The fourth, annual If You Could exhibition is underway, yeah I know, I slept on this one. The exhibition, If You Could Collaborate is running until 23 January 2010, 12–6pm (open late on 21 January, 12–9pm) exhibited at the A Foundation Gallery at Rochelle School, London E2 7ES. The idea of this project was to push the boundaries of the normal working life of the contributors. There were no briefs, no restrictions on medium and no particular format. Each of the 33 contributors chose a partner to work with, from any profession, discipline or background and set about creating a piece for submission within the generous 12 month deadline. Works range from classic framed pieces to more ambitious, experimental sculpture, film and installation.

Presented alongside the exhibition is an accompanying 312 page catalogue, documenting the process of each of the pieces along with the final piece submitted. The catalogue is published by It’s Nice That and be bought online for £15 (1500 printed).

SO WHAT’S THIS EVENT THEN?
It’s the launch night of Gavin Strange aka JamFactory’s vinyl toy named ‘Droplet’. It’s the 2nd series of designs, with the launch night being the first place in the world for people to get their hands on the new toys!

For more info: http://www.jam-factory.com/droplet/

WHAT’S A DROPLET?
It’s 2.5″ vinyl toy, designed by JamFactory and produced by Hong Kong toy company ‘Crazy Label’.

It was the debut vinyl toy from JamFactory and Series 1 was released on 1st May 2008, which were available online and in toy stores all over the world, including Urban Outfitters in the US!

They’re on their 2nd series now, which encompasses 5 different designs, each having it’s own unique colourway and ‘little droplets’.

They are ‘blind boxed’ meaning all colours are packaged in the same style box, it’s a lucky dip which design you get!  Each colourway has a different ratio, with the purple & gold crown Droplet being the most sought after! (of course, he’s a king!)

After the launch they’ll be available online (JamFactory’s online store, Crazylabel online store plus other online retailers) and in stores!

WHO’S THIS ‘JAMFACTORY’ THEN?
Gavin Strange is a 27 year old jack of all trades; Senior Digital Designer at Aardman Animations by Day and a designer going under the alias JamFactory by night. Originally from the midlands but now firmly calling beautiful Bristol ‘home’

Working in the field of Web & Graphic Design primarily but also character design, illustration and photography. Gavin has created pretty things for the BBC, Channel 4, Howies and Hemingway Design aswell as giving talks at Apple Stores around the UK.

When he’s not doing all that Gavin is organising the Xynthetic creative collective (which he founded) or out on his fixed gear bike filming for his bike movie ‘BÖIKZMÖIND’ (http://www.boikzmoind.com/)

For more info: http://www.jam-factory.com/

It’s going to be a great event, so try your hardest to get down!
More to follow…

Addict have just released a little sneak peak of their first range of footwear. After months of ideas and sketches being laid out they’ve settled 6 new designs.

Comment from Addict:

“We wanted to bring out a line that would compliment the design language of our apparel and pay homage to some classic streetwear silhouettes but with our own twist, colour and style”

Addict have been a big name in UK street scene and have gone from strength to strength over the past few years.  This new addition to their already stylish clothing collection is sure to make a big buzz and have you sneaker freakers foaming at the mouth…

More information coming soon, make sure to check the Addict blog out for updates…

But nothing quite compares to this:

Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who creates sand animations in front of audiences. This is taken from Ukraine’s Got Talent:

Germany conquering Ukraine in the second world war. She brings calm, then conflict. A couple on a bench become a woman’s face; a peaceful walkway becomes a conflagration; a weeping widow morphs into an obelisk for an unknown soldier. Simonova looks like some vengeful Old Testament deity as she destroys then recreates her scenes – with deft strokes, sprinkles and sweeps she keeps the narrative going. She moves the judges to tears as she subtitles the final scene “you are always near”.

This is your last week to catch Conor Harrington’s Headless Heroes exhibition at the Lazarides gallery. Open Tuesday – Friday 11am – 7pm, Saturday 12pm – 5pm, the exhibition closes on Thursday at 7pm.

Lazarides
11 Rathbone Place
W1T 1HR

t: 0207 636 5443 / w: www.lazinc.com

Here’s was Lazarides have to say about the exhibition, Conor’s last solo show of 2008.

Continuing his exploration into masculinity and power, Conor’s new paintings and drawings combine historical re-enactment, F1 pit-stops, text and glamour models. Conor’s aim is to have the visual aesthetic of his paintings reflect the visual culture we live in.
Since he was a teenager painting on the streets of Cork, Conor has always tread a fine line between ’street art’ and ‘fine art’, never aligning himself with a particular movement or aesthetic but instead pushing forward with his own unique representations of the world around him, creating works that are striking yet accessible.

CINCH TOKYO
5-5-4 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Luce Minamiaoyama B-1F
B-1F 5-5-4 Minami Aoyama. Minato-ku, Tokyo
03-6419-1699

photos from: hypebeast.com

(As usual, we will be covering each battle and trying our damned hardest to get interviews with all the artists)

SECRET WARS IS RE FORMATTING AND ROLLING INTO 2010 WITH A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHALLENGE

After 3 and a half years of single battle series locally in over 20 countries, we have decided to try something different and potentially more exciting for 2010… Introducing the European Warriors series!

“When we started Secret Wars 3 years ago, it was influenced heavily by various things from the Marvel comic, to Warriors and Fight Club. After experiencing the team battles around the World and seeing the benefits of this compared to the singles battles, we decided on trying it as a complete 6-8 month series!”

“I have noticed the crowds are more vocal and patriotic towards team battles – there seems to be more at stake and I love watching the artists free-styling alongside each other…. You never know what will come out the other end!” Terry Guy (Founder of Monorex and Secret Wars)

The rules are the same but the structure of the competition and dynamics of the battle are slightly different – see below for details.

How the competition will work & when

There will be 8-10 teams/cities involved in next years competition, and each city will select 6 artists to part of a squad. Each team will select 2-3 wildcard entries consisting of previous champs and general bad boys! The remaining members will be picked at the local qualifiers.

City selection events – November / December 09 (Check Secret Wars website for dates)

For all you Nike lovers out there, check out David Brownings paper Nike shoes:

And what makes this even better is that you can order a custom made pair from the website and choose your own colours etc…

David is a talented illustrator from Bristol, check his site out:

http://www.davidbrownings.com

Keep up the good work David…

via: highsnobiety.com