Artist Taryn Simon’s work is a fascinating blend of photojournalism and art photography. Often taking the form of a visual inventory, she’s famed for her meticulous research and crisp photographic execution.

Among her projects, the 2007 book, An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar delved into America’s secret places such as a nuclear waste storage facility in Washington State to a cave where a sleeping black bear and its cubs are monitored by biologists studying hibernation,

Her new show at the Tate Modern is no less obscure, or engrossing. A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters is a complex genealogy of family histories. Four years of research that took just two to photograph, the installation traces a series of 18 family bloodlines, each with its own individual story.

The opening chapter centres on a living Indian man who gives the project its title, having been declared dead in official records. Other real life characters include an Iraqi man who was apparently employed as Saddam Hussein’s son’s body double and a member of the Druze religious sect in Lebanon who believes in reincarnation and re-enacts remembered scenes from previous lives. It’s a magnum opus that’s not to be missed.

A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters is at Tate Modern, London, 25 May to 6 September.
tarynsimon.com

Caption: Excerpt from Chapter IV, A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters
a. Gold-plated Iraqi Al-Kadissiya sniper rifle seized by members of the American Defense Intelligence Agency during a search of Uday Huessein’s palace in Baghdad. The inscription on the gun transalted from Arabic reads: “A gift from the president of the republic, Mr. Saddam Hussein.” Saddam Hussein produced gold-plated weapons for use on ceremonial occasions and as gifts. Defense Intelligence analysis Center, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.
b. Latif Yahia impersonating Uday Hussein. Undisclosed location, Ireland.

Caption: Excerpt from Chapter VI, A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters
51. No. 326, 27 May 2009. Inglewood, Queensland, Australia.
52. No. 327, 27 May 2009. Inglewood, Queensland, Australia.

Images Courtesy Gagosian Gallery.

Tags: A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters, An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, Gagosian, Taryn Simon, Tate Modern, twin, Twin magazine, Twinfactory

Nowhere else does fashion collide with art more vividly right now, than at the M.O.P Shop, the temporary residence of  Maia Norman’s clothing line, Mother of Pearl. The designer’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection has hijacked her husband, Damien Hirst’s publishing outlet-cum-gallery, Other Criteria.

The art link doesn’t stop there – each season Maia works with an artist to create prints from existing artworks, forming the basis of her collections.  This season it’s the turn of Jim Lambie, whose vibrant installations work hard in leathers and silks.

Californian surfer, Maia also infuses Mother of Pearl with a heavy shot of sports.  Utilitarian pieces like the Havana and Toro jumpsuits and the Ortis anorak encourage effortless dressing.

The Mother of Pearl M.O.P shop is at Other Criteria, 36 New Bond Street, London W1S 2RP until 11th May 2011.
motherofpearl.com

Tags: Damien Hirst, Jim Lambie, Katie Rose, M.O.P Shop, Maia Norman, Other Criteria, twin, Twinfactory

It’s that time of year again when the majority of people think about tanning. However, I am not in that majority. I can count the number of times I have tanned in my life on one hand and I am fast approaching forty. Therefore, for a great number of years I have remained proudly milky pale. I think it’s an alternative/indie thing, in my teens, the eighties, red lipstick and pale skin were the apogee of underground style, as epitomised by Vivienne Westwood muse Sara Stockbridge and the androgyne model Jenny Howarth. Nowadays its indie queens like Gwen Stefani, Beth Ditto and Dita Von Teese who embody the pale look. And it’s these gals I’d want to be in a gang with, not orange hued WAGs or Katie Price. However this year I have to admit, for the first time in a lifetime I’m strangely drawn to the idea of tanning. Obviously it would be a very subtle golden tan, not the creosote hue once favoured by Victoria Beckham. But some kind of gentle olive tint, a Mediterranean sun kissed teint, might just be nice come summer sun. I have yet to explore the range of products on offer, but I’m thinking the St Tropez No Tan Tan might be the one for me. Or at least a touch of Johnsons Holiday Skin on my rather chalky legs. I’m not sure if this is a flirtation or a genuine commitment to the idea of a tan. After all my whole identity is bound up with being pale. Whatever, I will keep you posted.

Words by Bethan Cole

Tags: beauty, beth ditto, Bethan Cole, Dita Von Teese, Gwen Stefani, Jenny Howarth, Katie Price, Kristen Stewart, Sara Stockbridge, St Tropez, twin, Twinfactory, Victoria Beckham

Danielle Scutt’s comeback collection at London Fashion Week A/W11 reminded us just why we love her. Bold and brash, her designs embrace the tongue-in-cheek side of femininity and tow the line between quirky kitsch and luxe investment pieces. Lashings of velvet, Schiaparelli pink lattice (to match Charlotte Free’s pink hair) and midi-length skirts were worn topless with blazers.   It’s sexed-up, Eighties-style power dressing for now.

What really caught our eye though, was the surreal bling the models were sporting on the runway.   The jewellery, a collaboration with Freedom at Topshop, comprised Art Deco inspired chandelier earrings (wear them on chain belts or broaches on shoes), gold chain cuffs, chokers and belts interwoven (some interwoven with platinum blonde hair) and teapot and lipstick charm earrings and bracelets.

topshop.com

Images courtesy of Impulse PR and I PR.

Tags: Charlotte Free, Danielle Scutt, Freedom at Topshop, Katie Rose, twin, Twinfactory

NOWNESS, ‘luxury lifestyle online’, today unveiled an exclusive fashion film entitled ‘Chronology’. In collaboration with Net-A-Porter, the film, by I Am Love director Luca Guadagnino, features highlights from the Autumn Winter 2010 collections of such Net-A-Porter bestsellers as Christopher Kane, Sigerson Morrison, Miu Miu and Yves Saint Laurent. Styled by Cathy Edwards and modeled by MariaCarla Boscono, the film combines commercial sense, a sharp edit and a dreamlike surrealism which is evocative of 2005 feature film Mirrormask.

www.nowness.com

Tags: Fashion, film, Katie Rose, Luca Guadagnino, Net-A-Porter, Nowness, twin, Twinfactory