A Snake in a Basket

Serpentine Pavilion

An architect from Burkina Faso, Diébédo Francis Keré, built this spectacular structure inspired by the trees in city parks and the buildings that surround them. The curving walls almost form an upside down lamp shade, composed of triangular components that consist of wooden batons and are tessellated to form a wicker basket pattern. The central oculus exposes the sky fully so that the views of the luscious greenery are appreciated, the sheltered walls not only filter the breeze but creates a bowl cavity that collects rainfall, channelling water to the ground to help nourish vegetation and maintain growth. The perforated pavilion celebrates how London is fortunate to obtain surpluses of water quantities through the levels of rain we get a year. Think of how treasurable water is, it has so many benefits in replenishing the environment, contributing to drinking water, making our parks fuller and brighter for visitors to relax in and adore.  

Adbusters

Adbusters is a not-for-profit-media-foundation, concerning itself with physical and cultural environments by commercial forces. Magazines show documentation and discusses issues of economy and culture. The magazines AD- BUST as they are anti-advertising, blaming advertising for playing a central role in maintaining consumer culture, associating desire and identity with commodities and aims to provoke anti-consumerist feelings.

From the graphics and imagery within the magazines there is a consistent forcefulness about the way the messages are being displayed. As I flick through the magazine I like the texture of the recycled matt paper as opposed to glossy, as its roughness not only accentuates organic nature and sincerity, but it also connotes how Adbusters do not want to focus on the cosmetic appeal of consumerism and false advertisement. We should value the core meat of the magazine, the luxurious update of the issues that are occurring in the world that make us feel refreshed and intellectually advanced. Heavier paper feels more fibrous and forces us to absorb the texture within our fingertips for a longer period of time, which means more time engaging with the activity on the pages.

Page after page reminds me of a scrapbook that contains bundles of annotated photography, scratchy scribbled lines, arrows, vandalised political figures, super surreal collage and textured materials. Despite this, the commotion is balanced and supported by the large mass of white negative space, complimenting orientation of the graphics and imagery. The magazine is an external configuration of ones conscience or inner thoughts that is vomited on several pages, which makes the magazine more colloquial as it is comparable to a journal and a diary that enables the reader to engage into something that seems quite personal.

I like the 'Psycho' page as just by looking at the photographic manipulation the viewer will acknowledge the message and meaning of the article without actually reading it! What dominates the page is a finger, it is so perfectly shaped and has an even flesh-tone that it almost looks prosthetic. What's more is that the nail has been replaced by the casing of an Apple product, all situated in a clinical white backdrop. From my instinct, the designer substituted the fingernail with the carapace-like casing  of the apple product due to its likeness in textural properties. Also we associate Apple with an abundance of the technological devices it designs and we associate a fingernail with growth, protection and strength. Then when a reader connects both of the imagery together they can imply that there is an issue and a concern that as a society we are becoming fixated and dependant anything technological and digital. As generations progress technology will develop and will furthermore become engrained within society, the addiction of technology will grow so much that one will not be able to detach themselves from it in a way that it essentially becomes an appendage on their body. Technology aims to exceed perfection in the virtual worlds within the screen, encouraging users to delve into social media, which inhibits real people from interacting in a real world.

Welcome to the Cronx!

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Extraordinarily with graffiti in the streets, you could visit street exhibitions daily in your hometown! Croydon is an archive for such an array of painterly graffiti pieces, implying cultural diversity and contributing to a rhythmic location of dancers, performers and musicians.

Graffiti usually has really negative connotations, considered as anti-social behaviour performed by attention-seeking teens, inviting residents to lose pride in their area, buildings lose appeal and it could make the neighbourhood feel unsafe.

The growth of graffiti, originating from the anonymous Banksy, is a form of artistic rebellion through unverified identity to dodge being threatened by the consequences of marking their territory on properties. Graffiti isn't a street crime, it's street art as its rawness and urban edge reflects the bustling energies of the city life. Graffiti displays fantasies, hopes and dreams of those that live in the more derelict of areas, rebelling against authority and breaking barriers of social class. It is favoured by political movements, spreading as part of protest, advertising how "ruling class" and "establishment" controls mainstream press.

Graffiti is highly skilful, immersive, creative and imaginative, enabling understated artists to articulate in an accessibly visual way. I admire their modesty, they do not wish to produce art to increase fame to their name, instead they wish to paint the streets with messages so that the neighbourhood get a notion of the underlying political/social views.

One of my favourites is Astro-Gorilla (#4)
The pupil-less eyes,  minimal palette of red, the space garments and the striking stencil outlines defines the demonic expression of the bestial character as he steps into the world of the unknown. A space gorilla emerging from the haze of red smog, toxic fumes, a supernatural stance suggesting that other life exists on the planet Mars. A dystopian scene where an animalistic figure replaces what should be human, reminding us that humanity evolved from monkey-like species, the result of tampering with Darwin's natural cycle of evolution. Or maybe the future for evolution is reverting back to our primal state?

Fun findings

I was waiting for my friend at Victoria Station and I thought I could kill some time by browsing the magazine shelf in the WHSmiths, just because she was taking ages and I didn't want to look like a loner standing amongst the sea of people on my own. There was something intriguing about the youthful vibrancy and the warmth of the hand-rendered texture of the child-like illustration that made me appreciate the blocks of primary colours, an adaptation of Mondrian.

Cami Ortega

And then I eventually approached these dainty pastel feminine dreamy drawings. Whether it was the natural rosy palette of the hues, or the consistent incorporation of floral prints, the blushed pretty doll faces or the large globular hair, there were elements that portrayed me as a character. I felt connected with these drawings in a sense that these drawings exposed  my interests and style and how I am drawn to the visual interpretation of femininity. There isn't a fixed visual interpretation of femininity as that differs according to the preference of each person but I feel quite comforted when I see something that compliments and comprehends my identity. The rounded shapes that construct the figures and objects, the sweet notes of strawberry pinks, the slight whisper of a pattern conjures a place of comfort, softness, sublimity, innocence and pleasure.

According to the interview, the artist is a 21 year old design student from Chile that started to publish her artwork through web platforms, she used to be ashamed of showing people her work but through illustration workshops she began to launch herself into the world of illustration. Camila mainly makes digital illustrations as she finds that she is too disorderly to create through physical media. She believes her work is largely poetic and she wishes anyone who sees to feel represented, how she represents herself. For someone studying graphic design, I'm vastly fascinated by illustration, but what I am fond of is the expressive texture of the hand-rendered and cursive typography combined that creates a personal and relatable visual that is easily accessible. Also how illustration can be involved in the graphic layouts of publication, magazine design and advertising. Every woman she represents is shown as she is; as she wants to be. But the neutral facial expression hides a secret, the true emotions of the women are ambiguous therefore in order to investigate the artists recommends to look beyond with the "naked eye".

Joan Cornellá ~ Spanish illustrator and cartoonist

Joan Cornella

Joan Cornellá's illustrated comic strips and prints mock society, human behaviour and the scenarios of everyday in such an unsettling, surreal dark humour. I enjoy how his artwork is very honest and blatant,  containing a bold attitude- without a hint of sympathy- through the synthetic colours and the slightly uncanny smiled face, making the content more light-hearted and encouraging people to laugh at his work.

Obviously if the scenarios happened in real life no one would be laughing, but the scenarios are super surreal that the chances are slim, but it is the majority of the underlying context that is relatable. In a sense his work hyperbolises the fact that as humans we have the tendency to laugh at the misfortunes of something or someone else and there is a hint of cruelty in that we laugh at misery or tragedy. And so that "plastic smile" on the characters symbolises how even though the most horrible things happen, one must find a way to overlook them and move on.

I would have to admit this is one of my favourites. This is the relationship journey of Peter Andre and Katie Price.. only joking!
The entire sequence is highly satisfying. You have the stereotypical 'blonde', a girly girl who always wears baby pink and is a very high maintenance lady. This blonde is probably really superficial, obsessed with selfies, has an attire of revealing body cons and probably spends the day watching YouTube make-up tutorials on how to get the perfect contour. This lady strives for perfection, beauty and uses seduction as a tool to get what she desires...
But it all backfires...Karma is literally a b*tch and we love it really!

I admire the subverted Princess and the Frog as it truly teaches us how modesty is the best policy. The strip focuses on how some relationships in modern day society are progressing to where we become so fixated on body image, reputation, the perceptions of beauty, perfection and status that the raw meaning of a relationship gradually fades. Clearly a relationship based on 'exteriors' truly doesn't last.

The pivotal point is when the lady metamorphoses into her young self, she is smiling because she is elated by the result of her kiss, the delight of a dapper chap. However she then looks gutted because there is a moment of realisation where she thinks she doesn't deserve him. Or maybe she's feeling deflated because her beloved breasts deflated? She probably thought they would be a "perfect match", both at the same level of beauty...(Peng AF in her Instagram pictures.) Since we don't see the man's reaction to her change in appearance, as we only see his constant smile throughout, we assume he is an affectionate man that doesn't make the superficiality of beauty and love as a priority. Meaning that her feeling of upset as a result is most probably due to her own insecurities and the unnecessary lack of confidence of her own natural and youthful beauty.

Feeling exposed

Roaming around the V&A, as you do, I was stunned and startled by what seemed to be, a quite gothic apocalyptic tower of dead bodies. Rachel Kneebone's complex porcelain sculptures unravels human experience, inspired by themes of transformation and renewal. Diversely the accumulation of bodies expresses movement and fluidity in a medium that is typically associated with an object or a 'thing' that is calm and passive. This then enabled Kneebone to explore the properties of porcelain, deliberately deteriorating her work so that the decayed aesthetic manifests the relationship between strength and vulnerability.

The tower is gridded with windows, each containing a different scenario, a different composition of bodies that are intertwined with each other in all kinds of disturbing contorted positions. Whilst scanning the sculpture from the base to the top I had a little thought, what if the Tower of Pisa was a façade? Who knows that maybe the Tower of Pisa's exterior is just a visceral skin that when you peel it back it reveals a chamber of bodies arranged like this?

There were lots and lots of body parts in the nude, some upside down, and some protruding limbs  reaching out to anybody that walked by. The structure had an obscure depth where the layers and layers of bodies were piled in one mass, each figure falling onto the next that displays a calamity, which heightens the vulnerability. Vulnerability is also defined through the fact that the bodies are in the nude, suspended and dumped, objectified like ragdolls, neglected and left to decay. Yet the complexity of the positions in the way that they have been 'frozen in time', portrays the human form in a supernatural manner as the arrangement is perceived as uncomfortable and abnormal.

Despite the morbid connotations of the ill-washout out flesh hue of the porcelain 'dead bodies', the sculpture doesn't manifest the body forms as people or characters or living human beings, that is the reason why viewers shouldn't feel any abject towards this magnificent column. I feel the figures in the sculpture are simply models demonstrating the silhouetted shape of the body, delivering movement through time in a sequence or a routine.

Eureka!

Collage- Daydream

Why is it that my creative ideas breed when I'm resting in bed, eating meals, brushing teeth, showering, walking to the bus stop, on public transport and even when I'm sitting on the loo?

Is it that as soon as we are doing everyday activities our minds get bored in our rituals so we like to take our minds on a holiday, fantasising about all sorts?

I do think that some of our best ideas originate from the act of daydreaming. In 1980 William James, founder of American psychology, wrote that "when absorbed in intellectual attention we become so inattentive to outer things as to be ‘absent-minded,’ ‘abstracted,’ or ‘distraits.' All revery or concentrated meditation is apt to throw us into this state that transient lapses in the control of attention may lead to a shift in attention from the external world to internal mentation.” In an experiment researchers noticed that brain structures in participants became more active- in between tasks. These structures turned off as soon as the participants began to engage in tasks that were the original focus of the research. The technical term is “stimulus independent thought,” a thought about something other than events that originate from the outside environment. Stimulus independent thoughts is the content of mind wandering.  

Down the drain

Since my mum has tied me to the house, it looks like I won't ever be leaving and so I am lumbered with nagging parents, a sister that pinches my tops without returning them, tacky carpets from the previous homeowners and the TV. I guess I won't be missing much.

Although I know many of you out there have just flown the nest (temporarily) to be near your university and most of you have probably chosen the university that is the furthest away so that you feel like you have escaped completely. Deciding whether to leave or stay felt like voting for Br-exit. Having voting 'in', I'd like to know what you miss about home, feel free to comment below!

Foolish findings

I must have been in primary school still but I remember wandering around the school playground dodging the running children and tracing the edges of the patio, peering into the soil and something twinkled. What was it? Like a magpie I retrieved the carbon-coloured nugget that resembled a small piece of scrunched up foil, brought it closer to my line of vision to examine its structure and form. I was amazed to see the cubic faces, some larger than others, they were reflective surfaces so as I rotated the framboid between my thumb and index finger its metallic lustre became striking and apparent.

It was a thrill to find something I hadn't seen before, my curiosity enabled me to value my findings and as a collector it is something you take pride in. I had a moment where I felt prosperous, potent and privileged as I had been enlightened by my discovery, its rarity also triggered a feeling of achievement. I showed my parents this object and they believed it was fools gold (a.k.a. pyrite.)

Pyrite derives from the Greek, meaning 'of fire', in the Roman times this name applied to the stone that induced sparks when struck against steel. Pyrite is an iron sulphide found in rocks and is the replacement mineral in fossils, despite 'fools gold', it is sometimes found in small quantities of real gold. In the 16th and 17th century it was used as a source of ignition in order to strike sparks, needed to fire guns. Its commercial purposes include the production of sulphur dioxide, in applications such as the paper industry and the manufacture of sulphuric acid. Pyrite is an abundant and inexpensive material in low cost solar panels and helps to make marcasite (iron sulphide based) jewellery where small pieces are faceted in silver, something very popular in the Victorian era.
What's the most interesting thing you have found?

Spas aren't just for adults...

Spas for babies

The spa is a very stereotypical recreational activity for women in their late-twenties having a girly day out, bathing in the pool with clay-based facial masks, discs of cucumbers on their eyes, holding flutes of bubbly and catching up with the latest gossip.

But amusingly, after scrolling through my Instagram feed, I stumbled upon a clip of babies at a spa! A 'babies only' spa! Proving that a spa is for everyone; young or old, boy or girl. Everyone is entitled to a few minutes of relaxation where you are allowed to seclude yourself from the outside world and delve into the pleasures of being pampered.

Which is why I found the concept of a baby spa very very funny. People tend to go to a spa to take a break from the strains and burdens of a stressful working lifestyle, therefore doesn't a baby sleep enough? Everything is practically done for them and so they have no responsibilities whatsoever. Who knows, babies might get very frustrated when their parents cannot comprehend their babbles and cries and when they mistaken the 'hungry cry' for the 'I need changing now' cry.

But of course babies won't be receiving manicures and facials, fortunate little ones in Texas would experience neonatal massages and hydrotherapy at a cost of $65 per session, as it is said to improve motor development. It is intensely adorable and entertaining watching multiple babies bopping up and down in a pool with just their heads nestled in doughnut floats. Also seeing how babies are giggling, relishing the freedom, waving their limbs about, splashing, wriggling and interacting with other babies rather than being confined in a pushchair.

#10 Ugly Betty

Like most teens I had braces, except that my teeth were so delayed in coming out (my last baby tooth was pulled out in year 10) that I ended up getting braces at sixth form!

What's worse, I didn't have the privilege of the NHS paying for them because the orthodontist considered the demand for the treatment as 'cosmetic.'

For an entire year my dad called me Ugly Betty.

But Ugly Betty was one of the best TV series!

#9 LoL

I work for Links of London (a.k.a LoL)
Links of London is a British jewellery brand that contains a wide variety of contemporary classic, timeless, high end pieces. The symbolic collections attaches meaning, content and culture to the designs, personal touches include keepsakes (charms) and engravings.

The three interlocking Links motif derives from the first LoL product, the salmon shaped cufflinks. The trio of rings represents values, passions and inspirations that motivated the brand throughout the 25 years. (Love, London and life.)

The candy jewellery greatly influenced the Sweetie bracelet, which is a very nostalgic collection at Links and can be easily personalised. It is elasticated and contains stacks of sterling silver rings that makes a tactile fun alternative to the charm bracelet.

Candy jewellery

#8 Odd one out

I'm the only one in my family with blue eyes!

#7 Imma from Italy

I have Italian heritage, you've probably guessed that already from my non British-sounding name (Giovanna)
^Ironically the photo above was taken of a very flamboyant chandelier at a Mexican restaurant, I was intrigued by the freakishly long tassels as they reminded me of the golden gates to heaven, a cascading curtain of spaghetti strands. My Italian paradise.

Italian man who went to Malta

#6 Petless

Sadly I don't have any pets.

So that has resulted me in having an obsession with having a daily dosage of watching compilations of kittens and puppies cuddling, squeaking, sleeping, eating... e.t.c

Cats 'making biscuits'

Dogs meeting kittens for the first time

Puppies howling

#5 Fun size

I'm

fontstruct.com

This link will teleport you to a magical site where in which you can design your own font, simply by connecting shapes together like puzzle pieces. Surprisingly it was more mathematical than I thought, for each letter you have to build your shape tiles from the origin (bottom left corner) and problem solve how the angles of the shapes will smoothly slot into each other, to form a letter.
Importantly you have to consider how you'd like your typeface to look, maybe think about a theme, how it relates to the content of your type and mostly try constructing a pattern within your typeface so that it looks relatively consistent and moreover accessible for anyone that reads it.

I'm not going to tell you what it says, I'll leave you to crack the code Sherlock!
In terms of creating a word I had to tackle each letter separately, each letter would be a pathway that leads on to the next because when one reads it becomes a journey into a labyrinth, when finding your way out is recognising the word.

Automatically most people look at the word  'zoomed out' and make the common mistake of misinterpreting information and reading the word wrong. A top tip for anyone is to digest the word chunk by chunk, acknowledge where each letter starts and ends. Passageways of negative space might be used as a barrier, but examine closely because sometimes the division between each letter isn't always so clear. Sometimes there isn't a space at all. If it's easier pretend your finger is a pen and follow the lines and shapes, as you are experiencing the movements you are connecting this with the conventional visual representation of letters.

Pinterest

To create my letters I liked using the diagonal oblongs, partnered with the version in the inverted monochrome as it produced an energetic youthful and rebellious attitude to its content. By alternating the inverted monochrome it started to develop angular planes within the letter structures, indicating how the influence of light can alter our perception of dimension. The 3D structures also give the impression that the typeface contains a laddered framework of steps and stools, for climbing unreachable heights.

The patterning of the alternating monochrome tiles seems like a variation of the racer chequered flag and the diagonal oblongs effectively portray a swishing motion of the waving flag, a gesture that is performed quickly to mark when something has ended. When an action happens quickly, you then think about the duration of time it happened in, usually when something is quick it doesn't last very long.

#4 Memoholic

Meme: It is an idea or a behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.
It is a unit for carrying cultural ideas, a virally- transmitted cultural symbol that behaves like a mass of infectious disease spreading through social media.

Who doesn't love creating their own memes? ... Especially with stock images.

#3 Flare for the French music

Maitre Gims- J'me Tire

Stromae- Papaoutai

Stromae- Ta Fete

Christine and the Queens- Tilted

Petit Biscuit- Sunset Lover

#2 Always hungry to bake

Some say I take after Nonna Giovanna.
(My grandmother who is highly skilled in whipping up wholesome dishes rich in flavour and colour. Cooking is a pastime she has always dedicated herself to and I feel that she doesn't just think cooking is for feeding but it is used as a tool to show and serve her love and appreciation for what she is given in life- to the family. She gives the full potential for good quality ingredients and treats the ones she loves dearly.)

Perhaps they say that because I'm the only one in the family that actually has a special sort of romantic relationship with baking. I like being able to motivate myself and experiment with recipes in the kitchen. The kitchen is where it all happens, the fusion of science and art.
Simply inhaling the warm sweet buttery aroma that floats out of the oven exhilarates my senses, sending me to so many different levels.

When I can I like to share some of my baking successes on social media, although I can't be that obsessed with posting my bakes online as I fear that viewers would be on the high risk of getting diabetes just by looking at the cake overload.

#1 Sisterly love

Seriously one sister is enough.

Despite those mighty-teenage-earthquake-starting-tantrums and the constant unnecessary cussing and the 'can I borrow this?' and the 'can you help me with that?' and the tragic top thefts and the..

After all those trivial arguments, they are forgotten about and within the next few seconds that 'I'm not talking to you ever again!' goes out of the window. No matter what happens there'll always be something so small to squabble over.

After all of that, like most siblings do of course, you learn from each other, build your own taste in humour as a unit, love is unconditional and most importantly you can borrow each others clothes and they can fetch the loo roll when you realise way too late that there's no more left.

She's part-time model for my photography, due to convenience and full-time troll.

Obsessed with anything Troll™ related..

So making birthday cards and buying gifts for her is easy then..