Coffin Couches

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Finnish artist Riitta Ikonen makes some pretty impressive costumes for her subjects that incorporate them into their environments in playful and hilarious ways. The experiences of the people wearing Ikonen’s creations as they ride on subways, walk through parks, and stand on the street are as important as the resulting images. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Wow! This song — More Childish Than In A Long Time — from Swedish teenage twins Taxi Taxi! just burst into my headphones like the first welcome glare of a mid-morning sunshine, stinging my ears wickedly with its coarse, repetitive beauty. The forlorn, introspective lyrics and melody tease and shimmer, sending a fleeting and not-so-subtle tap on the shoulder to hit repeat, repeat, and soak it all up again.

WE'RE THINKING

The AirPiano is an innovative musical interface which allows the playing and controlling of software instruments simply by moving your hands in the air. Above the AirPiano is a virtual matrix of keys and faders, each assigned with MIDI messages ready to be triggered. The length of a triggered note is equivalent to the time a hand is placed on the corresponding virtual key, which is also confirmed by LED feedback.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

MP5 + TO/LET are a collective of three girls from Rome and from Bologna who have been working on installations and graffiti since 2006. This graffiti was created in Medika, a new squat in Zagreb, Croatia. They were invited there for the Vox Feminae Festival, and this was painted in four days in the main entrance. Read more

I spent the formative first six years of my life in Wellington, New Zealand, a beautiful windswept city framed by a magnificent harbour in one direction and a stunning collection of green, rolling hills in the other. It was here, on a return visit many years later and deep amongst the clipped accents and ruddy faces of the weather-beaten locals, that I stumbled upon the vast catalogue of the then Dunedin based record label Flying Nun. And what a roster of acts they housed — The Chills, The Bats, The Clean, Tall Dwarfs, The Verlaines, and my favourite guitar-pop band, Straitjacket Fits. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

These Stephanie Simek designed rabbit’s foot-like charms made from pussy willow buds dangle from the ears by strands of thin chains like silent wind chimes. The earrings are approximately 3 inches long plus ear wire and available for US$125.

WE'RE READING

Our friends over at SNAP!, Montreal’s only free and independent arts and lifestyle magazine have just released their fourth issue in which they look back and celebrate the faded beauty of past eras, grandmas and grandpas, Polaroids, antique finds, old wisdom and vintage style. Yeeha! They also remember the best of 2008 in Montreal arts, with a variety of writers and photographers giving their take on their favourite cultural discoveries.