Like householders the world over, Perth sculptor Christian de Vietri has been spending time in IKEA. Loitering in the Faktum kitchen and between the Billy bookcases, slumped on the Klippan two-seater and filling his pockets with allen keys, de Vietri is assembling something of a different order. For his latest work Configuration 3: Nuclear family fusion, 2006, currently on show at new Sydney gallery space thirtyseven degrees, De Vietri has taken the components of various IKEA products – the wooden structures of a bunk bed, curtain rails, parts of a rotating cupboard, knives, chopping board sets, chairs and tables – and created from them a tool of torture: a 3 x 3 metre ‘Infrafamily Conflict Resolution Unit’. Imagine a whirligig plus prodding stick: a contemporary reinvention of the barbarous medieval pillory, into which offenders were locked by their hands and neck and forced to rotate aimlessly, incessantly. For anyone who has done battle with a DIY assembly kit, it is clear that De Vietri has not so much transformed these IKEA products as pushed them to their cruel and natural conclusion: IKEA – the cycle of production and consumption – here reads as torture, as gross spectacle. It is possible, however, that the artist’s reasons for loitering in the local IKEA are far more mundane. A multi-award winner, having bagged the Art & Australia/ ANZ Private Bank Prize for emerging artists, the QANTAS Spirit of Youth Award, a Nescafe Big Break grant and the honorific title ‘West Australian Citizen of the Year’, Christian de Vietri is a man in dire need of a trophy cabinet.
Also by KATRINA SCHWARZ
Australian fashion brand Lover, founded by Susien Chong and Nic Briand in 2001, arouses a particular type of devotion. Like the fashionable muses that inspire Lover’s strong and feminine collections – Patty Hearst for the ‘Black Rose Army’ (Spring/Summer 06/07); Rolling Stones groupies and biker babes for ‘Altamont’ (Winter 07) – fans of Lover know all about yearning, obsession … and waiting lists. Get in the swim and place your pre-orders for Lover’s newly launched Spring/Summer line, ‘One Plus One’, which includes the label’s first foray into swimming cossies.
Hot Box, by Barcelona-based Ana Mir and Emili Padros — for Emiliana Design Studio — is a design object with a different type of consumer in mind. If most highfalutin design firms pitch their sleek wares at Prada-clad architects and inner-city aspirants, the envisaged audience for the Emiliana Hot Box is another breed entirely: the chilly sex worker. A translucent structure that emerges from the ground, the Hot Box was created with the notion of providing warmth and light for those who spend a long time waiting on the street — namely prostitutes. Read more
In the 1985 movie Weird Science, a pair of happy misfits use tip-top technology and nerdy know-how to create something truly beautiful: in the form of ‘real life’ woman and sexed up diva Kellie Le Brock. The Australian fashion label Romance Was Born have created something equally beguiling with their Spring/Summer 07/08 collection, also called Weird Science. Sending coke-bottle spectacles, high-waisted acid wash and even a DNA inspired headdress down the runway at Rosemount Fashion Week, a real highlight of the collection is the label’s collaboration with hot Sydney artist Del Kathryn Barton. Del Kathryn Barton, who has previously collaborated on the label’s Regional Australia collection, will once again provide a unique fabric print that will be reproduced across a range of garments. Romance’s own misfit duo, Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, know nerds get their revenge in the end. [see also Del Kathryn Barton]
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We interviewed American artist Amy Sol recently and asked her about the influence her Korean heritage has on her technique: ‘Korean art has inspired some of the elements in my work, but I wouldn’t say that this is my main focus. I spent my childhood years in Korea and gained an adoration for Celadon pottery and textile arts. I appreciate and draw inspiration from many cultures, such as Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, and European. I feel very fortunate to live in an environment where I can explore all kinds of things. I stay open to all sources of influence and draw my own interpretations out of this’.
Mario Wagner is a German illustrator based in San Francisco. His work features lots of color and hints strongly at the position of technology in our modern society. Read more
The issue of abortion has hardly ever been represented so honestly by a movie. Knocked Up and Juno gave the pro-choice movement a boost, and of those two, only Juno came close to confronting the issue. In the Princess of Nebraska, the main character suffers through indecision, naivety and turmoil that seem much closer to reality. Read more
I’m a wheat-free guy, and though I’ve never been into sweets, I love Sweet Sin, the only gluten-free bakery in Baltimore. Aside from their wheatless treats, they also serve a wide range of savory meals such as snapper, goat, and greens.
Christopher Knowles’ blog is a haven for all things not Lady Gaga. Read more
The new Antony and the Johnsons album, The Crying Light, is the band’s follow up to the Mercury prize winning I Am a Bird Now. The album is available for instant digital download — along with a bonus track, My Lord, My Love — if you pre-order it from the band’s website as of today. This gives you a chance to hear the album in full before the official release date on January 19th. We have their track, Another World [listen below], available for free download in the Music Downloads section in the third column of the Lost At E Minor site.
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Biomimetic fashion apparel from discarded pieces of plywood, laser-cut with precision and stitched onto unbleached organic cotton. Who would have thought?
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
Honest Food Preparation Instructions
Yes, we’ve all been there: the chinese food from last week that still looks edible amongst the bare surrounds of an empty fridge. But really, we shouldn’t. Just let it be. Or College Humor will expose you! Read more
Cookie Boy’s creative cookie designs
I don’t eat cookies, so good thing Cookie Boy’s cookies are little pieces of art too pretty and cute to eat. Read more
It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
The Illuminated Sea Cookie Pin by Stephanie Simek mixes underwater wonders and light to add a little sparkle to your wardrobe. The sea cookie, a member of the sand dollar family, is back lit by a white LED. When turned on, the light illuminates all of the creature’s natural patterns and intricacies. Read more
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