they become one?
They are one because I am one, but this one, as a human being, is a multitude. We are all bodies; sacred bodies; rotten bodies; beautiful bodies; scared bodies. Every single minute our skin fully changes because of the reactions that our body promotes, so in the end, it’s all connected, but by different routes. Just like art, I always claim my freedom of being while shooting. The difference is that I make art for myself and even fashion/modeling comes naturally to me. There is a call sheet, set rules, styling, etc. that defines what will be the result.

.artist talk
Nikkolos Mohammed
speaks with
Samuel de Saboia
first published in:
issue 28, 01/2020
*utopia / dystopia

Your artwork has a figurative language, can you see yourself executing your ideas through other motifs other than figures?


Definitely, recently writing and recording has become a process and art of its own. I’ve been making music and poems since last year and I can see them fully now. I’ve adventured a lot with film as well, and I want to start including it in my shows. Movement, danc, and ritualistic performance were always in my family, so I can see it mixing with my works. I'm twenty-two and on fire. I want to do everything and I probably will.

Who are your inspirations? Does their profession ever influence your intuitions?
It’s mostly writers, musicians, filmmakers, and fashion designers. I love the ones who channel their vision into matter. Patti Smith books and songs, David Wojnarowicz journal tapes, the insane ways of Hunter S. Thompson, and how it turned Ralph Steadman’s art upside down.


How was the process of making the work for Unamerican Beauty in Los Angeles, and to exhibit in that environment? Did you have any expectations?
Chaotically beautiful art-making. I got extremely skinny from being tired and not eating well. Thirty art pieces made in four weeks. It was a resistance test that I would not be able to fulfill if it wasn't for the help of God and friends. As for my shows, the conclusion was spectacular. It felt right to bring Brazil together with young queer art.

Do you ever think of how you want audiences to interact with your work? Does this influence its production?
It’s not utopic, it’s human, we still have a connection between all of us. Even the worst in us, in our group/society we still love someone or something. Art is a universal language where each person can understand something. It’s not what I want sometimes, or it’s a completely different reading of my point, or the point of a critic, but even the ones who’ve never been introduced to art can still feel it. I’m more interested in the multitude of readings, it doesn’t influence the way I create but it is part of the whole process of making art and being an artist getting into the mainstream. I make art by myself, but after it’s done and shown, it doesn’t belong only to me.


Are you more interested in the idea of dystopia or utopia?

Aren’t they twins? Sisters brought together to this world by philosophy that no matter how long they try, they can’t get far one from the other. What is utopic for me is definitely dystopian to someone else. From the romantic side, I would love to stick with utopia, but as humans, I don’t think we can manage a life without mistakes.



As a multidisciplinary creative, what is the most ideal scenario you would like to create?
It has changed a bit since I’ve started. In the beginning, it would be a place where my parents let me be me. I was twelve and I wanted to explode from there, until I was fifteen, it felt like my art and being were repressed, which was reflected in the art. After my first solo show in New York, I realized that my first home was such a safe space and since then, I’ve been traveling in search of these different art temples. I do well with chaos but even better with harmony. The ideal scenery for me has sun, nature, comfort, and a lot of room to mess around as well — alone and with my chosen ones.

Under the weight of the expectation of the art world, Samuel De Saboia is reacting to the emotions of his surroundings in real time. Focused purely on documenting the now, a free nature is apparent through all of his work with no regards to structure or specificity of disciplines. In this time of Post-Internet art, we can’t deny Instagram’s role in blurring the lines between art, and at rate it pushes out information. The only way to exist is in the spontaneity of the moment, and to the trust in that. Samuel de Saboia is “The Now.”

credit
header image (c)

Seen Fee-Gloria Groenemeyer
Style Neslihan Degerli
Make up Anaelle Postollec
Hair Cecile Gentilin
Samuel wears full Look Dior Men’s spring/summer 2020

.artist talk
* Mike Ballard

written Michelle Heath

The Gherkin, The Shard, The Cheesegrater, London’s skyline is filled with incredible architecture and the cranes and scaffolding that pepper that view is evidence of its ever-evolving identity. At street level though, the experience is quite different. Site hoardings shroud these spaces in secrecy and create barriers within the public realm.

Artist, Mike Ballard, finds these spaces to be symbolic of so much more than development and innovation. These spaces evolve to become a type of artistic canvas with the marks of construction crews, advertisements, graffiti, and council attempts to ‘repair’ tarnished hoardings. These canvases tell stories and create images that Ballard finds intriguing. From prints to sculpture, Mike Ballard creates a space for utilitarian, temporary structures to become the focus rather than to simply hide away and blend into the urban surroundings.

LE MILE had a chance to speak with Mike Ballard to find out more about his work within London’s busy streets.

During your time as graffiti artist, you preferred to be called 'graffiti writer'. Can you explain your preference for that?
I was a ‘writer', as the type of graffiti I was most interested in was all about the letterform, in both tags and pieces, it was about letter styles and writing my name, so I always considered myself a writer more than an artist. It was purist graffiti, really focused on letters and connections between the letters. I also painted characters and backgrounds, but these were just embellishments of the letters, the name always took center stage and would be the most judged part of the piece by other writers.


Graffiti art can have a very short timeline before it is altered or covered by another artist. Was your transition into the artwork you do now in search of permanency?
My transition into the art I do now had more to do with maturing, both personally and artistically. I lived through a golden era of graffiti in the UK, and gradually became bored with the scene and the way it was becoming more socially acceptable and not as underground as it was when I started. Also, the type of graffiti I wanted to paint was illegal, and I was becoming too old to be running from the police and facing further prison sentences. I had also begun making work in my friend’s studio, whilst still painting graffiti, and the transition was very gradual, over a number of years. I became far more experimental and explored a lot of different techniques of painting other than spray painting. I love that graffiti is temporary, it’s part of its nature, and now I’m more interested in the remains of graffiti and also its removal, than graffiti itself.


Apart from being a sort of canvas, do you see site hoardings as intriguing? Alienating? Oppressive? What is it that inspired you to explore them further?
Yes. I love seeing all the different site hoardings in the city, the different colors and textures are fascinating. It’s a sign of constant regeneration, a thin line between the past and the future. They are alienating but also very intriguing, I want to know what’s on the other side. I find Hoardings are very symbolic: ownership, territory, the very temporary nature and always on the street exposed to the weather and marks, gentrification and the displacement of communities, there’s a lot of significance to me using hoardings as a material in my artwork. Their very nature and history lend so much to the pieces. My first interest was seeing council workers painting over graffiti and not matching the right color of the original hoardings, and I love the un-painterly marks and gestures, then I started thinking more about the significance of hoardings and the way they form part of the familiar visual language of a city, and are overlooked. I love going and finding new sets and taking them back to the studio and transforming the sheet material into a structure of its own rather than being a simple threshold.


Would you ever consider exploring another city like you do London to inspire another body of work?

Yes, absolutely and I do, I’m always on the lookout for new hoardings and love exploring new cities and areas that I’ve never been too. Hoping to make some work in the Netherlands this summer.

.artist talk
Mike Billard
speaks with
Michelle Heath
first published in:
issue 26, 01/2019

Sao Paulo in Brazil implemented a law that prohibits outdoor advertising. How do you feel that action impacts the artist community? Do you fear that a similar law could be introduced in London?


I would love all advertising to be banned, I hate advertising, it’s unrelenting, I look in my facebook messages and there are adverts there now, it’s just so intrusive, always being sold something, I find it disgusting. The world would be such a more beautiful place without advertising. I visited Sao Paulo in 2013 and it was blissful not to see any advertising.


You've said that you're fascinated by the marks left behind by the removal of posters and stickers. Is your art a means of preserving what remains or exploring the history of what was previously there?
Yes. I guess I’m really interested in the temporary visual language of city life. It’s not so much a preservation, it’s more about the abstract marks made during its removal, like found paintings. I find the city offers so much in terms of visual noise and background information. It’s all there. It’s just a matter of finding it and exploring the possibilities. The sticker paintings are really enlarging and re-contextualizing these small overlooked marks and remnants.


Do you every return to sites after you've created work based on what you found there to see if it has changed at all?
Yeah, I pass by some of the sites quite often and it’s good to see how the wood I’ve replaced is now becoming part of the environment, often they get written on within days, and I recently started numbering and signing the pieces that I put in place of the hoardings I’ve taken, and I document the process.


Do you have a favorite borough of London that you find particularly fascinating?
I recently moved to a new area which is further east and is new to me, so lots of exploring to do, there’s a lot of building going on, lots of new materials. It’s an old industrial area near the river and lots of development going on. That’s what I love about London, even after 25 years of living here, there’s still places to explore.

credit
header & content image (c) MIKE BILLARD

Olafur Eliasson
* seeing yourself sensing

november 2019
written Michelle Heath

Eliasson pulls inspiration for much of his work from nature and his time in Iceland. He believes in creating art that is submersive and experiential. Many of the pieces in the exhibition are experiences unlike any other. 

Olafur Eliasson 
Seen by Runa Maya Mørk Huber / Studio Olafur Eliasson 
© 2017 Olafur Eliasson 

Upon arrival, visitors are met with an extensive collection of Eliasson’s models and prototypes. From wireframes to Lego blocks and cardboard, the glass case is full of processes, successes, and failures, providing a glimpse into the active imagination of this incredible artist. 

Seeing yourself sensing’ is how Olafur Eliasson describes the viewing experience of his work.

In the next room, visitors can see a variety of materials Eliasson works with, using water in ‘I Grew Up in Solitude and Silence’ (1991) and ‘Wavemachines’ (1995), as well as Nordic moss on ‘Moss Wall’ (1994). ‘Beauty’ (1993) is a simple mist of water in a darkened room but somehow daunting and mesmerizing at the same time. Eliasson’s exploration of material, sound, and experience is incredible. Moving on to ‘Din Blinde Passage’ (Your Blind Passenger) in 2010, visitors are immersed in a 39-meter-long corridor filled with fog. At times the experience is intriguing and joyous as colors change and you pass through the embrace of the fog. But moments of panic set in as points of reference disappear and depth perception is removed. It’s a quick and somewhat abrupt change when it occurs but is also incredibly intriguing. 

Another space is filled with rainbow reflections that cascade down the walls from a new work by Eliasson titled, ‘In Real Life’ (2019). From there, visitors can walk through the life-sized kaleidoscope, ‘Your Spiral View’ (2002). This room is filled with light and distorted views, blurring the lines between reality and reflection.  

In another space, adults become children again playing with shadows in front of multicolored lights. For the piece ‘Your Uncertain Shadow’ (2010), the premise is simple, but the replication becomes confusing and you find yourself lost amongst the crowd of colored silhouettes.  The photo series ‘Melting Ice on Gunnar’s Land’’ (2008) and ‘The Glacier Series’ (1999) are where Eliasson’s interest in the changing global climate becomes very clear. Eliasson photographed the Icelandic glaciers over a number of years, photographically documenting their decline. It is subtle yet still very poignant. ‘How Do We Live Together?’ (2019) turns viewers on their heads with a mirrored ceiling and seemingly continuous loop. To experience the room is truly fascinating but to witness others interacting with this space is what truly makes it incredible. Viewers consume the floor space by laying down to interact with it to a greater extent. It’s a truly endearing moment. 

After entering a darkened room to see ‘Big Bang Fountain’ (2014), visitors are struck by the sound of rushing water but unsure of the source. Gravitating to a flash of light, the source of the is soon discovered. A fountain of water flows but is frozen in time when a light flashes. Each new flash reveals a different water source, creating some very temporary art before plunging viewers back into complete darkness. The black room combined with the overwhelming sound of water feels hectic at times, but with that simple flash of light, time briefly stands still. 

‘The Expanded Studio’ provides visitors with another look into Olafur Eliasson’s creative world. This space buzzes with excitement and inspiration. Outside of the exhibition space, visitors can experience more of Eliasson’s work with ‘Room for One Colour’ (1997), a corridor filled with warm, yellow light and another new piece made for this exhibition, ‘Waterfall’.

In the Tate’s Turbine Hall, visitors are given the chance to collaborate with Eliasson at a table of white Lego forms. Participants are encouraged to destroy, rebuild, and adapt this skyline made using one ton of Lego bricks. ‘Olafur Eliasson: The Cubic Structural Evolution Project’ is a terrific example of art’s ability to engage, relate, inspire, and connect with people. Eliasson does an astonishing job of blurring the lines between art and design. His collaborations result in work that is both entertaining and educational. With his collection of work, it’s not hard to see why Eliasson has become one of the world's most prolific artists of our time.

TATE Modern, London:
Olafur Eliasson: In Real Life can be seen until 05 January 2020

.concert
Fatoumata Diawara
* Echoes of Empowerment

written Alban E. Smajli

This Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter graces popular world music with an inspiring amalgamation of traditional and modern Saharan and West African sounds, Afropop, and Desert Blues. Her performances are much more than just music; they are powerful narratives touching upon hard-hitting issues like forced marriages, educational deficiencies, wars, and displacement.

Attired in a vibrant dress and a loosely fitting red corset adorned with several slingshots—a symbol of defiance against societal norms and oppressive traditions—Diawara commanded attention. Her headdresses, embellished with shells, and the masks used during the performance served as proud tokens of her Malian roots.

The concert was an overwhelming success. The audience, entranced, danced and sang along, riding the emotional wave that Diawara masterfully conducted. But this event was more than just entertainment—it was an act of activism, an inspiring call to arms, and a testament to the power of music to drive change. Through her soulful voice and powerful stage presence, Fatoumata Diawara proved that the voice of one can indeed become the voice of many.

experience StartDoingYou in Estonia @startdoingyou

credits_
all images (c) Karin Kallas

.aesthetic talk
Bridging the Digital Divide
* The Visionary Journey of Vellum LA

interview Michelle Kim + Savannah Winans

Dive headfirst into the radical realm of digital art with our unfiltered conversation with the creative mind behind Vellum LA. As a rebel in the world of traditional art, this pioneering gallery in Los Angeles is rewriting the rulebook by blending the tactile and the digital. We go under the skin of this seismic shift in the art world, uncovering the triumphs, trials, and the sheer audacity of curating digital art and NFTs. From dissecting the crypto-art divide to the volatile nature of copyright laws, we're about to shake up your perception of art in the digital age.

Fondation Louis Vuitton
* ZANELE MUHOLI - DAVID GOLDBLATT FROM SOUTH AFRICA

written Mark Ashkins

The Espace Louis Vuitton München is proud to exhibit From South Africa as part of the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s “Hors-les-murs” initiative.

David Goldblatt was born in South Africa in 1930. For sixty years until his death in 2018, he documented the country's buildings, people, and scenery. In 1998, he became the first South African artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 2001, a collection of his work from throughout his career, titled "David Goldblatt Fifty-One Years," toured galleries and museums in the United States. Goldblatt also had solo exhibitions at the Jewish Museum and the New Museum, both located in New York City.

credits
(c) DAVID GOLDBLATT & ZANELE MUHOLI (Fondation LOUIS VUITTON)

.concert
Bia Ferreira & Son Rompe Pera
* A Vibrant Resurgence of Kulturarena Jena

written Alban E. Smajli

Against the backdrop of her hypnotic fusion of reggae, raga, rap, Afrobeat, samba, funk, and soul, Ferreira presented a chilling reality - every 24 hours, a queer person is murdered in Brazil, and every 23 hours, a black person is killed by the police. Echoing her call to "Say no to racism, say no to homophobia, say no to police violence," she used her global platform to spark conversations as well as delight the audience with her musical prowess.

Postcards from Japan
* Inside the Mind of Asia’s Next Great Designer

with Malcolm Thomas

Last January at the Hotel Normandy I was romanced by fabrics; roses in hair and Old Hollywood elegance as I stood at attention at Taakk’s Fall/Winter 2020 show. When others were showing spiked grunge or renting out stadiums, Takuya Morikawa was giving me up close and personal. A Paris hotel lobby may be grand but technical craftsmanship is sex. I had run into Morikawa’s work once before in New York as a part of New York Men’s Day. A sampling of oftentimes theatric presentations of young designers trying to tap into the market. Something I would soon take for granted.

By July I was working on my parents’ couch and like their peers, designers were struggling to put out their Spring/Summer offerings without a live audience. Unposted was Taakk’s contribution to the first-ever digital Paris Fashion Week lineup.

A story between Keiju Furuya and Evangeline Young of long-distance love. Loving narration sprinkled over digital flower prints and cumberbund suiting. Inspired by late surrealist, René Magritte, the collection “Destroying the Common Illusion” was precisely what we needed and still need. Whimsy.

It was also perhaps the first time I was allowed to see the inside of Morikawa’s creative mind without the static of PR headsets and clicking cameras. A vision uninterrupted. So, I asked the designer in a time so unprecedented, to show me in words and images what his day looks like, the hobbies he has collected, and how the city of Tokyo has influenced the start of his new year. 

.designer talk
Takuya Morikawa
speaks with
Malcolm Thomas
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

credit images (c) 	Takuya Morikawa

masters influence
* STEFANO CASATI

written Abigail Hart

Upon seeing his work, you might be surprised to hear that Stefano Casati is classically trained in restoration of ancient murals, and still works in that field to this day. When you look closer, however, you will see influence of the masters in the balance, perspective and proportion of Casati’s artwork.

“I find it impossible, for me at least, to get rid from the classical training needed for my job, so when I paint…my vision is clearly modern and contemporary, nevertheless I’m sure that the years passed facing myself with masters influence my paintings.”

As an artist, Casati takes inspiration from his own experience, and as he admits, that has changed drastically since the lockdowns in his country and much of the world. Autonomy, too, has been challenged, and so many people who have never had their personal freedom challenged are now limited in so many ways. 

.artist talk
Stefano Casati
speaks with
Abigail Hart
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

“This situation is forcing us to face our social dynamics, and to think about the individual against the collective good.”

Casati finds autonomy in his art, free from the expectations of restoring antiquities and the pressures from the deathly consequences of choices during the pandemic. He pours his emotions into each piece and, though he may be stuck in many ways for pandemic related reasons, he keeps moving and creating through his art. 

credit header image

Stefano Casati
Atelier

Ania Hobson
* Strive for Independence

written Abigail Hart

Ania Hobon’s work in portraiture has been awarded some of the most prestigious honors in the art world for a young artist. Her art is intensely appealing and layered with detail and personality. Form, proportion, emotion, fashion choices, and expressive color palettes combine to create narrative portraiture capturing identity and personality.

Based out of Suffolk in the UK, Hobson holds a degree in Fine Art from Ipswich University and has trained at the Royal Drawing School and the Florence Academy of Fine Art. In 2018, she won the Young Artist award at the BP Portrait Awards hosted by The National Portrait Gallery in London. Her technical skill and fresh take on a very traditional art form like oil on canvas portraiture has made her a rising star in the art world.

Hobson speaks candidly about the pressures of the art world and how outside influences can profoundly affect both the artistic output and the personal lives of young artists. Her experience of second-guessing stylistic choices and navigating commercial interests makes the narratives in her art all the more relatable. Hobson has learned to prioritize self-care and in doing so protects her creativity as well as her mental health.

“The art world can be so exciting but the pressure can take a toll on creativity and your emotional well-being, so finding balance is very important.”

The idea of balance might be the most prized concept in art and art criticism. Many talented painters strive for balance and each painter expresses it in a unique way. Some find balance on the shimmering edge of a gossamer thread; others find a deep symmetry in color and motion; still others use perfectly defined boundaries to create balance through order and control. The balance in Hobson’s pieces is created by layers and layers of details. Her portraits are both of a single moment in time and also capture an entire lifetime. They show both freedom and restraint, truth to form and geometric exaggeration. Through the layers and dichotomies, what comes through is balance in the form of a person, complete and whole. 

Hobson’s use of the word ‘characters’ to refer to the people in her paintings, rather than the traditional ‘subjects,’ is indicative of the importance of narrative in her work. The pieces are not busy with detail, but every element tells a piece of a story. A character’s foot or hand bent out of proportion to face away from another character creates space. A chic black sweater elevates a casual pose to show the character’s backstory. Geometric shapes create motion, restlessness and repose in a composition. 

.artist talk
Ania Hobson
speaks with
Abigail Hart
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

“I want the viewer to be able to read themselves and their feelings into my paintings and draw their own conclusions of what the politics might be.”

Ania Hobson’s portraits tell a complete story with a beginning, middle and end, and every story is unique. Details hint at stories past, present and future and the narratives of her characters become full of life and personality. The beginning could be where the person is now, the middle being where they want to be right now, and the end might be whether they ever get to that place or not. Each story — each portrait — finds the balance of narration and imagination, making the piece infinitely relatable to a viewer. 

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Ania Hobson, 2020

.artist talk
* Gregor Hildebrandt

with Andreas Hübner

There are but few contemporary German-speaking artists who are recognized around the globe for their expertise and dedication to aesthetic excellence. Gregor Hildebrandt, Hesse-born and Berlin-based conceptual virtuoso, is among the chosen few. Since his emergence in the early 2000s, the artist is best known for his signature art practice: cassette tape collages. 

Somewhat self-taught in his art, Hildebrandt, a fierce collector of cassette tapes, videotapes, and vinyl records, always follows the very same constructive procedure: He separates magnetic tapes from the audiocassettes, glues the tape bands on canvas, usually vertically, from left to right, and, thus, interweaves songs and paintings. 

The songs are well-chosen. Hildebrandt typically shares a strong personal connection with the music he lays out on canvas: The Cure, Björk, Einstürzende Neubauten, Jacques Brel and others have been a part of Hildebrandt’s life for almost four decades. Unsurprisingly then, the titles of his pictures, installations, sculptures, and exhibitions reference song lyrics, poems, and movies. To be sure, the titles, once displayed, develop their own poetical resonance.

Hildebrandt’s approach to art is conceptual. He makes constant use of pre-recorded audio tapes. The linkage between song and canvas builds the composition. In this, the inaudible songs are omnipresent in his paintings, installations, and sculptures. Not unlike an analog storage media archive, his art constitutes a lieu de mémoire, a place of collective and personal memories. His work, in essence, is a mnestic process.

Andreas Hübner sat down with Gregor Hildebrandt to discuss his art, his work ethic, and his obsession with audiocassettes. A fine selection of Gregor Hildebrandt’s sculptures, paintings, and installations is currently on display at G2 Kunsthalle in Leipzig until May 16, 2021.

Gregor, let’s start in medias res. Last year, you were described as a master of audiotape recycling. An apt characterization?
Oh, I was not quite aware, but it seems true in some ways.


Maybe, someone was trying to shed light on the significance of materiality in your work. What’s the origin of your “material” explorations – the long-bygone analog mixtape era? Or are you striving to replace earlier sound archives with aesthetic imaginaries and alternative sound spaces?
I developed my ideas at the end of the 1990s. I looked for ways to transform audio songs. I hoped to integrate a particular song into a sketchbook. The most obvious choice was making use of audiocassettes. At the time, everyone owned cassette recorders which allowed us to record, play and repeat the songs. I recorded a song called “Falschgeld” by Einstürzende Neubauten onto an audiocassette, cut the magnetic tape out of the audiocassette afterwards and stuck it into my sketchbook. More generally speaking, my creative practice is less about recycling or replacing but about adding in a very material sense. The songs I am interested in already exist. They are reproduced and evolve into pictures or installations.

.artist talk
Gregor Hildebrandt
speaks with
Andreas Hübner
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

Time and again, exhibition catalogs and press releases emphasize your work ethic. Many enthusiastically emphasize your cutting of audio and VHS tapes into thousands of pieces and fragments. What do you find particularly fascinating about working with magnetic tapes and phonograph records?
The immaterial state of music drives me crazy. You can’t get hold of a song, let alone see it. The idea, or the knowledge, that these magnetic tapes are full of music, or images, is what I find fascinating. 


You are mostly employing analog materials. Still, to what extent does your analog practice resonate with the digital world?
If you will, I exploit digital forms of music, for example, when recording a song from Spotify on cassette and mounting the tape onto aluminum panels afterwards. In 2020, I did so in the case of “Schwelle gekreuzt”, a tune which I “embedded” in large wooden baulks that can be read as resonating bodies. However, all this squabbling over analog and digital modes makes me reflect whether digital ways are more practical and convenient. Also, let me draw your attention to an optical reflection of mine in which the printout of a digitally taken photograph is replicated in a mirror made of videotape. I assume you could call such thing an analog reflection of the digital’s own essence.


You often explore different modes of performativity in your art, generating artifacts of inaudible and invisible substance. Is your work political?
I am not quite sure, but I guess my art encapsulates a sort of “political noise.” 

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Gregor Hildebrandt
„Schwelle gekreuzt“, 2020
Audio cassette tape, cassette reel, Polyurethane, epoxy resin, aluminium honeycomb panel 74 x 155 x 628 cm (2 parts)
View of the exhibition Fliegen weit vom Ufer fort, Wentrup, Berlin, 2020
Courtesy of the Artist and Wentrup - seen by Roman März

.artist talk
* Adam Riches

with Nikkolos Mohammed

Balance is the reach for artists to gain autonomy. There is a lot of historical weight and expectations for it to be considered a reach; fear. The weight of the word Art comes with an expectation of innovation, which leads to hybridity. Through the process of hybridity, comes the practice of reduction to get then reach clarity. The name of the game is figuring out the balance and this questions: how long can you remain balanced in a world that is ever-changing? Constantly, we dream of being creatively pure, and consistently sustainable all at the same time.

Artistic practices usually start with the journey of discovering truth of self. In that discovery, we may search for answers within expectations of who we should be and hopefully we end up just being. The story of chaos and order is the same story of compare and contrast, while their identities involve their opposition.

CONFLICTING GESTURES AND ITS FRICTIONS ARE A NARRATIVE THAT TRAVELS IN THE MONOCHROMATIC WORK OF ADAM RICHES.

Describe the gravitation toward working in a monochromatic palette?
I think painting in monochrome has been a natural progression from drawing. I’ve been drawing since I was a child and didn’t start painting until I was thirty. My instinct was to paint in monochrome.


What does the narrative of your gestures convey?
Is there a consistent narrative?
The gestures and marks making in my work have changed quite dramatically over the years. I used to make fairly loose pen drawings from my imagination when I was younger. I went for several years without doing much drawing at all, until I became interested in realism. I went through a period of creating photorealistic pencil drawings. The drawings were really time- consuming and I didn’t feel particularly satisfied creatively. I then began a BA in Fine Art and started to gradually move away from photo-realism and begin to make more loose and expressive works. I often start work with chaotic gestures and try to pull it back towards some kind of order. I think I’m trying to find the balance between order and chaos, in the process and the end result.


Does your work address an identity problem with your portraiture?
If so, do you think there is a solution?
It’s possible that it is happening subconsciously. The topic of identity seems to be very prevalent in our culture today. I’m not sure that there is a solution to something like that.


Is there a different emotional experience for the viewer to interact with between the pen works compared to the paintings?
I think the scale with probably affect the way that the viewer experiences the work. The drawings are usually on relatively small pieces of paper and some of the paintings are much larger.

.artist talk
Adam Riches
speaks with
Nikkolos Mohammed
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

Because of your explorations of the human psyche, what do you think are social and political issues that have an effect on your process during this time?


I consume a lot of information about political and social issues - even more so these days with social media. It would appear that society is becoming more polarised and tribal. Some of my work tries to convey the solitude and alienation that can be felt by people who feel that they don’t have a place within that system.

TO GAIN AUTONOMY OVER OUR CREATIONS, WE USUALLY RESORT TO THE FREEDOM OF OUR INTUITIONS. THE STRENGTH OF ADAN RICHES’ WORK RESIDES IN THE SOLITUDE OF HIS SELF-TRUTH, AND THE HONESTY OF SHARING THAT TRUTH THROUGH HIS DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS.

credit header &  images (c) 	Adam Riches, Nadia Arnold

Steve Gorrow
* Autonomy in the Now

written Nikkolos Mohammed

The linking of lack of control and the abstract. Some have defined abstraction as closer to the truth in a world of constant unknown, yet some may say that abstraction is a passive gesture. In the journey of creation, the autonomy is in the process and not the result.

By using different materials, artists are battling with the truth, uniqueness, and depth of the relevance in today’s time as a marker of life for the future. Steve Gorrow is an artist that finds autonomy in the now — the now of the subjects and the now of the gestures of the materials.

BECAUSE OF YOUR USE OF MULTIPLE MEDIUMS, IT FEELS LIKE YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR OWN WORLD. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT WORLD?
I can try, I love art, and I love mixing mediums and inspirations to try create something new, and i can easily get lost in it and the thought of it, to the point that i have no idea of what i am doing or what i am building till later when i step back from it all and see it as a whole, and then the style and message becomes more clear, and from that there may be a few pieces that stand out and i will build on them and continue to experiment with them.These days i am experimenting with less and less control over my art and the meaning, it's more in the abstract. So my world is filled with alot of patterns, typography, photography, textures and ways I can merge them and make them in the real world using multiple mediums.


ELEMENTS OF YOUR ART PRACTICE CAN CONVEY AESTHETICS OF REBELLION. CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THAT CONCEPT AND HOW YOU IMAGINE THE VIEWER TO INTERACT WITH THAT CONCEPT?
I think I am mainly driven by a sense of reason and a love for the unknown. I believe that there is so much more to this life, so much that we cant see and know. So i think that forms an alternative base in me that you may see as rebellion but for me it's more a sense of wonder and curiosity of life on this planet, and the universe. I think when you try to look at things with a universal eye you get a better picture, one that is always more interesting and inspiring, then say the 9-5 grind, political agendas and dogma.


A LARGE AMOUNT OF YOUR PRACTICE HAS A COLLAGE SENSIBILITY. WHAT LEAD YOU TO WORK IN THIS MATTER RELATIVE TO YOUR IDEAS?
I love collage work i like that i don't have total control i like that things happen along the way that you don't have to plan or map it out, i like that feeling of collage where things just fit together and they happen as your doing it, so you don't really know what your gonna get till the very end and in some way your thoughts and feelings and patience are guiding it too so i love that process and i love just being in that state of letting things flow rather than a fixed image, i am more drawn to the abstract.


DOES YOUR PERSONAL JOURNEY INSTIGATE THE PROCESS IN WHAT YOU MAKE IN YOUR ART CAREER? DO THE CURRENT TIMES IN THE WORLD INFLUENCE YOUR PRACTICE?
Yes my life shapes my art and is my art, in many ways from the initial thoughts and dreams, to what I am drawn to, what inspires me and the time I get to spend on actually making my art, managing my time between work and family is all part of it.
And yes the current times definitely affect me, majorly, I don't think anyone has seen the world this crazy in a long time, there is so much change happening and so many things don't make sense. My hope is that all this change shifts things into a more peaceful world, but i would be lying if I didn't say that my suspicions think we are heading into wars, i really hope i am wrong and that i have just gone down to many rabbit holes.
On the flip side of this the isolating and lockdowns has had a positive effect for me. It's given me way more time to focus on and experiment with my art and not worry about the end goal of just enjoying making art and making as much as I can through these crazy times.

.artist talk
Steve Gorrow
speaks with
Nikkolos Mohammed
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

MANY OF YOUR WORKS HAS A PROTEST FEELING WITH A CALL TO ACTION?
IS THERE AN IDEAL WAY YOU CAN SEE YOUR ART CHARGING THE AUDIENCE TO ACT IN SOME WAY?
Yes some of my more commercial work has that approach, anti propaganda, its my take and shot at social commentary, my genuine frustration on the absurdity of somethings in this world, and adding my bit to the melting pot of life. Whenever I get the chance I try to slip in a positive message in the same way you have a conversation with your mates at the bar over a few beers, not taking it too seriously. The thing I hope to get back from it is just to make the audience think and hopefully they can relate to the underlying message which is always more peace, more love and getting back to nature and enjoying the ride.

Art is the beacon of a conversation between the discovery of truth from an artists’ perspective to the realities of the audience. During that conversation, some try to have fun, some want to be liked, some make jokes, some are brutally honest. Steve Gorrow’s conversations are a mixture of dialogues that all communicate where he is now.

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Steve Gorrow
Holiday Inn II
Installation
photocollage print

Dan Alva
* The Mastermind

written Hannah Rose Prendergast

Putting a spin on a classic is what Dan Alva does best. Born in 1984, the Miami native comes from a Spanish background of fine artists. He spent his childhood working alongside his father in the family garage and largely credits his craft to him.

Using mixed media, sculpture, and paint, Dan Alva is constantly experimenting until he finds the most ironic or organic pairing, both of which are informed by his primary career in advertising. Today, he pieces the old masters together to tell his own story, leaving everyone to wonder what really came first.

IN TERMS OF YOUR ART, HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC HINDERED YOU, AND HOW HAS IT HELPED?
2020 was a very busy year; collectors were sitting at home looking to decorate their walls or grow their collections. I was able to place double the number of paintings than I did in 2019. It was a year of refocusing and making time for the studio.


DOES WORKING WITH EXISTING ART MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR WORK IS MORE AUTONOMOUS OR LESS?
Remixing the masters was always my original goal — to paint the way they used to paint and use the materials they used. Slowly, I have realized that I want to push further past the instant recognizability of the masters and make the pieces more unique. In a way, I want to feel a greater sense of ownership over the pieces. I want the viewer to almost question where the basis of the painting came from and what it could be.


HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH PAINTINGS TO REMIX?
I work in advertising as a creative director and spend a lot of time behind a computer. I like to take visual breaks. I mindlessly look through images and start to narrow down colors, shapes, and forms. It’s mostly trial and error; every painting I’ve made has another three, four, or five versions that I’ve tested and killed. I like to build everything in Photoshop first to make sure it all fits right and makes sense visually. Some paintings I start right away, others I sit on for a few weeks and keep judging until I decide whether I love or hate them.


GOING BACK TO YOUR OUTSOURCED SERIES, CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT “COSA NOSTRA”?
The entire Outsourced Series is titled after mafia phrases or references. The paintings feel a bit like bootlegs or stolen works, so I try to embrace that. I also don’t take myself too seriously; titling works with deep-serious-bullshit-meaningful titles doesn’t do it for me.

“Cosa Nostra” is one of my favorites from 2020 that sadly/fortunately has been sold. I hope to buy that piece back someday. The painting is a mix of Neo-Classical and Baroque style painting. The color tones, positioning, and overall composition took me a couple of tries, but I’m happy with where it landed. The little baby chickens bring a smile to my face.

.artist talk
Dan Alva
speaks with
Hannah Rose Prendergast
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF YOUR LATEST WORK, “THE GRIFTER” STATUE?
“The Grifter” is my first attempt at a 3D form within this series. I’ve read a lot about historical figures like Napoleon and Alexander the Great, and I wanted to bring the same approach to sculpture as I do to my paintings. The bust is about 20lbs of cast resin – one monolithic piece standing at 25” tall. I wanted the bust to look and feel like one solid piece that had been cut with a laser. As I write this, I’ve only been able to create one successful piece. Initially, I was going to make this a series, but I’m starting to consider that, just like my paintings, every work should be a unique one of one.


HOW DO YOU PLAN ON INCORPORATING FASHION INTO YOUR ART IN THE FUTURE?
I think subconsciously [my work] is a way to design for fashion houses without being in that world. I have a deep love for fashion show concepts, production, and the campaigns that houses do. I don’t care much for the clothes, but I am really intrigued by the world they create around them. I tell my wife all the time that I would love to work for a house internally and conceptualize their next advertising campaign. It’s all about high-end visuals without the need for a background story. I love the over-the-top approach most houses implement into their set designs and window displays. I see it as the highest form of corporate art.


WHY DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR ART HAS THE POWER TO LIVE FOREVER?
Technically it will. I burn any piece that I am not happy with, and I take my future very seriously. I can only make so many paintings in one year, so where the works go and who owns them matters a lot to me. I refuse to let a painting go to some trust fund baby for his loft apartment. I’d rather keep the work myself. With almost all my paintings, I write the buyer a note explaining that I plan to buy that specific work back one day. Keeping a close relationship with a buyer matters, and being able to revisit the painting in collections really matters.

Imprinting his contemporary style upon the canons of art history, Dan Alva strikes a fine balance between keeping his source material intact and creating a new life of his own.

While Alva ensures that all of his paintings go to a good home, each piece is made with the intention that one day, it will return to the man that mastered them.

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Dan Alva, Miami Atelier, Russell Film Company

Dana James
* DISCOVERY

written Abigail Hart

If Dana James’ work could be described in one word, it might just be discovery. From new media, to new subjects to old media and subjects presented in new ways, James is always finding something living, something nuanced in her art. She mentions the idea of discovery a few times in our conversation, and it followed me through her thoughts and ideas and into her art.

“I do not think being an artist is a choice as much as it is a discovery in the world of communication.”

French philosopher Victor Cousin presented the idea of l’art pour l’art, or “art for art’s sake.” It speaks to the intrinsic value of art in its own existence, not merely as valuable in relation to other things. Dana James reflects this idea of art for art’s sake—it does not seek to be loved or appreciated or remembered, it simply exists and offer its own value to us for the taking. 

“My work is marked by nostalgia, more specifically, the optics of our memories. There is a shifting light in each piece, a literal “glow,” that calls upon the glinting of the ocean, the phosphoresce of dragonflies, the magic felt in the vastness of nature as a child, and the flashing of color just before drifting into sleep.”

James’ paintings are layered. They are intriguing and balanced in the best way, which is to say with a freedom to not be balanced at all. She says, “My painting is about adding and subtracting, cleaning the dirty and dirtying the clean, until I achieve the moment I am looking for. The most meaningful marks remain, and the rest is a process of elimination.” It is obvious her pieces are moments, the culmination of all that was and all that is yet to be in their own universes. 

.artist talk
Dana James
speaks with
Abigail Hart
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

“Painting grants us the rare opportunity to do something until we get it right, to fix our mistakes, and once we do, it is the highest satisfaction.”

During the pandemic, James has found meaningfulness in art. As her priorities shift and crystalize, she describes a process of prioritizing in her life similarly to how she prioritizes in her work. It struck me as such a universal idea, that so many of us are good at prioritizing at work and maybe experience varying levels of success at prioritizing in life. Seeing the results of those priorities in the form of a stunning work of art elevates the simple work we all do every day—the work of choosing the things to include in your life. As for James’ choices, she anticipates a new discovery every day. 

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Dana James
Exhibition view at Bode Projects, Berlin
Otherwise All Was Silent, 2020
Dana James´ first Solo Exhibition in Europe

DAVE EAST
* The Different Sides of Dave East

written Hannah Rose Prendergast

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT BEING PART OF A GANG?
That that’s all you are. So since I’m Muslim, I can’t be crip, like I can’t be both, or I can’t be a dad. If you’re in a gang, that’s all you can be; you can’t be nothing else. That’s the misconception. I feel like, with that shit, it evolves like everything else in life. You grow from banging and looking for people and beefing; you grow from that to doing different shit in your life if you choose to. For me, it’s more of a family thing I’m tied to forever, but I do so many other things that add a lot more value to society that aren’t spoken about, but that will always get attention. They’ll always ask me that as much as I try to do other shit and promote other shit. I think that’s the biggest misconception is that that’s all you can be, or you have to be a violent, vile criminal forever. I don’t believe that.


DO YOU STILL PRACTICE ISLAM? HOW HAVE YOU RECONCILED ITS TEACHINGS WITH YOUR LIFESTYLE?
I haven’t been to Jumu’ah [Friday prayer] in a while, but I still pray. Put it to my lifestyle, the teachings of the Quran keep me conscious of if I'm doing good or bad. Religion for me now is like my parent. When I was younger, when I’d be doing bad, I’d have my mom or dad at the back of my mind like, “Damn, if I get caught doing this shit, it’s over.” Now it’s like Allah sees this shit I’m doing, you know what I mean? I believe in Karma and all that. It ain’t gotta be a parent on my back no more; I’m a grown man. Those eyes I used to be scared of with my parents and shit, it’s Allah. It just keeps me conscious, on the right path as much as possible. We’re all human, and we’re all gonna make mistakes. That’s what my religion does for me; it keeps me conscious of what I’m doing.


YOU’VE SAID BEFORE THAT THE BIGGEST DISEASE IS BEING LIT. HOW DO YOU PLAN ON STAYING TIMELESS?
Just sticking to what I know, sticking to what I do best, becoming an expert at that, mastering my craft, not trying to jump into anybody else lane. For me, it’s not about being lit; it’s about how long you’re gonna last. You could be lit for a summer, and then nobody hears about you no more. You could be lit for a year or two, and then nobody talks about you no more. As long as I’m being talked about in a good way or a bad way, they’re still talking. With me, it’s more about making the best shit I can make, and in the process of that, I’ll create some timeless shit. I go back and listen to some of my old projects now, and they still sound good, so I think it just comes with growth as an artist. I still work like I'm in the projects like I'm trying to get there.

There are many different sides of Dave East. There’s Dave East: The New Yorker; The Basketball Player; The Muslim; The Rapper; The Father; The Actor, and the list goes on. At just 32 years old, he seems to have done it all, but make no mistake; he’ll never stop building on where he comes from. 

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Dave East seen and styled by Ani Hovhannisyan
all images shot at THE URBAN JUNGLE STUDIO, LA

.artist talk
* Hanna ten Doorkaat

with Michelle Heath

The world of art is a vast and diverse realm of expression and experience. For many, the idea of ‘understanding’ art can be intimidating. What are we meant to see or understand?

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.

― Aristotle 

After speaking with Hanna ten Doornkaat, it becomes clear that there is not always a specific intent, artists simply want viewers to connect. Doornkaat strives to create work that allows for ambiguity which the enables a personal and specific experience for any viewer.

Taking inspiration from architecture and sculpture, Doornkaat translates these three dimensional experiences into her two dimensional work. Through a lengthy and labour intensive process of adding and stripping away Hanna ten Doornkaat creates a series of marks that stop and start, creating movement and commanding space. Her canvases are small and intimate which captures a viewer attention, drawing them into that ‘space’. From there, the viewer’s imagination and emotion takes hold, those moments within that space are open to anything the viewer might encounter. Hanna ten Doornkaat describes her process and how she prepares for that ‘space’ in a recent conversation with LE MILE.

.artist talk
Hanna ten Doorkaat
speaks with
Michelle Heath
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

WHAT THEMES AND IDEAS ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXPLORING IN YOUR WORK?
I am really excited about recent developments in my work. I have abandoned the boards for the moment to create drawings on canvas. These canvas drawings are partially mounted on stretchers, but are flexible and open to interventions, which means they remain two dimensional drawings yet at the same time become three-dimensional, occupying part of the room. This questioning of what constitutes drawing is something that I find very interesting, and I like challenges. The combination of both the fluid canvas drawings with the rigid drawings on board is something I want to pursue further as it allows me to experiment and include spatial installations in my body of work.


WHERE DO YOU SEE 2021 TAKING YOU?
As mentioned before, I would like to experiment more with the shaped drawings but the more solid plans are for a solo show in Edinburgh in the spring of 2021. There is also, an exciting book project I have been asked to participate in with a British author and hopefully a collaboration with a top German name in the field of interior design.

The Act of Observing a Phenomenon
* with MADE PALGUNA

written Abigail Hart

The act of observing a phenomenon changes it. Scientists, journalists, researchers, mathematicians — everyone who makes it their business to know things, to record things, to observe things knows this catch-22 of the scientific method. Artists take this paradox one step further, because to create art is to observe and then to relate. To take something and hold it up to the light.

To ask it a million questions and then to ask the viewer a million more. But when you hold something up to the light, does that change it? Does commenting on a life alter that life?

Made Palguna’s work is full of life and full of commentary on that life. He takes everyday scenes, traditional values, and mythological images—any part of life, whether it lasts a minute or a lifetime—and turns them into intriguing works of art. Palguna’s solution to the catch-22 of commenting on a phenomenon: he puts himself into the art. Palguna’s work shows what life is like as a participant, not an observer. He is a part of Balinese life and Balinese life is a part of him. He holds moments up and, instead of asking questions, he invites us in to experience them ourselves.

“…It’s not just spirit, because I was directly involved in it. There is a direct emotional closeness to the ancestors, temples and Balinese community its self.”

Made Palguna is a Bali-based artist who focuses on modern & contemporary art. Born in 1976, Palguna is a native of Ubud, Bali and studied art in Jogajakarta before returning to Bali. Palguna’s art is influenced by the sights, sounds, feelings and traditions of everyday life in Bali, as well as Jogajakarta, where he lived for 20 years.

.artist talk
Made Palguna
speaks with
Abigail Hart
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

Palguna spoke to us about life and art in a frank and refreshing way. It is obvious that he doesn’t take himself too seriously, but at the same time takes humanity very seriously. When you look at one of his paintings, you see humanity in so many facets. His jokes — which he tells often, in and art and in life — are there not to cover up the truth, but to reveal it in its entirety. Palguna’s light approach to art actually shows his off his subject in a much deeper way than many artists might.

“I face something as easy as I can. Because I believe if there is a problem there will be a solution.”

Whether it’s in talking about his home country, or in one of his vibrant paintings, Made Palguna shows the light, sometimes messy side of tradition, culture and daily life. Palguna’s bright positivity is infectious and, although we spoke about some difficult things in the world today, he inspired us to continue to look for the parody, the positivity and the playfulness in any situation.

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Made Palguna
Lockdown, 2020
Charcoal and Acrylic on canvas
200x250 cm

I felt that I was an artist before I decided to become an architect
* with ANNE-MARIE FISCHER

written Abigail Hart

When Anne-Marie Fischer talks about art, it is clear she lives and breathes it. Fischer’s description of her art shows a connection so intense it comes across as strange, yet it sounds so natural in her words. As she tells her story, her background reveals the reason behind the intensity—Fischer gave up everything for her art, and she’s not looking back.

Her first comment, “I felt that I was an artist before I decided to become an architect,” reveals her truth: that art is what she is and who she has always been. The journey to get there, however, was a long one.  

Born in Paris and raised in Zurich, Fischer spent over 20 years as an architect before deciding to pursue visual art full time. As an artist, she explores different media like painting, printmaking, collage, sculpture and relief. She also teaches at House of Color, a school for artists in Zurich, and is a passionate artist educator.

“I show [my students] how to create endlessly from themselves.”

Fischer’s light of inspiration lit her way to becoming a professional artist, and she uses that inspiration to light the way for her students at the House of Color. Even during the pandemic, when the school turned to virtual classes, she found a way to inspire her students to become more independent. When she talks about her students, it’s obvious they inspire her as well, and that she cares about them deeply. She talks about their success and their happiness so fondly; you can tell that their success is her success, and their happiness is her happiness. 

.artist talk
Anne-Marie Fischer
speaks with
Abigail Hart
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

“I want to do what moves me deeply, does me good and corresponds to my own being.”

Anne-Marie Fischer ran towards her dream and found her footing when she arrived. She has put down roots and is free to explore, learning new techniques, exploring new avenues in painting and sculpture, and staying true to her background with space-related projects. You can tell that it was not easy, there may have been some heartbreak along the way, but that the difficulty made the peace at the end of the road all the sweeter.

Fischer gives the impression that, after doing the hard part of committing to her art fully, everything else is easy. She describes her process as involving plenty of drafts, revisions or modifications, but she does not label them failures. There is no fear that a project or piece won’t work out, because what sustains her is not success but creation. If she is creating, then she is living, and everything else will work itself out.

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Anne-Marie Fischer
Atelier, Zurich

The Myth of the Starving Artist
* Christopher Colm Morrin

with Hannah Rose Prendergast

For Christopher Colm Morrin, art has always been cathartic. Born in Dublin in 1980, the painter, poet, and singer/songwriter recalls being an empath from a young age. His ability to wear and experience other people’s feelings and emotions first set in as he watched his family fall apart.

Morrin turned to art, in its many forms, to make sense of it all. It allowed him to approach his own darkness as “a deep well of understanding and acceptance.” Combined with a background in psychology and the independent nature of an artist living in Berlin, Christopher Colm Morrin is on a lifelong journey of introspection.  

.artist talk
Christopher Colm Morrin
speaks with
Hannah Rose Prendergast
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

HOW DOES LIVING IN BERLIN CONTINUALLY OPEN YOU UP AS AN ARTIST?
I’ve been living in Berlin for nearly ten years now. I’ve said to people many times that Berlin has completely re-structured me. To be honest, it’s a lonely and raw place to live in, and I sometimes wish for a deeper sense of community. There are no bells and whistles to make you feel safer, no real distraction of a corporate, consumerist empire that feeds you with cleverly designed dreams. This lack of feeling safe and comfortable allowed my art to flourish. I think that it’s harder for someone to positively change in a large city like Berlin; it’s the reason why I’ve never left. You need to be especially careful of not procrastinating here because you can do that for the rest of your life. However, as an artist, I still think that Berlin has its mystical ways with the heart and soul of the creative type. It’s a city that can both kill you and teach you; this is what truly opens you up.


HOW DOES YOUR AUTONOMY AS AN ARTIST HELP YOU TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND CONNECT WITH OTHERS?
As an artist, one of the luckiest things you have is more time. Time to reflect, time to understand yourself, and time to question your existence. Question everything. Being an artist creates more space to accept one's existential despair, to breathe, and to heal. Recently, a good friend of mine bought me the book Art as Therapy. It explains how one can see art as a form of therapeutic process. I feel art has always been this for me. It’s why I keep creating with such force. Most people think that the life of an artist is met with poverty and no real sense of security, but I’d have to disagree. Art has allowed me to see others more clearly. I get to witness the pain of society. I get the chance to reduce my judgment towards others and how they behave in this devastating world. I get to understand why people are so afraid of everything, and ultimately, why we all fear ourselves. Art drives me to the core of what it is to be human in the first place, so, of course, this helps me to connect with others more easily.

The myth of the starving artist is one that we’ve all heard. It’s a cautionary tale about the creative that struggles to make ends meet while they chase their dream. But what about the striving artist, the one who finds strength in being vulnerable, the one whose dream is continuously paid in full by the connection they have with themselves and those around them? It’s a true story about a man named Christopher Colm Morrin. 

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Christopher Cola Morrin
Detail of work “Moving with Music I”

Autonomy is the State of one entity Being
* with NEMANJA NIKOLIC

written Abigail Hart

”Art always had the power to influence society. Since artists are autonomous, or should be, they can convey messages that others may be avoiding.“

Autonomy is the state of one entity being free from any other entity’s control. Freedom is almost always defined as freedom from—freedom from tyranny, freedom from oppression, freedom from relationships. Yet the concept of autonomy is defined by relationships. Emma Lazarus, author of the famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty, said of these relationships, “Until we are all free, none of us are free.” 

Nemanja Nikolic wears autonomy like a coat—something necessary at times, and something to be taken off at other times, to be put aside or shared with someone else. Nikolic lives in a reality of interdependence, not just independence. He uses his autonomy to freely create on his own terms. He innovates with new media, takes inspiration from wherever he finds it, and finds and disrupts balance as he sees fit. 

“I must admit that I believe in compromise…. Maybe it's just because I have been autonomous all my life, and I don't appreciate it as much I should.”

The autonomy Nikolic displays in his life and art could easily be mistaken for aloofness. Nikolic works alone, choosing his own hours and projects, but the balance Nikolic shows in his art tells another story. Nikolic moves through the world in a reality of interdependence, not just independence.  As he gathers inspiration, he connects with his surroundings, listening and observing. Everyday objects become the stars of conceptual pieces and signs of neglect are lovingly transformed into something worthy of being celebrated.  

Autonomy is a privilege that few can claim, and Nikolic acknowledges that. He sees the arts as the way to bring equality and universality to a fractured world. He wants to use art as a way to initiate discussions about important topics in society, and to do that, artists have to be connected to society in every way.

.artist talk
Nemanja Nikolic
speaks with
Abigail Hart
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

“artists should work towards getting closer to people and use the power that art has as a medium that can be universally understood.”

Nikolic sees the highest ambition of art as moving towards people, not away from them. To him, this means arts outreach and education. Most importantly, it means improved accessibility to education, so that the privilege of autonomy becomes as universal as the medium through which artists like Nikolic communicate. 

Nemanja Nikolic’s words inspired me, and I started to wonder if any of us can have autonomy until we realize that autonomy does not mean freedom from other people, it means freedom to connect with other people. The freedom to find balance and form bonds and relationships is the true privilege. As we as a society take responsibility for reaching out to our community members, we will see that privilege spread and grow until autonomy becomes as universal as art is.

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Nemanja Nikolic
seen by Louis Delbarre and Som Prahb

.artist talk
* HENRIK GODSK

with Monica De Vidi

Danish artist Henrik Godsk is known for his limited, dark palette of colors and his simple figures, a vocabulary of modern classicism. Transparent while quoting models from the past, as Picasso and Modigliani, his work feels still fresh and new, with an intensity that captures the contemporary public. 

There’s tradition and renewal and innovation in his paintings. Godsk creates a unique universe where there are contrasts, but also calm and peace, which is a counterbalance to the stress and chaos of modern life. His force lays on the tension between abstraction and figuration, between form and colour. 

.artist talk
Henrik Godsk
speaks with
Monica De Vidi
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

IN YOUR WORKS, PIECES OF CANVAS ARE VISIBLE—WHAT IS THE MEANING OF SHOWING THE PHYSICAL SUPPORT?
I have many rules, they help keeping the freshness of the work and to include the viewer in the creation process. For me parts of the canvas should be visible, and each element in a painting must be done in one session. I do not overpaint, when dry, it’s done. 


2020 HAS PARALYZED ALL OF US. DID YOU MANAGE TO CONTINUE YOUR PROJECTS? CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THE NEXT EXHIBITION IS?
It didn’t change much for me because I am always in my studio, and the galleries I work with found Covid-friendly ways to work.

I have a few shows coming up. My solo exhibition at Ruttkowski; 68 in Cologne in September 2021 will show different sides of me, again between figurative and abstract works, with sculptures and installations. I will present a large sculptural passage that can be viewed as an expanded painting or perhaps a mobile, and also a sculptural metal sheet version of one of my “Creatures”.

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Henrik Godsk
Wallpaper, 2020
Oil on Canvas, 80 x 60 cm

.artist talk
* HENRY WOOLWAY

with Abigail Hart

Henry Woolway has claim to one of the very few Cinderella stories of this pandemic. With tragedy and uncertainty swirling around, it is difficult to find the good in the world to be excited about. Even more so, it is difficult to let ourselves see the good because it feels like we are ignoring the bad. Woolway took a tiny glimmer of an opportunity in the vast dark that the pandemic brought when it set in and leaned in to that glimmer wholeheartedly.

Woolway decided to take his art full time mere months before lockdown hit the UK and much of the rest of the world. With it came a small silver lining, the opportunity to spend time at home with his painting. The outcome turned into something Woolway never could have guessed—double digit sales and even an art show snuck in under the wire—thanks to a hashtag and an online community. 

So many suffered from the loss of community during lockdowns, and certainly social media does not completely fill that void. Many people, however, also discovered the solace that lies in the smallest amount of connection. Henry Woolway found enough community on Instagram to start making sales and, more importantly, to start giving back to other artists. 

.artist talk
Henry Woolway
speaks with
Abigail Hart
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

Woolway’s beginnings as an artist are completely relatable. Everyone can remember getting a job, whether a first job or something even further along into a career, that from the beginning seemed like it would be perfect. What makes Woolway’s story special is the strength he found to not compromise or back down, or even quit all at once out of disappointment. Woolway simply continued to work, slowly, towards his own creative vision, towards his own autonomy. 

Hearing Woolway’s story, I find myself missing the little studio in Peckham. I’ve never seen it, nor even been to Peckham, but it is so obvious that he learned and grew so much there. As his strong, minimalist art shows, Woolway embraced that challenge as he did every other, with slow, purposeful motion towards the better. 

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Henry Woolway
Changing Perspectives
Acrylic on canvas collage, 95cm x 65cm

.artist talk
* PAULINA CERDA

with Michelle Heath

Art and science have often been seen as complete opposites. One is rooted in theories and questions but answered with tangible data and results. The other encourages questions and leaves things open to interpretation. The work of Paulina Cerda marries those two worlds, creating work that is rooted in science with expressive and ambiguous elements of art. 

The main focus of her work is an exploration of time and how we interact with it—a science that is hard to define. Cerda, however, finds a way to express it and to some extent understand it through her creations. Through speaking with Cerda about her work and how she integrates scientific theories into her process, it becomes more obvious that science and art are actually very similar. Both begin with a question, a theory or a concept which leads to the research of history and methodologies and ends with a potential answer or explanation. 

Art and Science both strive to understand the world we exist within. Cerda takes science and provides the opportunity for personal and visceral responses. Le Mile recently spoke with Paulina Cerda about her work and how she navigates the ‘conversation’ between these two worlds.

.artist talk
Paula Cerda
speaks with
Michelle Heath
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

WHAT IDEAS ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXPLORING IN YOUR WORK?
Nowadays I’m exploring a kind of realism as from abstraction. To do that, I’m creating some acrylic models of paint, that I can extract from the plastic surface where I painted them, so I can later make compositions with these pieces—as if they were flying brushstrokes that reflect some colors over other ones. All of this is set in a small photo studio where the composition is displayed. Then I capture the picture and take it to a painting.

I’m also planning to do some great-scale installations where the compositions that I was talking about can go out into real space, not just the photo studio. Another project is the work I’m doing on glass or transparent acrylic, I like the shadows that appears beneath this colorless cape, and that natural spatial dimensions emerge.



WHAT DOES 2021 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?
I’m not sure yet, I’ve got many projects in mind, like the one investigation I told you before. I think I should close each project and investigation with an exposition, so I expect that in the year 2021, I can have an individual sample where I can portray all the investigations I’ve been doing lately.

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(c) Paulina Cerda

mastery of technique with
* IOANNIS LASSITHIOTAKIS

written Abigail Hart

Ioannis Lassithiotakis’s works of art show a mastery of technique that comes from years of study and constant work. But Lassithiotakis’s words as he speaks show a mastery of a different kind of art—the kind of mastery that can only come from years of living. The thing that Lassithiotakis has found that many other artists are still searching for is perspective.

Perspective is one of the fundamentals of visual art. Beginner art classes teach still life sketches by arranging students around a single scene of objects and reminding them to sketch what they see, not what they know to be there. It’s not wrong to sketch what you know to be there, the point of the exercise is to develop perspective as an artist, to step back from the piece and make conscious choices of what to include and what not to. 

“Many roads were opened that made it difficult to me to choose. That’s how I gained experience on how to manage my issues and my relation with the viewer.”

Perspective as an artist and as a person is the ability to bring that choice into what you allow into your mind, your heart and your work. Ioannis Lassithiotakis spent much of his youth observing what was around him, looking down the roads that he could take, and choosing his own path. It has brought him a distinctive voice as an artist, and one that keeps changing with every new choice he makes. 

.artist talk
Ioannis Lassithiotakis
speaks with
Abigail Hart
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

“The Autonomy in me, focuses on my choices. I choose painting because I can feel with it […] My work begins and ends in my hands.”

Years of choosing his own road has led Lassithiotakis to find peace in self-sufficiency. He relishes AUTONOMY and lives it every day. Even in the current global pandemic, Lassithiotakis has found peace to keep calm and carry on, and believe that something positive will come from this uncertainty.

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(c) Ioannis Lassithiotakis

.aesthetic talk
People Watching with *Pelle Cass

with Hannah Rose Prendergast

For Pelle Cass, people-watching is a necessary part of his job. The Massachusetts-based street photographer debuted his series “Selected People” over a decade ago, and it has continued to inform the human experience ever since.

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(c) Pelle Cass

PURENESS BALANCE
* with Francois Bonnel

by Nikkolos Mohammed

The window of pureness of an artist looks promising in 2021. In reflecting on the reshuffle of norms in 2020, there is optimism on what the fine art realm looks like in the new year. The narrative of struggling to survive as an artist is a common story learned at an adolescent age in the western world, as well as the child’s freedom and purity of their creations. We encourage the freedom of abstraction, and the release of ideals beyond the expectations of representational forms. Where is the balance of pureness and commercialisation? In this balance, is there an attractive quality that we want to live with?

Francois Bonnel is an artist that balances improvisation of abstraction using pain, with the structure of mocking compositions on the computer before painting.

YOUR PAINT PALETTES HAVE A DISTINCT BALANCE OF VIBRANT AND NEUTRAL COLORS.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THIS BALANCE IN THE WORK AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?
The notion of aesthetics is fundamental to my work. I often try to paint something that I will enjoy looking at. Simplicity gives me a sense of well-being. Thus, like most "minimalist" artists, I try to paint simple forms with few colors on the same canvas. I then try to give them "depth" by playing with superimpositions, shadows or transparencies. A bright color brings an extra energy, warmth... I usually decide at the last moment which color I want to use because it often depends on my mood and ... the music I listen to when I paint.

AS AN ABSTRACT ARTIST, WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORK AS SPONTANEOUS OR CONTROLLED?
I admit I never asked myself this question...I take few notes and I don't make sketches. Instead, I work on my composition on a Mac to get an overall view of the result I hope to achieve. Then I paint from memory directly on the canvas, often leaving me a part of improvisation ... without other constraints than the pleasure of aesthetics. It's very selfish. Finally I have the impression that I paint as I live. Too much control is boring and too much spontaneity is a mess...but both are essential to me to be happy!

HOW DO YOU IMAGINE THAT THE VIEWER CAN INTERACT, AND EVEN LIVE WITH YOUR PAINTINGS?
Since I don't paint for others, I don't know anything about it...Unlike musicians, actors, sportsmen, painters hardly interact with their spectators...A painter has no public, except exhibitions and museums where everything is "under control".

But social networks like Instagram, allow to have a tendency. In general, people who follow me pay me compliments...that my paintings have "something soothing". Abstraction allows the viewer to see what he wants, it's up to him to decide, I don't intervene anymore. I don't want to "explain" a painting....Those who want an explanation hang on to the title of the work knowing that I usually name a painting after a song I liked when I was painting it! ...But I admit that these random choices sometimes work very well with the work I painted.

.artist talk
Francois Bonnel
speaks with
Nikkolos Mohammed
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

HOW DID YOUR ADVERTISING BACKGROUND INFLUENCE YOUR ARTISTIC PRACTICE?
The job of an advertiser is to create the need to sell a product ... It's exciting but exhausting, especially since the creative part is limited by imperatives that I did not control. As I often say, "a painting is not for sale...but, it can be bought !" The power of creation should always be more important than the power of conviction! There is nothing to argue... Like a love encounter, there is an inexplicable emotion that takes over and imposes itself...

IS YOUR PERSONAL BACKGROUND AT THE ORIGIN OF WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR ARTISTIC CAREER? DO CURRENT TIMES IN THE WORLD INFLUENCE YOUR PRACTICE?
Is your personal background at the origin of what you do in your artistic career? Do current times in the world influence your practice? My grandfather painted, my mother taught Fine Arts. I have always painted but I never thought I could make a good living out of it. So I opted for a more traditional career but I always painted as an amateur whenever I had the opportunity. Two years ago I quit my job and gave myself 18 months to paint full time. Everybody thought I was crazy! But my family was great and followed me. But I think it was vital for me.

On the advice of a friend I opened an account on Instagram and started to publish my paintings...I imagined myself canvassing art galleries in Toulouse to get a few meters of exposure...And then finally after a month it was one, then two local galleries that contacted me. That gave me a lot of courage and confidence. Then then I had the chance to be published by the very influential online galleries...

The current times do not really influence my artistic practice but I must admit that the current communication tools have boosted my artistic career. With the health problems of COVID, many "physical" galleries have not been able to work normally and many art lovers have discovered the "Online" art market on a global scale... Let's say that today, I try to live from my passion with the communication tools of my time... And it's probably because the world is a bit anxious that I try to paint "soothing" works!

The balance of freedom and structure in one’s unique life can be described to many as the hardest thing in life to do. To share that balance through art and allow for others to begin to find their balance, is the tree of life that we wish to teach our children during their adolescence.

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Francois Bonnel
Expo «Virtual In Situ»

The New Generation
* with Elisa Breyer

with Monica De Vidi

The health crisis of 2020 effected people’s life all over the world dramatically. While used to the openness and fast paced rhythms of globalization, everyone was forced by Covid-19 to start social distancing, isolation and deceleration. Physical contact, confrontation, possibility of sharing feelings and exchanging thoughts, this is what people missed, and still do, in the uncertainty of this phase. German artist and designer Elisa Breyer represents one of those creative voices that have been able to transform this suffering into visual language.

With the project Platonic Romance, Breyer shows a recognizable and comforting universe of daily objects, expressing warmth and closeness to other human beings.

.artist talk
Elisa Breyer
speaks with
Monica De Vidi
first published in:
issue 30, 01/2021

IN 2018 YOU HAD A COLLABORATION IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY. YOU WORKED TOGETHER WITH THE TEXTILE DESIGNER NADINE GÖPFERT ON THE COLLECTION BASIC FIT, PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW ALTERNATIVE SIZING SYSTEM FOR CLOTHING, AND EMBRACING A MORE NEUTRAL AND BODY-POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE COLLECTION?
I’ve been so lucky to work with Nadine. For her, good design is sustainable design, therefore we worked on a collection that consists only of classic pieces of high quality, meant to last. With the Collection Basic Fit we stated that all body sizes should be treated equally, and for this we proposed only two sizes, a tight fit and a loose fit, deriving exclusively from different processing methods. For example, The Classic Turtleneck is knitted from the same amount of wool in both sizes, but one is ripped and one is plain knit; the tight fit of The Classic Coat, also in wool, is felted at a higher temperature; The Paper Bag suit has two sizes in one, you can just fold it as you wish.

Personally, I have no problems finding my size in shops, but it’s not the same for everybody, and I feel the responsibility to recognize my privileges. People do not have to transform their shapes, but society has to change. 


ANOTHER COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE YOU MADE IS THE EDITORIAL PROJECT JOURNAL OF A FRIENDSHIP (2019), BUILT WITH REAL FRIENDS OF YOURS, AND ONCE AGAIN FOCUSED ON HUMANITY. WHERE’S THE BALANCE BETWEEN COMMERCIAL NEEDS AND CREATIVE HUMANISTIC VISION?
I will never forget some words I heard, saying that we are baking bread and cakes, with bread we pay the rent and with cakes we enjoy the making. Journal of a Friendship was definitely a cake, but it’s important to maintain a balance. I prefer to work with people I love, it’s safe to share thoughts, and I grow spiritually and intellectually. We should always remember why we are doing what we are doing, and stay faithful to our own ethics. For me this means respect for the planet and diversity.


YOU STUDIED AT BAUHAUS UNIVERSITY IN WEIMAR, WHERE YOU ALSO GUIDED THE TEXTILE WORKSHOP. OBVIOUSLY, THERE’S A LINE OF CONTINUATION WITH THE BAUHAUS, THE SCHOOL THAT CONNECTED CREATIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO INDUSTRY, GIVING SHAPE TO THE MODERN DESIGN. AS PER YOUR OWN PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN THIS INSTITUTE, HOW DO YOU FEEL IT WORKS NOWADAYS? ARE ALL DISCIPLINES CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER, OR IS EACH FIELD AUTONOMOUS? IN LINE WITH YOUR NEW ISSUE’S THEME, AUTONOMY, I’D LIKE YOU TO EXPLORE THE LEGACY OF THE BAUHAUS’ PHILOSOPHY OF HARMONY AMONG DISCIPLINES, OR TO EXPLAIN IF THERE’S MORE INDEPENDENCY AMONG THEM.
Weimar is such a tiny city, everybody knows each other and there’s an intense fertile exchange among students. At university, some faculties, such as architecture or engineering, are more autonomous, but collaborations are always inspiring and eye opening. Confrontation is stimulating, but it’s important to have a personal point of view, also when facing human feelings like competition or envy, these are natural when working together.
It was easy for me to be autonomous, I was the only one painting in my circle, but spending time with others made an impact on me. I even reached the point I started to copy my friend’s photography, but here the issues of authorship are crucial.

I’D LIKE TO SPEAK ABOUT YOUR PROJECT PLATONIC ROMANCE, IT APPEARS AS A MIRROR POINTED AT 2020. YOU DEPICTED COLORFULLY AN IRONICALLY A REALITY MADE OF FAMILIAR AND RECOGNIZABLE OBJECTS BELONGING TO OUR DAILY LIFE - EITHER SINGULARLY IN STILL LIFES OR ACCOMPANIED BY HUMAN PROTAGONISTS, WHO COULD BE ANY OF US. HOW DID THE PROJECT START?
The project started in March, during the first lockdown. Like others, my daily life significantly changed. Physical contact became a luxury and the living spaces suddenly played a different role, from residence to office, kindergarten, school, gym. I wondered how to keep hope and perseverance, so I started to focus on representing interpersonal warmth and closeness, and the memory and certainty of these.
I painted a series that consists of two parts. With large format portraits, I showed loving and yet so alienated togetherness, while with smaller scale still lifes, placed in the living room, I intended objects and corners as signs of domestic isolation.


HOPEFULLY 2021 WILL SEE THE END OF COVID-19 CHAPTER. CAN YOU TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR NEXT PROJECTS?
I am moving to Vienna to finish my studies at the Fine Arts Academy, where I hope I’ll be able to work in new exhibitions and to meet new people and to stay safely with my 91 year-old grandmother.

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Elisa Breyer
Schiesshaus Weimar, 2020
seen by Jannis Uffrecht

.artist talk
* with Jamie-Maree Shipton

with Tagen Donovan

RETROSPECTIVELY, COULD YOU OUTLINE THE BEGINNING OF YOUR CAREER LEADING UP TO NOW?
I’ve been doing this for what feels like forever, so to speak retrospectively is mildly daunting! Looking back can be a little hard (I’m very critical of my work.) Overall, it feels as though my journey has been a constant grind but satisfying nonetheless. I fell into styling naturally, being that I didn’t formally study the subject, but I do have a degree in Journalism.

During my studies at Melbourne University, I began writing for the Australian/New Zealand faction of I-D Magazine, taking my pre-existing love for fashion and moulding it into a career. During this time, I was writing columns, opinion pieces, and interviews. Initially, I wrote about my general thoughts regarding fashion, specifically relating to my surroundings. Always having had a strong affinity for the U.K, especially for the design school Central Saint Martins (CSM). I somewhat wanted to mimic this long-term affinity by aligning myself with The Melbourne Design School (RMIT). Spending a considerable amount of time there working alongside the graduates, I began to style and shoot — mainly with local photographers, the images would then run alongside my articles.

From this point on, I began getting offers to style rather than to write. I embarked upon creating editorials for various publications, including one of my favourites, Novembre Magazine. This is where I began to position myself into the UK/European market. Australia is great, however, the industry is very small, and in my opinion, narrow minded. The general response from the Australian market observing my work, was that they didn’t quite get it. Despite this, I decided to take the leap in uprooting to the U.K, and ever since, it’s been a whirlwind. My work feels much less restricted, and I’ve been able to be free within the articulation of my ideas, which has ultimately led me to becoming more of a creative director rather than a stylist. Progressing to where I am now, often working alongside CSM graduates and various other exciting new-generation designers, I feel more at home in myself and within my practice.

Many of the Australian designers from RMIT that I have worked with have ended up at some of the world’s largest and most inspiring fashion houses. In regards to photographers, again, I think I’m more inspired by those following their own aesthetic. It’s not so much about new or independent image-makers, but more about those who are enthusiastic in trying new things, people who are interested in carving out their own style and not following others.

WHAT IS YOUR STANCE ON USING INSTAGRAM AS A TOOL FOR SELF-PROMOTION? DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPERATIVE FOR ARTISTS TO USE IN TERMS OF CIRCULATION THEIR WORK OR DO YOU THINK WE ARE ENTERING A SHIFT IN SOCIAL MEDIA CONSUMPTION WHERE SOME INDIVIDUALS ARE OPTING OUT OF PARTICIPATING?
For me, it's about balance and how you define “self-promotion”. Essentially, my work communicates the idea of self when it comes to Instagram. I don’t need to show my physical self in order for my work to speak, therefore, rarely will you see me on my online feed. Some people have mentioned that I’d go further if I were to be more of a “personality” on social media. However, I must stay true to what I’m comfortable with, and for me, self-promotion doesn’t mean I have to do it only one way. I tend to be quite pedantic about how my Instagram looks overall, and that does indeed provide me with work. I think it is an important platform for disseminating your craft, and it also gives you access to collaborators. Once you figure out how to be part of “the matrix” in your own way, it’s far-less overwhelming. Playing by your own rules is what may work for some on Instagram, however, it doesn’t always work for others. The key is to do your own thing, and those who pay attention and appreciate will always come. Time away from Instagram is just as important, don’t make it the centre of your world; it’s a tool, not the be-all and end-all.

OFTEN WHERE ONE LIVES AND/OR HAS GROWN UP INFORMS THE VISUAL TONE FOR THEIR WORK. DO YOU FEEL THERE IS ANY TRUTH TO THAT?
In all honesty, I don’t really think it has much of an effect. Being influenced by things that are less tied to geographical location and generally finding inspiration within a multitude of places, location really only plays a part in terms of accessibility. My style is free-flowing, and would be the same no matter where I am located.

.artist talk
Jamie-Maree Shipton
speaks with
Tagen Donovan
first published in:
issue 28, 01/2020

CONSIDERING THAT WE LIVE IN A TIME WHERE EDUCATION FEES ARE VERGING ON EXTORTIONATE, DO YOU BELIEVE IT IS IMPERATIVE TO STUDY AN ARTS/FASHION RELATED DEGREE TO FURTHER YOUR PROSPECTS, OR IS MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELF ACHIEVABLE OUTSIDE THE CONSTRAINTS OF POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION?
I’m proof that you don’t necessarily have to study. I think studying to be a creative or furthermore, to position yourself within the creative industry, is quite pointless. Yes, you may learn technical skills, however, placing a grading system on a naturally creative intuition seems absurd to me.
What else does it teach but to alter a genuine creative process into one that seeks a graded result? You are far better off putting the money, time, and risk into your own projects and building your portfolio, rather than having an exterior entity define the potential of your ability. Clothing designers are an exception to this rule however, as I believe having an educational body behind you does make a difference.


YOUR INSTAGRAM COMMUNICATES A BOUNTIFUL VISUAL VOCABULARY. WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM MANY OTHER STYLISTS IS YOUR SENSE OF PLAYFULNESS AND A SEAMLESSLY MASTERED D.I.Y APPROACH. WHAT WAS YOUR THOUGHT-PROCESS BEHIND YOUR JEWELLERY MADE FROM SEEMINGLY EVERYDAY OBJECTS, SUCH AS SOUVENIR KEYCHAINS AND BUSINESS CARDS?
Since an early age, I’ve always been a “crafter” with a predisposition for “weird” objects. When I was in journalism school, I had my own jewellery label that incorporated a crystal collection of mine, now the pieces that I create embody the colours and shapes that I’m drawn to. Lately, as I've been travelling often, keyrings have become a current fascination. In general, the hands-on aspect to my work has always been present; anything that allows me to be creative, I'll do it. Additionally, turning found objects into new pieces is my small part in making my practice a little more sustainable.


WHAT KEY ASPECTS DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO A DESIGNER’S COLLECTION? WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER DESIGNING YOUR OWN LINE OF CLOTHING IN THE FUTURE?
It depends on my mood and the overall concept. I can be pretty fickle, for instance, something I like one minute, I may not necessarily like the next. In general, I’m drawn to mixing colours, textures, and dynamic shapes. My aesthetic emphasises a layer-heavy approach. I tend to dissect collections in my mind, ultimately envisaging how they could be added to something or perhaps translated in a different way. As for my own line, stay tuned!


YOU WORK CLOSELY WITH PHOTOGRAPHERS, ARE YOU HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH THE PROCESS OF A SHOOT? HOW MUCH PLANNING AHEAD IS INVOLVED OR DO THINGS TEND TO NATURALLY UNFURL?
Being that I’m a creative director first and a stylist second, the majority of the time, my concept initiates the shoot. From there, I will begin the process of assembling a team from start to finish. I’m heavily involved from the onset.

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Styling & Direction Jamie-Maree Shipton

TRANS WOMEN, TOO!
*Yves Mathieu

with Hannah Rose Prendergast

Yves Mathieu is a model in every sense of the word — even his designer namesake is saintly. Afro-Asian American independent musician-freestyle dancer-male model was born in Brooklyn but raised by his adoptive family in Florida. Growing up, Yves always knew that he was gay and he hated himself for it.

As a teen, he was bullied and used drugs to fit in, but by the time he turned 17, he got sober and has stayed clean ever since through the grace of God. After attending college for dramatic writing, Yves began to pursue a career in modeling; it was during the 2018 Women’s March in New York that he really stood out. With a sign that said, “TRANS WOMEN, TOO!,” the world was introduced to Yves the Activist. In addition to volunteering at homeless shelters, LGBTQ+ runaway centers, and senior citizen homes, he also fosters rescue Pit Bulls.



You can find him on Instagram, @the_yvesdropper, spreading his indelible message of love, acceptance, and equality.

The words of Nayyirah Waheed make my heart cry and feel peace but in such a beautifully minimalistic way. They’re simple and to the point, which is something I like to do not just in my life but in my own writing.

Matt Healy is someone whose music I’ve laughed to, danced to, cried to, and stared at the ceiling to. Everything he writes resonates with me, and as a singer/songwriter/writer myself, I can only hope that anything I create will make someone feel the way I’ve felt listening to his words.

I personally know Jeremy O. Harris, so my opinion is slightly biased, but I must say, it is truly a privilege to be alive and exist at the same time as a black writer who is as unapologetic, purposeful, and impactful as Jeremy. His words cut, they bleed, they bandage you, and they also free you.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEING A CHEERLEADER FOR THOM BROWNE’S THANKSGIVING FOOTBALL MATCH ALONGSIDE LIL UZI? WHAT IS IT ABOUT BROWNE’S ETHOS THAT RESONATES WITH YOU?
Thom Browne has a beautiful way of bringing people together in a fashionable way. Uzi is a homie. You know how you can be a part of a family all existing in the same universe, but you feel like everyone comes from a different world? That’s what it was like, the same universe but different worlds coming together. I am from my own damn world and in a skirt, of course ;)
Thom isn’t trying to change your style or who you are, he simply amplifies who you are. He reminds me of the color black — everyone looks good in it.

WHO IS ONE DESIGNER THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH?
Christopher John Rogers because I love his entire vision, the way his designs look like they make people feel, and, of course, because he’s a young black designer. Seeing POC designers being recognized and given a space to simply be is such a beautiful thing to witness as a POC creative.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE?
With all due respect, I just don’t really give a fuck what people think, and I go for it. If I’m feeling it, I’m feeling it, but I ALWAYS have on jewelry, always.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST MEANINGFUL TATTOO?
The most meaningful tattoo I have right now would probably be the equality sign on the bridge of my nose. One of the toughest parts in the fight for equality is when your own people don’t treat you as an equal. Every tattoo I have is meaningful to me for its own reason, and certain tattoos stick out to me more during different seasons of my life.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HIDDEN TALENTS?
I’m a really good swimmer.

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Yves Mathieu seen by Diego Bendezu

.artist talk
*Anaëlle Cathala

with Michelle Heath

Collage art can be traced back as late as the early twentieth century. Stemming from the French word, papiers collés (or découpage), it refers to the process of pasting together paper items onto a surface. Gradually the practice has introduced other materials including three-dimensional pieces and most recently, with the development of photo editing software, digital collage work has created its own place in the world of art.

Through the piecing together of various images and materials a new image is formed which embodies its own unique identity. At times the smallest area of an image can be densely packed with new information and dialogue. The result is a work that can be subtle and dynamic all at once. Anaëlle Cathala is a Paris based artist currently working in collage. Her work explores the built environment both at an architectural and city scale.

.artist talk
Anaëlle Cathala
speaks with
Michelle Heath
first published in:
issue 24, 01/2018

YOU ARE A SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST, WHAT INSPIRED YOUR PATH INTO THE VISUAL ARTS? 
I don't really know what or how ... I love art. I've always wanted to create. I searched through mediums, for the medium that would work for me ... but it was not particularly easy for me to find it. It has been complicated. And I did not allow myself. For me, it was always others who were the artists, not me. I did not go to an art school and I did not feel legitimate enough ... while it is only there, in art, that I feel in the right place. But I stopped trying to intellectualize all that. Just do, dare, work, try. And the tide is reversed. Nothing precise led me to this but everything has led me there.
 

YOU BEGAN AS A VISUAL ARTIST WORKING WITH PHOTOGRAPHY BEFORE MOVING INTO COLLAGE WORK, IS THERE A REASON OR STORY BEHIND THAT TRANSITION INTO COLLAGE WORK? WHY IMAGE COLLAGE WORK?
I did analogue photography for many years. I love it and I need to do it all the time and everywhere. However, it is "not enough" for me. I do not feel I am purely a "photographer." Since the beginning I have been working to do something else with these images. Project them, paint them ... 

I try to use them in many different forms and methods of my work. For the moment, this collage collection is my most accomplished and personal work. Working in collage interests me with its notion of infinite possibility. 

I am really caught up with the idea of ​​recreating new realities, new spaces, new dimensions. I sometimes even feel like just putting things in their place, putting my finger lightly on the gift of ubiquity, of being everywhere at once.


TYPICALLY COLLAGE WORK IS CREATED USING FOUND IMAGES OR OBJECTS, WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO USE ONLY YOUR OWN IMAGES? DO YOU FIND THIS INFORMS OR INFLUENCES YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY OR ARE THE TWO PRACTICES EXCLUSIVE OF EACH OTHER?
The first collages I made were not just with my photos but with images cut from magazines. However, it wasn’t the right fit for me and I did not find what I wanted. The approach did not suit me. The rendering did not suit me. 

Then one day, I realized that I had all the necessary material in my hands. You do not always immediately see what is so obvious…

All the photos in this first series of collages were made prior to the idea of making ​​collages with them. So, there was no influence on them when they were taken. And I will continue to do it that way. At least in a conscious way! I prefer to continue taking photos in an instinctive way, as I always did, and then to create my collage artwork afterwards. 

YOUR WORK HAS THEMES OF ARCHITECTURE AN URBANISM: WHAT IS IT ABOUT THESE REALMS THAT INTEREST YOU?
Because these are areas that fascinate me. I have always been fascinated by architecture and urbanism. I live in an urban environment; therefore, I am necessarily fed by it from my confrontation with it every day.

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by Anaëlle Cathala
detail of collage

Richie Culver
*Yeah!

written & interview Abigail Hart

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Richie Culver In Studio

The Everyman
*Willy Chavarria

with Malcom Thomas

From prison uniforms to leather bars, Willy Chavarria is designing a future for us all.  

“I don’t receive hate mail anymore,” said Willy Chavarria. “I think I shut them all the fuck up,” he wrote on a humid June afternoon. The Mexican-American designer lives part-time with his husband, David, a gemologist, and C-suite executive in Copenhagen. Yet, miles away from Scandinavian domesticity is the fledgling label, that bares Chavarria’s name with an homage to the city that made him a venerable designer-on-the-rise. Willy Chavarria is not yet a household name, but his provocatively inclusive aesthetic has made him a sweet whisper on the sharp tongues of many.

“I first met Willy when he showed at NYFW (New York Fashion Week): Men’s,” wrote CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) President and CEO, Steven Kolb via e-mail. “His show was at the legendary gay bar The Eagle. It was one of the most unique venues. Willy is unique,” he added. The show Kolb is referring to is Willy Chavarria’s controversial Spring/Summer 2018 collection, modeled after the psycho-sexual eighties thriller, Cruising, in which New York City detective, Steven Burns (Al Pacino), goes undercover as a gay S&M enthusiast to catch a sadistic serial killer preying on gay men. It was lauded by the fashion community but ill-received by his own. Fortunately, his audience has “broadened” since then, Chavarria said. And industry kingmakers like Kolb continue to sing the designers praises, “There’s more to clothing in what he does. There’s meaning and message and community.”       

A community that begins in casting, “I really like to capture the realness in my work by including the people who inspire me with their own attitude or presence,” said Chavarria of his unorthodox casting methods.

Chavarria uses a Chicano cocktail of models and friends which he uses for shows and campaigns. A method used to categorize the designer by some as more streetwear than luxury. But not surprisingly Chavarria cares as much for labels as he does for bigotry. “Willy works outside the regular fashion circuit. He has created his own circuit of talent that avoids the shallowness we find in so much of the fashion world,” said creative assistant, Zenar Kraige Tobias. “He has mentored me. He has enabled me to believe in myself and be proud of my Brownness.” And Willy can find community just about anywhere. “He cruised me in a nightclub in New Orleans,” said Karlo Steel. Steel is now a consultant and style director for the brand.

Growing up in the working-class town of Huron in Fresno County, California, Chavarria did not have such a community. “Since childhood, I have always been an outsider. I grew up in a conservative small town before the internet was invented,” said the designer. “I spent my years being the kid in the cafeteria that ate alone. But I developed a very tough skin and a strong identity.”

An identity that is rooted in self-awareness and social justice reform. Something many industry leaders struggle to understand or implement into their ethos, especially now. “While I do believe that fashion is both a reflection of the world it lives in and a means of inspiration to think, feel and behave differently, I think there is more to having cultural influence than messages in marketing. It is our business infrastructure that must have an impact on society. We can chip away at the system from the top down, or we can change the system from the bottom up,” said Chavarria. And by now, you guessed it, Willy Chavarria always puts his money where his mouth is. From sponsoring undocumented New York City soccer players to creating uniforms for Lurigancho Prison inmates in Peru. “When I created the brand in 2016, my team and I agreed that our brand strategy would be to promote human dignity,” said Chavarria. “The more we grow, the more we are able to give back. I’ve never wanted my work to be entirely exclusive. I truly want all people to feel great in my clothing,” he said. 

all looks Willy Chavarria

seen Brent Chua
directed Zenar Kraige
styled Karlo Steel
Hair Takanori Shimura

first published in:
issue 29, 02/2020

But the right eyes were not always on Chavarria. Like most who operate outside the nepotism of the fashion industry, his journey was a long one. After leaving the conservative mores of Huron behind, Chavarria moved to San Francisco where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Graphic and Industrial Design in the early ’90s. While attending university, Chavarria picked up a part-time job working in the shipping and packing department at Joe Boxer. Before the end of his college career, he had worked his way into a designer role at the company, designing men’s underwear. In 1999, Chavarria was offered a job at RLX, the athletic leg of Ralph Lauren in New York City. Many moons later, Chavarria launched Palmer Trading Company, in SoHo. A curated emporium of Americana which specialized in artisanal furniture, apparel, and accessories. After nearly a decade of success, Chavarria launched his eponymous menswear line in 2016. In 2018 and ‘19 Willy Chavarria was an International Woolmark Prize finalist, tasked with the challenge of creating environmentally-minded capsule collections made entirely of wool, for an AUD (Australian dollar) $300,000 prize.

Then in 2015, after sixteen years in New York City, Chavarria made a decision. “As the Obama administration came to an end and the next administration revealed itself, we decided this was a good moment,” Chavarria said. “My husband David and I wanted to live in Europe. No sooner did we make the decision; David was offered a job in Copenhagen.” But Chavarria was not turning his back on the city. “We kept our apartment in New York, and I would travel back and forth regularly [pre-COVID19]. David is Puerto Rican from the Boogie Down Bronx, so we are still very much New Yorkers in a strange land, but we enjoy the beauty of a European lifestyle as a healthy change to the chaos of the US. It is still new and inspiring.”

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by Steven Biccard

Mask for Mask: Unveiling Joel Hernandez
*The sculptor who’s unlocking the power of paper mâché

written & interview Malcom Thomas

He smiles. Frown lines outline his toothy grin, and a parted mustache sits above his lips. His golden-brown skin glistens against the backdrop of the La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles. The gallery is known to have given birth to the Lowbrow Art Movement. At 17 x 18 inches the mask and sculpture titled, The Things We Miss, has already been sold. And no, the paper mâché bust is not a marble antiquity strained in lustful agony; porcelain-toned with cold Euro-centric features. It is joy and it is in this cartoon whimsy that Joel Hernandez’s work exists.

Born in Mexico, Hernandez migrated to the US at the age of nine. “My whole family moved from Nuevo Laredo, it’s a border town with Texas. Moving to the U.S. was a seismic culture shock,” he said. Not knowing any English, Hernandez began to become taken with art. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating something. I think I retreated into my imagination to cope and try to make sense of this new life. I never took art classes in school when I lived in Mexico but when I moved to the US it was part of the curriculum. There is no language in art. I could say things that I didn’t have the words for, I could vent my frustrations and celebrate my joys. There was no right or wrong answer.” 

In high school, he picked up a camera and started shooting black and white portraits. “I became intrigued with capturing a narrative in someone’s face, in constructing and manipulating a different world, perhaps because that’s the only way I felt like I was in control,” said Hernandez. He later attended Indiana University where he pursued a degree in photography. 

In Houston, he ran a knick-knack shop called Santeria where his fascination with masks began. “I would sell found treasures from estate sales that I altered in some way. While I was doing that I started collecting all sorts of wooden masks from around the world. What I found so special about the masks was the power they held, those masks were storytellers and rites of passage and warnings and celebrations. We tend to look at old wooden masks and say that that was in the past, we don’t hide behind masks anymore, but I feel like all of my life I’ve had to put on a different face at different moments that have helped me navigate and explore the spectrum of life. Those tactics at first were meant to help me disappear into the crowd but somehow tenuously left me with the desire to belong somewhere. My masks are meant to address those needs around tribalism, pageantry, and everyday struggles,” he said. Masks like Truth/Deception, Broken Heart, and Lying to Ourselves, toe the line between macabre, whimsical, and poignant, whilst taking cues from the Mexican folk art Hernandez grew up with. 

.artist talk
* Welcome to Ellen Sheidlin’s Sweet Escape

interview by Hannah Rose Prendergast

Enjoy your stay in an open-minded glass house,
Become one with an armchair,
Brush your hair that springs eternal,
Play with fire that can’t burn you,
Listen to the secrets of whispering ears,
Give a lovey-dovey nod to Magritte,
Watch your imagination bend over backwards.

From digital, video, and performance art to photography, sculpture, and oil painting, Ellen Sheidlin’s world knows no bounds.

Alex Kuznetsov
*drawn to an idea

written & interview Abigail Hart

Graffiti, as a form of expression, is not often thought of as reserved. Yet in a blank white gallery, Alex Kuznetsov has filled the space with more unreserved vibrancy than any of his former work in graffiti ever held.

The more involved process of choosing a canvas, mixing paints, layering and finishing pieces creates more opportunities to imbue an entire life into a piece.

Born in Minsk and currently based in Moscow, Alex Kuznetsov spent 15 years traveling the world creating graffiti before transitioning to abstract painting and other media. Kuznetsov became internationally renowned for his work in spray paint and pioneered the graffiti scene in the CIS (the former USSR). Through graffiti, Kuznetsov learned the skills of color combinations and working in large formats, as well as numerous life skills. He credits his years mastering the craft of graffiti as “an education I would never be able to get in a regular school or university….”

“If we compare with graffiti where an artist travels around the world himself then here I set my works off on a journey.”

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Alex Kuznetsov seen by Zoe Volkova

Rock ’n’ roll was a magical ‘Alice in Wonderland’ ride
*Russell Young

written & interview Abigail Hart

For some people, a 15-year career as a rock-and-roll photographer and music video director is the stuff of dreams. For Russell Young, it was just the warm-up act.

After a childhood the artist himself describes as “barren, colorless, and emotionally barren,” Young got himself into art school and then moved to London to work as a photographer’s assistant. He began his career photographing rock and roll gigs, including gigs by the Smiths and R.E.M..
Central to all of Young’s art is the pursuit of color. Whether it is hand-mixed paints selected to reflect the colors of California, or ancient pigments sourced directly in Italy, the context behind the colors creates the story of every painting or screen print. His popular use of diamond dust, inspired by Andy Warhol, brings dimension to silkscreened paintings. It reflects light on top of monochrome colors to pull the eye across the canvas and manipulate the image below. The dimensionality of Young’s pieces reflect the dimensionality of perception—that people, and things, can be perceived in more than one way.

PHOTOGRAPHY HAS A POWERFUL ABILITY TO HIGHLIGHT TRUTH. HOW DO YOU USE PHOTOGRAPHY ANDPHOTO MANIPULATION TO CREATE A CONVERSATION AROUND TRUTH?
Cropping is everything. It can change the meaning of a photograph: it can tell you the truth or tell you the most fabulous lies.

THE SATURATED COLORS OF YOUR SCREEN-PRINTED PIECES LIKE THE MARILYN CALIFORNIA SET ARE REMINISCENT OF POP ART. WHAT DREW YOU TO INTERACT WITH POPULAR CULTURE THROUGH YOUR ART?
I deal in fame. Color is everything to me. I'm currently in Florence, Italy, inhaling and delving through the most magnificent and ancient pigments and paints and exploring techniques in an artist supply shop that has existed since pre-Renaissance days.
The spectacular color in my paintings is the result of the absence of light I experienced as a teenager growing up in 1970s Northern England. It was grey, cold, brutal, colorless, and emotionally barren. I desired to escape and move to California, Hollywood, the West, the Pacific, the Mojave Desert—places where light, color, and heat exist in abundance.

These fantasies—and how they are more real than reality—are what continuously draw metowards icons like Marilyn Monroe or the vistas of the American West.

WHAT IS INSPIRING YOU NOW? WHAT IS NEXT?
Love.
Circles.
Color.
Kate Moss.

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RUSSEL YOUNG
The last american hero, Slab City Orange, 2018
acrylic paint and oil based ink hand pulled screen print on linen
29 x 48 inches

.aesthetic talk
*Alteronce Gumby

written & interview Abigail Hart

Picasso, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, the Power Rangers—the language of art that Alteronce Gumby speaks is filled with limitless thinkers and POP icons.

Working in painting and mixed media, Gumby explores the limits created by cultural definitions of concepts like color, form and value. By pushing beyond those limits, Gumby seeks to create space for interpretation and curiousity.

Alteronce Gumby’s journey as an artist began with color, inspired by possibly one of the greatest masters of color—Picasso. Following in the footsteps of the Abstract Expressionists, Gumby has spent his career examining his own avenues of expression and definition. Based in New York City, Gumby has a BFA from Hunter College and an MFA from Yale, and it was during these studies that he became interested in the absence of diversity in fine art. Inspired to create a dialogue on social justice, Gumby’s art holds space for a viewer to experience color, feel it, and consider it. Gumby also holds up other concepts for consideration—the nature of art, society, race and identity.

As visual elements can be expressed through infinite variations, with layers of texture and finish expanding and effecting the viewer’s perception, Gumby questions the definitions that limit our perceptions.

Gumby operates in a world inspired by culture, but he uses art to explore beyond the world he lives in. He engages with the viewer to question the preconceptions they might hold, and perhaps to choose a freer, truer version of their lives and themselves. Gumby found the freedom to explore and express his own experiences through abstract art and is sharing that freedom with the world.

YOUR RECENT EXHIBITS HAVE PLACED AN EMPHASIS ON COLOR. WHY IS COLOR SO IMPORTANT TO YOU AND WHAT DO YOU EXPRESS WITH YOUR CHOICE OF COLOR?
Since I was a kid, I’ve always been fascinated by color. As an artist, I’m constantly asking myself questions about it. Where does it come from? How is it defined and understood? What sensibilities and experiences do I have when I interact with color? We live in a world of color. Color takes on so many different shapes and forms and each form is telling you something different about the world and about color. Each color is experienced differently. I believe my job as an artist is to redefine color for myself through the process of painting. To give new perspectives on this colorful world we live in.

MANY OF YOUR PIECES, FROM CERAMIC TO MIXED MEDIA TO PAINT ON CANVAS, ARE CREATED INSIDE AN ANGULAR MOTIF. WHAT DOES THAT MOTIF SYMBOLIZE AND HOW IS THAT REFLECTED THROUGHOUT YOUR DIVERSE BODY OF WORK?
The angular motif is what I refer to as my Moonwalker. It's a shape I discovered while searching for a different shape other than the rectangular frame. I consider it my “spaceship of the imagination”, a term I borrowed from Neil Degrasse Tyson. It's a vehicle that allows my consciousness to go places I haven't seen before. To consider ideas and explore other worlds I can only visit through my mind's eye. It’s my way to freedom and liberation outside of the physical world.



WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR NEW PIECES?
During the pandemic, I made weekly visits to the MoMA and would always admire Street, Dresden 1908 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. His palette in this painting made use of complementary colors. I was in awe with the effects he got with simultaneous contrasting colors. In school, I read Josef Albers Interaction of Color, and studied the work of other artists that used this method in their work; Gerhard Richter, Frank Bowling, Stanley Whitney, Sam Gilliam & Katharina Grosse. I wanted to use this strategy to create a sense of force in my paintings, where the colors could take on the energy of gravity. This energy is everywhere and is a great way to reference another great unknown, the cosmos.

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Alteronce Gumby
Studio Portrait
Horizon Convergence, 2021

Photo by Elizabeth Brooks. Image courtesy Charles Moffett Gallery.

.artist talk
*Seungjin Yang

written & interview Nikkolos Mohammed

POP: like many artistic processes and creative outlets — have a look.

.aesthetic talk
*John Yuyi

written & interview Hannah Rose Prendergast

No one does social convention quite like John Yuyi. The Taiwanese-born, New York-based artist is known for her custom temporary tattoos of social currency: a ‘like,’ a ‘retweet,’ a ‘match,’ a ‘follow,’ a ‘read’ receipt, the unnerving ellipses that appear just as fast as they disappear, etc. 

Instead of being confined to a screen, they are displayed on parts of the body for the world to see. Her rendering of other status symbols, including Gucci’s green-red stripes, the LV monogram, the Nike swish, and two very famous interlocking “C’s,” has introduced us to a new type of logomania. Inspired by her own life, family, friends, strangers, and social media, Yuyi is proving that sometimes connectedness is only a ‘follow’ away.

HOW HAS YOUR WORK EVOLVED SINCE YOU STARTED IN 2015?
I don't know, I just keep feeling like it's all about luck. I keep walking this journey, but unpredictable things keep happening to me. I feel flattered and I feel small at the same time. I need to push myself to move faster than what I've got.

WHO DID YOU LAST FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM?
I think it's @mylesloftin. I'm not sure, but the latest one that I remember is him! He’s the photographer that shot me during the Gucci Wooster opening in New York.

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(c) the artist John Yuyi

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© Courtesy George Byrne

Humberto Cruz
*in living color

written & interview Hannah Rose Prendergast

Humberto Cruz has been drawing, dreaming, and living life in color from a young age. Growing up between SoCal and Tijuana, Mexico, the San Diego-based illustrator always had a pencil in hand. His artistic pursuits led him to study graphic design in college, but after graduating, he learned that following his passion meant not quitting his day job. Someday soon, he plans to retire fully to his journal, where he draws out his innermost thoughts by hand or digital collage.

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(c) Humberto Cruz

My Home, My Prison
* Laetitia Vancon

words Laetitia Vancon
edited Hannah Rose Prendergast

The Vukaj family of northern Albania have been trapped in a cycle of Blood Feud for 20 years. Noja, his wife Angje, and their four children are innocents merely implicated because they belong to the ‘wrong’ clan.

see full series: Laetitia Vancon

credit for all images
(c) Laetitia Vancon

.aesthetic talk
*Ravon Artson

written & interview Monica De Vidi

Dutch artist Raven Artson conquers with an authentic and charming sound. Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer, he translates his multifaceted personality into an impactful creative universe, combining music and visual presence.

LE MILE Magazine chats with Raven about his work and projects.

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Raven Artson seen by Walter Pierre, styled by Anna Claasen

In an industry plagued by rapid and mass production, Orefice proves the need and relevance of intentional design is what connects us with design, each other and the planet. Domenico Orefice tells us more about his approach to design and how designing and making with ‘intent’ impacts his process.

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© Courtesy Paolo Belletti and Artist

Manifesta 14 Prishtina
* 100 Days Art in Europe’s Youngest Capital City

The biennial program is located in 25 different Prishtina venues, from the Ottoman-era Great Hammam to the Yugoslav-era Palace of Youth and Sports. The best way to see all the program has to offer is by following the Manifesta 14 parcours. This path takes visitors through the ongoing urban development of this young, social and dynamic capital city. By using a variety of venues – each with their own unique histories – Manifesta 14 Prishtina highlights the need for and use of public space within urban landscapes.

All of the interdisciplinary elements of Manifesta 14 Prishtina are woven together tightly in one cohesive program, allowing visitors to interact with the stories of the places where the artistic interventions are presented. This program revolves around four pillars and works to change the biennial model into a participatory and collaborative catalyst for social change. See the annex for more information on each of these four pillars.

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(c)MANIFESTA 14, Prishtina

Performance Of Postures
*Changing How Fashion Is Presented

A performance that places the audience in the middle of the action allows fashion to be seen in a new light. Laura Banfield and Claire Myers, based in Melbourne, use a technique that suspends the models in the air to create a performance that lasts over time.

Deslin Ami Kaba
* Embracing the Past to Innovate the Future

written & review Mark Ashkins

VLOP, the ambitious new record label, is making its mark in the music industry with the release of its first catalog number, a captivating 4-track EP by the talented newcomer Deslin Ami Kaba. This release boldly mixes classic 80s and 90s influences with a fresh, modern touch, demonstrating the label's dedication to giving a platform to underrepresented artists and showcasing a diverse range of musical genres.

Deslin hosted the LE MILE anniversary party in 2022, which celebrated the release of our HEROES Issue Nr. 32. The event was a huge success and showcased Deslin's ability to entertain and engage with audiences.

Hailing from Halle an der Saale, Germany, Deslin Ami Kaba discovered her love for music early in life and has since honed her skills as a self-taught musician. Her debut EP is a testament to her years of hard work and undeniable talent, proving that she is a force to be reckoned with in the music scene. The EP is a perfect blend of Deslin's voice and Cyan85's unique production style. Side A of the EP features tracks that will heat up any funky dancefloor, while the B-side delivers more intimate feelings. Each track has its own unique moments, making for a well-rounded release.

The Fashion Industry's Faux Pas
*The Struggle for Authenticity in Fashion Marketing - How Brands are losing its Authenticity

written Mark Ashkins

E-commerce brands are increasingly relying on AI-generated model images instead of using real models to showcase their products. While this approach may seem cost-effective and cutting-edge, it raises significant ethical, social, and practical concerns that cannot be ignored.

To successfully engage with Generation Z and ensure a prosperous future in the fashion industry, brands must prioritize authenticity, realism, and customer satisfaction. Embracing real models for product images can help achieve these goals, while also promoting diverse representation and inclusivity. Companies offering AI-generated model images should be transparent about their processes and technologies, ensuring that customers can make informed decisions without being misled by false claims.