Victoria Reynolds’s meat paintings

WE'RE SUPPORTING

I love the subtle colours and sense of quiet introspection in the photographic work of San Francisco-based Elena Kulikova. Her portraits, in particular, capture moments when you sense a little secret has been whispered, but only a few ears have caught it. Of her work, it’s said: ‘the micro-details of a scene contribute to the overall goal of creating an image fueled with complete feeling and purpose’. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

This gourmet paint is made by only two dedicated paint makers without fillers, just pigment and oil, like it should be. There is only one store that sells it and it is run out of the Elisabeth Foundation for the Arts building in Chelsea, New York. They have a table set up there so you can play with and mix any of the colours together to see its effects. I usually go to pick one tube up and hang around asking questions to one half of the duo, Gail, and usually leave with five tubes, having learned a lot about the history and the process behind each colour.

WE'RE WEARING

These scarves designed by Sarah Swash and her boyfriend Toshio Yamanaka always feature their whippet and play on a sense of urban sophistication inspired by the surrounds of their East London studio. Definitely a justified indulgence.

WE'RE THINKING

What is it with message related acronyms? Soon it will get to the point where we no longer communicate in real words but instead in abbreviated codes that require a thesaurus and a yearly subscription to the Economist to understand. Spare me. Read more

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.

Run Wrake is an illustrator and animator based in London whose recent short animation Rabbit has turned him into an underground hero. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

No wave is alive and well, if Brooklyn duo Talk Normal are any indication. Drummer Andrya Ambro keeps things cohesive with surprisingly precise percussion, occasionally banging on such things as an electric guitar and an old iron pipe rigged with contact mics, while guitarist Sarah Register coaxes some unnerving and discordant noises from her axe and array of pedals. The two take turns shouting abstract and absurdist lyrics with voices like hi-tech valkyries from a futurist nightmare.