WE'RE SUPPORTING

What a love affair I am having with the flat as a pancake paintings of artist Ann Toebbe! Foreground, middleground, background — none of it makes a difference to Toebbe, who steamrolls over all of it to create the most unbelievably enticing abstractions. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

The photography of Marie Ek reminds me of flipping through an old personal photo album. She captures fleeting moments of life in such a poignant way that inspire reminiscent thoughts of distant memories and nearly forgotten dreams.

Peter Nalitch is Russia’s answer to Manu Chao. His video for the song Guitar is a Borat-like jab at low-budget, post-Soviet awkwardness — absurd English lyrics, Eurotrash earnestness, bad wipes, and cheap subtitles. But its tongue-in-cheekness is quite apparent, and the song is disarmingly catchy and romantic.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

The Dutch, the beautiful Dutch, in terms of architecture anyway. Here they have led the way again with this reuse of an old crane dock. A new glass office building, with a climatic façade of double glazing, motorized louvers on the outside and full length windows on the inside, hovers above the old dock. Read more

WE'RE READING

I paid a visit to the local bookstore the other morning and came across The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and back again). Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

I haven’t bought a CD in a while but I was strolling down Wellington’s Cuba Street looking for a bit of inspiration the other day when Liam Finn’s music tapped me politely on the shoulder and dragged me into the music store. Liam is New Zealand music royalty, of Neil Finn descent, although — with his wild hair and beard — he’s looking a bit more like a young Jesus these days. The record is made with the help of an analogue loop machine, and you’ll find the kind of stunning instrumental crescendos that I haven’t heard since The Beatles Hey Jude. He engages emotionally and spontaneously, with both skill and showmanship.

WE'RE WEARING

The t-shirt range of Lollipop Loretta is essentially a bright and bubbly collection of wearable art. There are only two of each shirt in each size and the illustrative monster characters are printed on quality American Apparel shirts. Fun! Read more