On this solar eclipse in Aries, we celebrate Seana Gavin’s archive that serendipidously includes the eclipse free festival, photographed by Gavin below.
Following on from her phenomenally successful book “Spiralled” published by Idea Books, the artist and former raver opens her new exhibition Hidden Tracks at Gallery 46. This exhibition continues her exploration of the legacy of sound systems that put on illegal raves in the UK and across Europe in the nineties, and acts as a document of the creativity, vitality and community of the underground party scene in which Gavin features heavily. From 1993-2003 she spent long periods of time travelling in friends’ mobile homes, in convoy with the sound systems, living in nomadic communities, attending raves and parties in France, Spain, Holland, Italy, Berlin, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.
“It was more than just a night out. I wasn’t a photographer or journalist I was part of this world and these people were my family. We were un-materialistic and survived with minimal funds without limitations.” – Seana Gavin
Whilst the book is aesthetically and nostaligically pleaseing, it also serves as a reminder about the radical potential and rebellious energy of the free party movement, which emerged as a rebellion against the over commercialization of Acid House that had developed in the UK at the time.
Even today we are left with the legislation that became ‘The Criminal Justice Act’, catalysed by the police response to Castlemorton festival – a week long free unlicensed rave which took place in the British countryside and was shut down by the police. As an underage teenager the artist’s adventurous spirit led her to other like minded wanderers as news spread before mobiles and the internet, and 20- 50,000 people came together by word of mouth alone.
The exhibition which opens this week, includes Gavin’s personal documentation including flyers, ephemera, diary entries and a large body of photographs that capture the build-up and aftermath of the raves across Europe alongside the characters and friends who defined this scene, and demonstrates the ethos and spitit of community and freedom.
Now that we’re into the swing of 2024, the new issue of Twin lands just as the smell of spring and the thrill of summer start to come into sight.
In this issue, we take a deep dive into the role of women in fashion and celebrate the names you know, as well as those you may not have heard of – yet! Tony Glenville’s fashion foray into history is rich and insightful. Meanwhile, we also spotlight three names to know among a new wave of Polish artists; Tishan Hsu talks organic technology; and the author Natasha Stagg – whose third book Artless came out at the end of last year – talks writing in the real world.
Plus, a look at modern craft and a delve into the role of women in the ever-evolving world of ceramics, by Madeleine Ringer in conversation with six contemporary ceramicists.
There is also fashion that invites new-season thinking. Be gone jumpers and coats, instead welcome dreamy vacation (or staycation) vibes for out-of-office looks; clothes to move in, go out in and party-with-your-pals in. Shed those layers and indulge in the styles you’ve been thinking about all winter long. Plus, day to night takes on a new, more plausible, meaning. Spring and summer is here.
Refik Anadol, Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive, 2024. Installation view, Serpentine North. Photo: Hugo Glendinning. Courtesy Refik Anadol Studio and Serpentine.
Artist, technologist, and pioneer in artificial intelligence arts, Refik Anadol presents his new exhibition of eye-candy works at London’s Serpentine Gallery.
Refik Anadol, Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive, 2024. Installation view, Serpentine North. Photo: Hugo Glendinning. Courtesy Refik Anadol Studio and Serpentine.
Anadol’s collaborative generative process with AI plays here manifests to present “years-long experimentation with visual data of underwater landscapes and rainforests”. This large scale digital work features Artificial Realities: Coral (2023), which immerses viewers in an Al’s imagination of underwater landscapes. Made by training a unique AI model with approximately 135 million images of corals openly accessible online and generating abstracted coral images, “the AI then constructs new visuals and colour combinations based on the dataset.”
Refik Anadol, Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive, 2024. Installation view, Serpentine North. Photo: Hugo Glendinning. Courtesy Refik Anadol Studio and Serpentine.
This is also the UK premiere of Living Archive: Large Nature Model which was first introduced at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Switzerland. To make this, Anadol worked with the data of major institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution and London’s Natural History Museum to create the model, “centred around archival images of fauna, flora and fungi, will expand over the coming years.”
As far as spectacular exhibitions go, this is a sure fire crowd-pleaser.
In her Autumn/Winter 2024 show, Dilara Fındıkoğlu unveiled 36 captivating looks, weaving a narrative of feminine allure and sensuality. Titled “Femme Vortex,” the collection was showcased within the unlit confines of St Luke’s Old Street Anglican church, a powerful setting for a collection aimed at dismantling patriarchal structures.
The runway spectacle featured a concoction of deconstructed tailored jackets, form-fitting corsets, and avant-garde accessories. Actress and style icon Hari Nef opened the show, dressed in a sheer white corset paired with a button-up shirt and blazer cinched together with a bold safety pin, accentuated by lace-up chokers and eye-catching belts.
Nodding to a lack of pockets in womenswear, the look, entitled “Female Territory” saw objects like a pen, lighter and watch stuffed in the bra cups.
Another look titled “Man License,” featured disheveled business attire juxtaposed with sheer corsets and latex opera gloves as the model carried a handbag cleverly crafted to resemble folded newspapers. On it read “OMG Dilara is doing a satanic orgy at a London Church.”
Each ensemble, meticulously curated by Dilara, exuded an aura of subversive elegance. In her show notes, the Turkish-British designer elaborated on her vision. “This is a manifesto for a world order born of an unrelenting vortex of femme energy; a way of being and feeling that transcends the parochial strictures of conventional masculinity.”
Amongst the stunning cast, notable personalities such as Richie Shazam and Lana Rhoades made appearances on the runway.
Dilara’s distinct aesthetic, characterised by its ethereal beauty tinged with an edgy and provocative undertone, evoked memories of fashion icon Alexander Lee McQueen’s groundbreaking work. Again, Dilara Fındıkoğlu has succeeded in crafting a collection that not only captivates with its aesthetic brilliance but also serves as a poignant reflection of societal norms and values, urging us to reconsider our perceptions of beauty and the feminine identity.
TWIN LOVES the harmonic resonances of “All Life Long”, the long anticipated album from Kali Malone following a tour that included her performing in iconic venues including Gedächtniskirche as a part of Berlin’s CTM festival last week. She toured historic pipe organs at Église Saint-François in Lausanne, Orgelpark in Amsterdam, and Malmö Konstmuseum in Sweden, with additional accompaniment from Stephen O’Malley.
The album, featuring four different organs dating from the 15th to 17th centuries, represents experimental reinterpretations of pipe organ, choir and brass quintet polyphony in a temporal layering across sound, structure, and introspection.
The album includes a brass quintet performed by Anima Brass at The Bunker Studio in New York City, and vocals by Macadam Ensemble recorded at Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-L’Immaculée-Conception in Nantes. It is the first release of organ compositions since her highly acclaimed album “The Sacrificial Code” came out in 2019.
Throughout the album, the artist presents a rich tapestry of recurring harmonic motifs and evolving patterns, crafting an intimate sonic landscape across its twelve pieces. Her music builds from “evolving harmonic cycles” that evoke profound emotional depths. Her music invites listeners to relinquish expectations of time, opening doors to spaces of reflection and contemplation.
The main piece “All Life Long” is featured twice on the album: initially as an extended canon for organ and later combined with the poem “The Crying Water” by Arthur Symons. The poem is imbued with themes of mourning and eternity, expanding on the album’s sense of spiritual transcendence.
A timeless journey that invites listeners to discover themselves within its intricate musical tapestry. “All Life Long” is out now.
Artist Isabella Ducrot’s installation, Big Aura, adorned the walls of the room hosting the presentation of the Dior haute couture collections in the Rodin Museum gardens. For the set design of this Dior haute couture spring-summer 2024 show, twenty-three oversized dresses up to five metres high created a composition reminiscent of weft and warp. Designed to echo the dresses of Ottoman sultans studied by Isabella Ducrot, here she hones in on an abstract symbolization of the garment and revisits details of dresses from the Dior archives to recreate contemporary looks.
The Dior concept is woven together across artforms that encompass Ducrot’s detailed vision for the environment, and even a poem:
Rag or brocade every women textile thus results from this enforced embrace, a grand design that only human minds are meant to grasp and execute; and thus a marriage that could not in nature ever find its place. Take the spider, poor thing. It dupes. The spider doesn’t weave; the spider glues.
extract from TO WEAVE IS HUMAN for Isabella Ducrot by Patrizia Cavalli – 2008.
A stalwart in the world of textile research and art, Ducrot is also a collector with her own extensive archive of rare textiles amassed over her long and distinguised career. Born in Naples in 1931, she travelled extensively and as such brings her unique eye on fabric to this runway. In 2002 at a lecture in Naples, she described, “my creative work goes hand in hand with the search for new fabric uses. Its aesthetic qualities continue to inspire me, as does its historical importance within human civilization. I have dedicated my work to textiles. ”
Dior note on the design, “the use of this particular, intentionally irregular and imperfect square pattern, obtained using the ancient artisanal technique of block printing, bears the artist’s signature of sorts. She often uses this type of geometric pattern not only for aesthetic purposes, for the simple pleasure of getting lost in the weave of vertical and horizontal lines, but also with the political intention of honoring the checkered fabric, considered lowly in the history of Western fashion, mainly used and worn as it was by workers, such as farmers, pruners and masons, doing manual labor outdoors.”
The elevated silouettes and crafted detail of the materials both on the runway and embedded in Ducrot’s design did not disappoint.
Reebok x Aries
Reebok and London-based fashion label Aries have cast their creative forces together, unveiling their first footwear collaboration.
Since its founding in 2010, Aries has been renowned for its bold, genderless design philosophy and nostalgic nods to ’80s and ’90s culture. This January, the homegrown streetwear brand seamlessly joins forces with Reebok, a hallmark in global sportswear. The collaboration pays homage to the timelessness of the Classic Leather, a quintessential symbol of British style.
Drawing inspiration from mystics, wizards, and magicians, the Aries x Reebok Classic Leather features the Mystic’s Shoe tinted with Aries’ signature aqua and adorned with gold. Premium leather, nubuck accents, reflective features, and Aries’ gold foil wizard graphic are just a few of the design elements that make this collaboration truly mystical.
Packaged in an exclusive custom shoe box with additional gold detailing, the Aries x Reebok Classic Leather invites wearers to embrace the mystique and craftsmanship of this iconic collaboration.
Aries Creative Director and Founder Sofia Prantera expressed her excitement, stating, “Reebok’s Classic Leather is such an important symbol of British style, so it was very flattering to be asked to interpret it.” The challenge, as she sees it, is to infuse an Aries twist without compromising the shoe’s inherent simplicity.
The Aries x Reebok Classic Leather is available January 19 exclusively from
Aries (ariesrise.com) and the Aries flagship store followed by a wider global release on January 24 from Reebok.com and select specialty retailers.
Chase Tha Worst: London’s Artist on the Rise
East London-based rapper Chase Tha Worst has been catching the internet’s ear with a stolid and infectious flow. Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, he’s carved his own distinct aesthetic and sound; an intoxicating blend of hip hop and funk, challenging conventions and offering a fresh perspective. That same spark is on display on No Friendz, his new single and video out now.
Last week, the rapper and producer released his debut album Tha Worst Mixtape. Tongue-in-cheek lyricism and effortless delivery can be heard drifting across his 10 self-produced songs, crossing into different genres. In No Friendz, Chase channels an energetic and laid back flow, coupled with striking visuals shot in London.
“I think in current times, music alone is not enough. I wanted to use all the creative fields I love- music, creative direction and comedy to bring the project to life and create a world around it,” says Chase.
Speaking further on his debut, “I hope that it inspires others to do the same. I hope to bring some originality and craft to not just the music but all that surrounds it – the promos, the videos, the visual identity. I think that a lot of people are caught up with trends and numbers. How do I get famous? How do I make my next song blow up? A lot of people are trying to use a formula but it’s killing the art form. I hope to inspire other artists to stop trying to feed algorithms, stop jumping on trends, and make what they really want to make.”
You can watch the official No Friendz video here, out now.
Toga Archives x Dickies
Designer Yasuko Furuta’s Tokyo-based luxury label, TOGA, is set to launch a collaborative collection with the American workwear brand Dickies. The lineup showcases timeless silhouettes infused with a Japanese Americana flair, drawing inspiration from TOGA ARCHIVES.
The collection is available from October 27. Click here for more details
Hypha Studios and Creative Land Trust Unveil MELT
Hypha Studios (HS) and Creative Land Trust (CLT) have come together to unveil MELT as part of Frieze 2023. The exhibition shines a light on 32 artists and creatives who have flourished through the support of these visionary organisations
The brainchild of Camilla Cole and Will Jennings, Hypha Studios emerged as an idea during the pandemic, prompted by the three-sided problem of increasing high street vacancies, loss of community spaces and deteriorating conditions for artists and creatives.
Set against the backdrop of London’s effervescent creative landscape, MELT stands as a testament to the city’s vibrant artistic spirit. The exhibition’s centerpiece features CLT’s remarkable studio holders from the Wallis Road site, including luminaries like Shiori Akiba, Enej Gala, and Zarina Khan. Notably, CLT’s esteemed ambassadors – Adelaide Damoah, Haroon Mirza, and Emmanuel Unaji – also take center stage, championing the cause of creating fertile ground for artists to thrive. Augmenting this eclectic gathering are Hypha Studios’ very own talents, comprising Margaret Ayres, Luca Bosani, and Kialy Tihngang.
The exhibition’s title, MELT, pays homage to the legendary FREEZE exhibition curated by Damien Hirst in 1988—a pivotal moment that reverberates through the current era of creative evolution.
Creative Land Trust’s mission revolves around the acquisition, preservation, and protection of long-term affordable workspaces for artists, while Hypha Studios facilitates free short-term studio and exhibition spaces for artists, in exchange for a public program that enriches local communities.
MELT marks a significant milestone as the inaugural exhibition at Hypha Studios’ brand-new central London location, Regent’s Place, as part of a transformative three-year partnership with British Land.
MELT will be open to public Monday 9th – 22nd October 2023, 12 – 6pm daily at Unit 3, Euston Tower, 286 Euston Road, London NW1 3DP
Sophia Webster: “Oh My Gosh, I Love Your Shoes!”
British shoe and accessories designer, Sophia Webster has just released a coffee table book.
Famed for her iconic butterfly heels, Webster’s eponymous footwear label was dubbed the shoe world’s new rising star since its inception in 2012, counting fashion’s key retailers -Dover Street Market, Harvey Nichols and net-a-porter.com as stockists.
In Oh My Gosh, I Love Your Shoes!, Sophia shares an intimate narrative that unveils the highs and lows of a remarkable decade spent shaping the landscape of shoe-making and fashion.
The book is part memoir, part homage to the world of high heels and haute couture. Sophia Webster takes the reins, recounting her captivating story in her own words.
Oh My Gosh, I Love Your Shoes! launches October 5th. You can find out more here.
Summer might well be over but fear not – there’s a lot to look forward to, and reminisce about, in the new issue of Twin. Vagabon, aka Laetitia Tamko, has a new album out full of poignant and mood-shaping tracks. The musician and music producer gives us the lowdown on them plus what she has planned next; meanwhile we meet one of couture’s new leading lights Imane Ayissi; there’s a Q&A with the artist Paul McCarthy, an up-close with Kira Freije’s sculptures; and the latest art talent from Milan. Plus, jewellery to catch the light in; how to wear the opposite of the naked dress; new season scents and a look at how fragrance shapes one’s life. A lot to get stuck into as the new season finally gets underway.
This coming fall, Offer Waterman Gallery will unveil On Foot, an exhibition curated by Jonathan Anderson.
On Foot will bring contemporary artists into dialogue with iconic works of modern British art, from the likes of seminal artists Igshaan Adams, Frank Auerbach, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye amongst many others.
Also on display will be Anderson’s pieces from recent seasons for JW Anderson and LOEWE, each hand-picked for its sculptural and transformative forms.
The exhibition transforms the galleries of Offer Waterman into the iconic streets of Mayfair and Soho, unfolding like a walk-through London. From your local watering hole to garden squares, the gallery’s corridors and stairways will transform into the city’s traffic-clogged streets, and busy pavements, with ceramics and sculptures representing the city’s energetic crowd. You may even spot JW Anderson’s pigeons taking over what was once the gallery’s storeroom.
British artist, Anthea Hamilton, has collaborated with JW Anderson to present a limited-edition version of the iconic pigeon clutch which will be available at both Offer Waterman and the JW Anderson Soho store.
The exhibition will open on September 18, two days after Anderson presents his S/S 2024 womenswear collection for JW Anderson as part of London Fashion Week on 16 September.
JW Anderson at Offer Waterman On Foot runs from 18 September – 28 October 2023.
Asmaa Jama. Portrait by Kevin Lake. All About Love commission by BUILDHOLLYWOOD, 2023
After a successful launch across five UK cities with new commissions by five leading artists, the final instalment of this national billboard takeover comes to Bristol, led by artist Asmaa Jama. Twin’s digital editor Susanna Davies-Crook caught up with the large-scale public art project’s curator Zarina Rossheart to hear all about love….
Why did you choose Bell Hooks’ masterpiece book All About Love to be the title of this series?
In the period of time when I was conceiving this project, coming out of the uncertainty of the global pandemic with a sudden war starting in Ukraine and an everyday reminder of ongoing climate crisis, there was heaviness in my heart. I was looking for answers and I wanted to do work that would counter the pain individually and collectively. Reading Bell Hooks’ All About Love in that moment provided inspiration and encouragement. I came across this paragraph that really spoke to me and it became a point of departure for the project:
‘Whether it is the ongoing worldwide presence of violence expressed by the persistence of the man-made war, hunger and starvation, the day-to-day reality of violence, the presence of life-threatening diseases that cause the unexpected deaths of friends, comrades, and loved ones, there is much that brings everyone to the brink of despair. Knowing love or the hope of knowing love is the anchor that keeps us from falling into the sea of despair’. – Bell Hooks
Helen Cammock, ‘the deepest crease in the fold of stone and the sweet taste of salt’ (2023). All About Love commission by BUILDHOLLYWOOD. Courtesy the artist. Photo_ Kevin Lake
What is your hope for the effect of the billboards on people who pass them?
I have always worked in public realm and hardly ever inside galleries. To me the billboards are the outdoor canvas for the artists to bring their work closer to everyone without exception. It is for the street workers and night workers as much as for anyone else passing by on their way about their life. As opposed to advertising that we are so used to, and immune to in a way, the art on billboards makes you stop, feel and hopefully contemplate life. It also allows to make invisible, unrepresented or other come to the forefront: For conversations held behind closed doors to become a shared or communal experience. It’s about amplification, being louder and having the courage to take up space.
Asmaa Jama, Except This Time Nothing Comes Back From The Ashes. Courtesy of Asmaa Jama and Gouled Ahmed. All About Love commission by BUILDHOLLYWOOD, 2023 Photo by Kevin Lake
Has anything unexpected happened as a result of embarking on this project?
The magic and mystery of working with artists leaves a lot of space to the unexpected and the unknown. I find beauty and meditation in that. I guess I could have never predicted though that the project would unfold in such an expansive and generous way. Including sharing difficult personal life moments with artists, and building incredibly supportive relationships that inspire me and hopefully the audience to continue on our chosen paths.
Eve Stainton, You can take the _ out of _, 2023. All About Love commission by Buildhollywood. Courtesy the artist. Collage feat photography by David Laskowski, Stephen Bishop and Eve Stainton (48 sheet)
GRACE NDIRITU – BIRMINGHAM | 28-30 APRIL JASLEEN KAUR – GLASGOW | 9-11 JUNE EVE STAINTON – MANCHESTER | 7-9 JULY HELEN CAMMOCK – BRIGHTON | 4-6 AUGUST ASMAA JAMA – BRISTOL | 8-10 SEPTEMBER
‘All About Love’ is BUILDHOLLYWOOD’s first major curatorial and artist commission that took over large-format billboards across Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester between April – September 2023. The project champions artists who are either born in those cities or live and work there, curated by Zarina Rossheart.
Tomo Campbell Presents Spitting Feathers
Highly acclaimed British artist, Tomo Campbell, has announced his latest exhibition, Spitting Feathers. From September 14th, the Cob Gallery will host Campbell’s exceptional works, marking his third solo exhibition at the coveted venue and promises to captivate art enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike. Spitting Feathers will showcase his most extensive collection yet, displaying an intricate fusion of past, present, and future themes.
Collected by notable figures such as Harry Styles and Alexa Chung, Campbell has garnered attention for his unique artistic voice that seamlessly blends the classical with the contemporary. His creative journey navigates the delicate balance between abstraction and figuration, weaving a narrative that delves into timeless subjects such as the hunt, parades, and exploration. What sets his art apart is his distinctive style, characterised by an interplay of bold and layered arrangements in soft pastel hues reminiscent of the elegant Rococo era.
Inspired by a diverse array of source material, the exhibition invites viewers to step into a realm where tradition meets innovation.
As we await the official reveal, it’s clear that Tomo Campbell’s creative prowess continues to make waves across London’s creative landscape. Spitting Feather opens to the public on Thursday 14 September and will be on view until Saturday 7 October.
Jupiter Artland at Edinburgh Art Festival
This weekend Edinburgh lights up at Jupiter Artland. Alongside the many delights and sights of the Edinburgh Fringe, this new programme and festival lands with a bang, as part of Edinburgh Art Festival and with JUPITER RISING.
Curated by artist Lindsey Mendick, whose solo commission SH*TFACED is currently presented across Jupiter Artland’s galleries, and queer workers’ co-op Bonjour, this year’s JUPITER RISING x EAF features artist-performance, live music, talks, workshops and DJ sets from An(dre)a Spisto and Joana Nastari, Guy Oliver, Honey Revlon, Pink Suits, Sgàire Woods, STASIS, Ziah Ziah and a new commissioned performance by Lindsey Mendick.
JUPITER RISING is set to be a riot – expect dancing, karaoke, DJs, performances and live music across the iconic landscape of Jupiter Artland, 30 minutes from the city centre.
As Kim McAleese, Director of Edinburgh Art Festival describes “Our EAF 2023 programme is one which seeks to platform local grassroots artists alongside those working globally and is a programme which is deeply connected to feminist and queer practice”.
Bonjour’s Late Night Stage brings together two of Scotland’s favourite QTIPOC (and ally) cabaret and club nights MOJXMMA and Q’IWA with sets from Halal Kitty and Jam Eye and performance by Lala Munan, Malaikah, Thea Transformo, Kiki Rivera and Caramella Coins.
“This free event continues Jupiter’s mission to support artists at every stage of their career. It will be an unmissable night” adds Nicky Wilson, Director of Jupiter Artland
Time to get on the Megabus!
JUPITER RISING x EDINBURGH ART FESTIVAL
A party curated by Lindsey Mendick & Bonjour
Saturday 19 August, 6pm – 1am
Doors open 5.30pm for 6pm start
Free / £5 including complimentary drink
Bus ticket: £15, leaves Jupiter Artland at 1am
Jupiter Artland, The Steadings, Bonnington House, Wilkieston, EH27 8BY
This weekend, just outside of Berlin, a recommissioned power station hosts Burn Out – a summer symposium weekend of music, performance and discussion to truly address the power of art and radical change.
E-WERK Luckenwalde is a fully functioning power station re-envisioned as a sustainable Kunststrom Kraftwerk by curator Helen Turner and artist Pablo Wendall. The former coal power station built in 1913 – which ceased production in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin wall – was acquired by the couple in 2017, and since this gigantic space has played host to some of the foremost names in music and contemporary art. Legends including FM Einheit and Suzanne Ciani have resonated through the building, whilst artists from Himali Soin Singh to Cooking Sections have provided propositions on sustainability – a key focus for this iteration of E-WERK. In 2021, E-WERK hosted and curated the German premiere and only CO2 neutral performances of Golden Lion awarded opera Sun & Sea by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė and Lina Lapelytė.
Burn Out – presented at this extraordinary location – seeks to address climate and capitalism, de-growth, and environmental imperialism. The symposium is all about driving ecological, economic and human change to the cultural sector.
Helen Turner as Artistic Director of E-WERK and Burn Out describes, her vision for the programme “the earth sighs deeply with the weight of its own planetary and human exhaustion. Hypercapitalism, the hamster wheel, chronic stress, repetitive strain injury, the rat race and perma-crisis – Burn Out. The hope for systemic change, a slower pace, better working conditions, planetary calm, economic and ecological progress all appear to have faded, and once again humanity and the planet is burning out. This event will bring together artists, thinkers, activists and more to consider how we can catalyse systemic change for the future”
E-WERK have put their money, power and politics where their mouth is – and as such it feels no institution is better placed to host and mount this discussion. In 2019, Performance Electrics gGmbH formally switched the power in the former factory back on, so now it powers itself, and is alos available as an energy provider – a true intervention in the mechanisms of power within the country. E-WERK produces an average of 900,000 KW/h a year, using renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and wood gas. and now supplies energy to cultural institutions, businesses and private households. By switching energy provider, the client simultaneously supports the development of renewable electricity and contemporary art through their utility bill.
The extraordinary turbine hall at E-WERK currently hosts a stunning exhibition entitled The Material Revolution with a solo presentation by RA graduate Kira Freije who welds her intimate and uncanny human-scale sculptures and for this exhibition worked with a lighting designer and subtle haze to create a feeling of total transcendence and sacred stillness in this historic space.
Further iterations of a series of symposiums at E-WERK and LUMA Arles, Rupert Centre for Art and Education in collaboration with Gallery Climate Coalition on human and planetary sustainability will continue throughout 2023.
Boiler Room x Umbro’s Latest Football Inspired Club Collection
Boiler Room and Umbro have teamed up to release their latest football inspired club collection. Reflecting the freedom, colour and vibrance of rave culture in the UK, it’s presented as the ultimate kit to wear from dawn until dusk, football to festival field.
An independent music platform and cultural curator, the collection follows a series of iconic collaborations Boiler Room has released with P.A.M. and Valentino in previous years.
Designed to celebrate the early days of rave when music, fashion and football collided, the seven-piece collection features a black pinstripe tracksuit available as a drawstring short and jogger set with co-branded red vinyl gloss detail. Accompanied by a black and neon yellow oversized tee with a 3M Boiler Room x Umbro back print and matching OG sweat towel, to keep you cool from centre-pitch to centre stage.
Hero styles from the collection take the form of football jerseys, in a neon green long-sleeve goalkeeper style and black short-sleeved option, printed with an x-ray design symbolising underneath we’re all the same, one world, one community, one team.
“Umbro is such an iconic brand, we thought it would be fun to come together to design a uniform for Boiler Room. What does our team look like? It’s constantly changing but it’s always open, energetic, & diverse. A hyperlocal crew with a global mindset,” says Amar Ediriwira, Boiler Room’s Creative Director.
British nightlife photographer, Ewen Spencer captures the campaign’s imagery, worn by an electrifying crowd during the final performances of Jyoty and DJ EZ at Boiler Room London.
The Boiler Room x Umbro collaboration is available from 30 June available exclusively on the Boiler Room website.
Eden Tan, Central Saint Martins’s Standout Designer
Following this year’s CSM BA show, menswear designer Eden Tan was accorded the top honour of the L’Oréal Professionnel Young Talent. His collection, On Borrowed Fabric, places heavy emphasis on sustainability and circular production.
A Roll of Denim, image courtesy of Rebecca Maynes Photo
Of Malaysian-Chinese and British heritage, Eden Tan was born and raised in London, a city celebrated for its highly innovative fashion and creative communities. His latest collection draws from his hobby of tinkering and developing new techniques, bringing renewed life to garments and fabric found in charity shops. On Borrowed Fabric follows a material’s journey from creation, to obsolescence, and ultimately, recreation.
Utilising trompe l’oeil techniques, folds and a handful of slits, Eden had constructed a series of six looks that had been made entirely from one fabric roll -still attached to the garment.
A Roll of Latex, image courtesy of Rebecca Maynes Photo
“I don’t think my work is that deeply rooted in fashion culture, I just like to find a quirk in a piece of material and really elaborate on that,” Tan explained, “the motivation for the collection was the possibility of making clothes which could be as easily reprocessed into new garments as if the fabric had never passed through my hands.”
Tan references Schrödinger’s Cat, a thought experiment, as a core principle he held during the creation process. “Basically, a scientist puts a cat in the box with a bunch of chemicals and puts a lid over it. We won’t really know if the cat is dead or alive until we open the box. This represents a paradox of quantum superposition, one I want to demonstrate in using the same roll of fabric that remains seemingly untouched though work has been done.”
A Roll of Jersey, image courtesy of Rebecca Maynes Photo
Evidently, upcycling and rebirth are crucial themes at the forefront of Tan’s graduate collection, yet the designer is under no illusion that this project is going to save the planet. “I know it’s not a practical solution to fast fashion, but being as sustainable as possible and preserving the integrity of materials will always be important to me.”
A Roll of Silk, image courtesy of Rebecca Maynes Photo
“My work is never indulgent, it’s always restrained.”
And what’s next for Eden?
“The truth is I’m taking the whole year to not worry about the deadlines someone else has set for me. This project is over and it was a success, and I now want to take each day as it comes.”
This June, Saatchi Yates presents ‘Bathers’– a summer group exhibition celebrating the rich tradition of Bathing scenes in the history of painting.
The exhibition presents a collection of contemporary art, alongside renowned Post-War and Historical Masters including David Hockney, Paul Cezanne, J. M. W. Turner and Pablo Picasso.
Also presenting in the show are contemporary stars Hurvin Anderson, Peter Doig, Henry Taylor, Eric Fischl, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, showcasing an artistic prowess that reflects the breadth and diversity of the Bathers theme.
Pieces by Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Damien Hirst, and Auguste Rodin will also be on display.
Speaking on the exhibition, Martin Gayford says: “Bathers in painting are both varied and fundamental to the human condition. The combination of unclothed bodies and water can evoke guilt-free primordial innocence: a sin-free Eden. On the other hand, the same visual ingredients can suggest the consequences of Eve and Adam’s Fall: guilt, lust, death.
He continues “in either case, the subject combines in one neat package two of the major preoccupations of artists for many centuries – landscape and the nude. It is no surprise that bathers have preoccupied painters for so long, and it is likely that the combination of water and human bodies will continue to intrigue them far into the future.”
Six of Saatchi Yates gallery artists including Danny Fox, Benjamin Spiers and Ethiopian artist Tesfaye Urgessa, will pay homage to this tradition, each one exploring the Bather in their own unique artistic methods and styles.
Bathers follows Saatchi Yates’ well-regarded Tesfaye Urgessa solo show in Miami in November 2022. The show also follows on from Macabre – the selling exhibition co-organised with Christie’s London in October 2022, featuring works by Otto Dix, Lucas Cranach, Andy Warhol, and Francis Bacon.
The exhibition will be available for viewing from June 1 until August 10. Admission is free. Additionally, there will be weekly curator-led tours every Saturday throughout June.
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