BAPTISTE DEBOMBOURG

Some shots of different pieces of work by BAPTISTE DEBOMBOURG. Thanks to BUMBUMBUM for directing me to the work.

I think I love 90% of work that relates to architecture, the built environment, installation art, urban environments, text, interventions, etc. This stuff seems to tick all the boxes… What do you think? I’d like to start using my blog as a means of generating discussion, critical or otherwise, so use the comments if you have anything you’d like to say!

CHERNOBYL

I just read an amazing account of an author’s [Henry Shukman] exploration of ‘Europe’s strangest wildlife refuge, an enchanted postapocalyptic forest from which entirely new species may soon emerge.’

For anyone interested in Chernobyl, wildlife, subversive spaces, architecture, or even psycho-geography and art, this is a must read.

I saw the link on Twitter thanks to bldgblog << who you should follow if you're not already.

Find the text HERE, and let me know what your thoughts on it are.

Photo thanks to Pedro Moura Pinheiro.

YVES NETZHAMMER

I saw Dialogical Abrasion by Yves Netzhammer at the Liverpool Biennial last year. It was probably one of my favourite pieces from the whole festival. I know it was last year and I probably should have blogged about it earlier but there you go.

The piece was a site-specific sculptural installation. It felt almost labyrinth like, unnerving and unsettling. Familiar objects suddenly became unfamiliar and strange. The immersive atmosphere completely overwhelming my senses…

If you ever have a chance to experience his work, you should!

THOMAS DEMAND

In an effort to garner some inspiration for a series of prints (that will also be transferred onto t-shirts) I’ve been mooching through one of my favourite books; Collage: Assembling Contemporary Art.

It’s a great book for anyone interested in Contemporary Art and Collage, so check it out if you can.

It’s got plenty of artists and examples of their work, but I’d totally forgotten about an artist who was a massive inspiration for my practice when I was at uni. THOMAS DEMAND creates highly technical and elaborate architectural locations and interior structures – using just paper and card. Often creating the illusion of reality, (since his work is made, photographed and then destroyed) meaning the viewer can only see each piece as a photograph.

There is a juxtaposition of mundanity and the uncanny which creates an unsettled reading of the image. The 3D model/structure becomes flat, a plane, an image of a place that was built intentionally to be seen in 2D. It is this denial that makes the viewer aware of a ‘set’; the photograph offers the viewer an answer to what they see as an ‘uncertain reality’, allowing them into the image and a chance to pull apart the illusion.

BLDGBLOG

Just a quick post to highlight a great blog!

I was made aware thanks to my good pal Sarah Smizz.

We’re hatching a plan for city wide domination! Not really, but we are pulling together a great proposal for an exhibition that will *hopefully* be in Manchester. If not, probably Sheffield. We’re very excited!

But what the hell has this got to do with BLDGBLOG? Well, everyone is inspired by something. So, thanks BLDGBLOG – you’re an inspiration!

Jacob De Graaf

Enjoying the work of Jacob De Graf at the minute. I saw his work in issue 10 of ArtBox.

Particularly his older pieces – architectural paintings of small homes in mostly nocturnal landscapes. His more recent work is concentrated on form and composition rather than feelings/mood.

I love that De Graaf explores the idea of psychogeography of the home in a 2D format rather than 3D/installation.

3RD I

I wish I could be at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo but alas, I can’t. In person. But I could be telepresent; that is, to give the appearance that I’m present or have an effect at a location other than the one I’m physically in. This is no new concept, but it is an integral part of an exhibition at the Expo by Graham Smith and Christina Smith of Cybercity Ruhr.

The exhibition allows for robots to be manually controlled and manoeuvred through tiny streets. They can be controlled ‘locally’, over a game step pad, or ‘world wide’, over the internet. This enables the viewer to explore the environment as a pedestrian would, without actually being there.

Generally, the exhibition explores urbanism, spatial needs, interactivity with urban and built environments, identity and cultural exchange. But personally, ides of community, isolation and alienation are key.

For more info have a look HERE.

NEW DRAWING | COLLAGE

THE THIRD & THE SEVENTH

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman.

Amazing!

SAM TAYLOR-WOOD

Sam Taylor-Wood