Wednesday, 31 March 2010

Weds 31st March: Tim Walker exhibition opening in Belgium









The third stop on the Walker exhibition expedition is the Knokke-Heisst Foto Festival in Belgium.  Hillman Studio again collaborated with Tim to curate a space to best bring his imagery alive in an interactive 3D environment.  This time a giant skeleton, spitfire and snails were installed amongst the packing crate style display boxes.  
I have always taken it for granted that a museum or gallery are responsible for putting on a show.......but no........I have come to learn that an artist can have complete control and input from the outset.  I suppose we should expect no less from a creative who is fundamentally fastidious and specifically successful for over seeing every element of his photography.  Initial plottings were turned from sketches into a small scale architectural maquette.  From here, the whole construction was orchestrated with the usual team behind Tim's sets  and then shipped over to Belgium.  Existing archive props nestle inbetween these new pieces to give an overall tactile retrospective to complement the prints.  Here you can see Shona Heath's surrealist glove hanging next to Andy Hillman's shot of Aaron knitted cars.  
As before there are Tim's precious sketchbooks opened up for inspection...........e.g original prints of our studiomate Andy Macgregor's first modelling for Tim with pastel powder clouds.  Here is Tim and stylist Jakob K having a peek at the private view and Jacob also looking at one of my personal fave portraits of Patrick Wolf .  

Thanks to Alex Cunningham for the shots from the opening this weekend.


Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Tues 30th March: Birthday Wishes for Lady Gaga


I wasn't the only blondie Arian celebrating her birthday this weekend...............Lady Gaga had a double celebration as "Telephone" was No.1 in the UK for a 2nd week.........

(here are a couple of cute illustrations of her wearing my hat, discovered and kindly sent to me by Jo Apps and Connie Kang)

Tues 30th March: More Birthday Treats........







Warning:  I am going to drag out my birthday on here, sorry!  Ive just had the best time so...............
The message on the inside of my card from Teo Connor and Andy Macgregor said "Friends are the best accessories"..............HOW TRUE!

Top to bottom:  Kryptonite hair slide by Rosy Nicholas (just look how cosmic it is...........even too cosmic for my camera to capture!), beautiful flowers from Gabi, Balloons and cake from Alex Cunningham..............apparently the sales assistant asked Alex "how old is she today?".....answer "30"...... oh dear!  Can never get enough unicorns and rainbows though............ 

Monday, 29 March 2010

Mon 29th March: Birthday Wishes from Tom Ryling

"Many Many happy returns on your birthday!
I've attached a humble momento, it's a funfair i went to in't countryside!"  
Tom Ryling

Mon 29th March: Birthday Wishes from Chrissie Abbott

Verity and I were extremely lucky to have our party invitation designed by insanely gifted and generous Chrissie Abbott.  Thank you so much..........what a brilliant gift to mark our milestone!

Mon 29th March: Birthday Wishes from Fifi and Lola





The girl's stepped it up a level and the decoration equated the cosmic cupcake batter rainbow.
Thanks to Fifi and Lola for jazzing up the proceedings of the birthday celebrations with this spread of magic munchies.  Here I am, seemingly worse for ware which I can only fathom as an unfortunate angle of the photograph as apposed to my disposition..............also, just to clarify the secret ingredient I had requested was not hallucinogenic as speculated but magical juice from a flower known as "love-in-idleness"....................... the proof is in the pudding...........
................. unfortunately I gave up my cupcake to my star VJ Riyo as she had missed out..........so no mwah for me this time...........but an excuse to make more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Images c/o Lucy Aebischer 

Mon 29th March: Birthday Wishes from Clare Shilland

"I saw this pink dog yesterday, and i thought you would appreciate him.
Happy birthday!"

Sunday, 28 March 2010

Friday, 26 March 2010

Friday 26th March: London Showrooms in NYC





The BFC / LDA has taken 21 of the UK's emerging fashion designers across the Atlantic to set up showrooms in NYC.  Here is our reporter Craig Lawrence who has sent back some photos from his first time in the city and preparing for the event at The Soho Grand.  Last night the whole crew descended on a Vogue dinner party with Anna Wintour and Sarah Mower.............so Im hoping we may get a 2nd batch of snaps from that!............ here he is with Hannah Marshall who's current facebook status sounds like it was a good one!

Thursday, 25 March 2010

Thurs 25th March: HIllman Studio's "Lady Grey" for Italian Vogue









These 2 scans are tears of  the couture special "Lady Grey" from the new Italian Vogue with set design by Hillman Studio and shot by Tim Walker.  I am lucky enough to be sat next to the in-house prop production that goes on for such jobs............witnessing this hare head being realised from sketch to final fur and flocking perfection.  Here you can see Andy Hillman behind the scenes on location and the models Stella Tennant and Charles Guislain in the final epic images.  How incredible to be a 16yr old fashion enthusiast and find yourself cast with such consideration in a timeless and doubtless iconic narrative.  This is one of the most sublime stories I have seen come out of the Walker stable in recent times and the whole thing carries on for pages and pages.  Congratulations everyone on the team from the exquisite styling of Jacob Kjeldgaard, green fairy magical makeup by Sam Bryant and theatrical taxidermy hairpinned barnetts by Malcolm Edwards.
Thank you to Alex Cunningham for the pictures.
(This is my 1,111 th post!)

Thurs 25th March: The Knocking Shop

Think back to the excitement of Friday late night guilty pleasure ridiculous telly.............the out of control delivery of presenters interviewing technique and general raucous conduct........the erratic camera work and disorientating green screen visuals............the bands who weren't quite sure where they were or why, what they were playing or indeed who they were............

Welcome to the 2010's answer to "if Reeves & Mortimer had done Jools Holland in a TFI / The Word format", turned upside down, shot in the upstairs of a pub in Dalston..........hosted by a new improved Caroline Aherne / Daisy Donovan superstar alongside a Divine David looking "Cilla Zack" ...............get ready for "The Knocking Shop" written, directed and executed by Danny Sangra and Ollie Evans..........

Here is a trailer............Ive been lucky enough to see an interview with Thecocknbullkid which made me nearly wet myself with laughter and the gadget review of £1 shop items............


The Sound Of Knocking from the knocking shop on Vimeo.

Wednesday, 24 March 2010

Weds 24th March: Meet Mimpy

Photobucket


This is a new character from the genius hand of Jim "the illustrator" Stoten. .........currently under construction, click back for an update soon to find out where he may be going and what he might be up to..........
He is just about summing up how exceedingly excited I am about my 30th birthday party......only days away.  
Thanks to Scottee for teaching me how to upload a gif!

Weds24th March: Blood, Swear & Fears









Last week I peddled into town to visit "Fifi and Lola" at their cake stall as part of the live magazine event "Blood, Sweat & Fears".  It did exactly what it said on the tin............everything you find leafing through a magazine but jumped off the printed page and onto the floor of a converted Carnaby street shop.  Here you can see screen printing by "We Make T-Shirts" , photographer Dan Wilton sporting a Charlie Le Mindu headpiece after a photo shoot, and live visuals by Riyo Nemeth.  Not only was this week of residency and events a brilliant new interactive concept and unique idea of getting creatives all together in the same place at the same time BUT it was in aid of the charity "Art Against Knives".............so to bulk up the collection box, buy your copy of the final physical mag when its published in May.

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Tues 23rd March: FREDZUUUL

Out-take from shoot by Dan Wilton on Friday......................details to follow soon.........
(hands belonging to the brilliant hair stylist Yoshitaka Miyazaki)