What would happen if you shot a .223 Remington Express Rifle at a pile of paper? Then drove over the paper in a tank and quad bike? And then used the paper to create a promotion for your client? In Perth, Western Australia, a design studio called Block is taking popular printing and finishing techniques like embossing and foiling, and ramping up the voltage tenfold. The goal? To give the graphic design industry a very extreme makeover in a campaign for Spicers.

SPONSOR

Damian Dillon’s digital and analogue images are characterized by his ‘destructive’ attitude towards the medium of photography.

Jailbreak’s crudely constructed images are taken from field trips to Belfast, Middlesex, Perth and Sydney, where the only human presence appears through Dillon’s satirical graffiti marks, drawn by hand or manufactured in Photoshop, which creates a strange harmony with the final photographs.

This is the official video for the new single from Voltaire Twins, Animalia, a dark, twisted tale about a taxidermist’s latest acquisition: a pair of feathered twins. Directed by Ben Young.

Plastic Robot is a diverse artist working with photography, painting, drawing and collage. Commonly found throughout his artworks are highly personal subjects. He generously allows us into his world of love and defeat, beauty and misconduct. His artworks are directly inspired by, and connected to, his personal life and he creates with clarity and compassion. And never without bite.

Johnny Two Tone Club is a collaborative project between some folks in Perth and Melbourne who like to do hand-pulled screen prints. International Walkman Day is the second installment in their ongoing Public Holiday Project series, which seeks to celebrate the anniversary of significant cultural events that don’t get the attention they deserve.

SPONSOR

I have an ongoing collaboration with these legends. It’s great to see my art expand to new formats and products. Perth has sun about eight months of the year, so these are invaluable.

Keys, wallet, mobile and sunnies. There is some cool shit coming out by the end of the year that I’m involved with and, honestly, I haven’t seen anything like it before. I’d love to tell you, but they’d get heavy on me if the cat was to exit the bag. Stay tuned.

Don’t judge a book by its cover, right? Well, sometimes you just really want to and with Clancy’s Fishbar in Perth, Australia, we really wanted to. Take one look at the interior and you’ll see why. Colorful and patterned fabric chandeliers nonchalantly hang from the ceiling, giving the whole space a bright, welcoming playfulness. This is matched brilliantly with a kaleidoscope of multi-colored chairs and dazzling prints, not to mention floor to ceiling windows with views overlooking the sparkling Indian Ocean.

Not too shabby, but what about the food? Though we can’t say much on the subject, having never tasted it, locals say it’s some of the best pub fare in town. Their menu boasts a diversity of eats from much-loved beer battered fish and chips, to more inventive options like Peri spiced dusted squid served with a watermelon, mint, cucumber, and pineapple salsa (yes please). Clancy’s also rocks a solid range of local beers from Western Australia’s top brewers. So if you’re lucky enough to find yourself hanging out on the Indian Ocean near City Beach in Perth, then you’d do well to sit in a bright chair overlooking the sea while downing local beer and fish and chips.

Illustrator and mixed media artist Zoe Keogh returns to her hometown, Perth, for a solo exhibition entitled Behind Closed Doors at Artspace Gallery in Nedlands. Now based in Berlin, Zoe creates contemporary works based on personal identity and gender role.

Sitting on the foothills of Perth in Western Australia is High Vale Orchard, an epicenter for biodynamic apples and fruity delights. A frontrunner in sustainable farming, here, certified organic, locally grown, and locally sourced produce is turned into deliciously natural ciders, juices, and preserves. The purity of the product is reflected in the clean, simple, and sophisticated labels branded against the clear bottles — the cider in particular. High Vale’s scrumptious goods are available in fine bottle shops around Australia or, better yet, at their cellar door.

SPONSOR

Unable to limit his art to the streets, Kid Zoom has happily defaced banknotes, vintage Playboys, and even his own studio with his brand of eye-catching artwork. A move from the sleepy suburbs of Perth, Australia, has seen Kid take on Sydney, so expect to see a lot more distorted cartoons and weepy skulls on the East coast from now on.

Our friends over at Semi-Permanent, which is the biggest annual design conference in Australia, have given us five double passes to give away to the Perth leg of the event on April 8. So if you’re a Lost At E Minor subscriber, and you want to attend, or if you’re not yet a subscriber but sign up now, leave a message under this post with why you want to go along and we’ll randomly select five lucky winners of the passes, which are valued at $300 each, on April 1st. [read an interview with Amy Sol, one of the guest speakers at Semi-Permanent Perth this year]

We’re big fans of the work of American illustrator, Amy Sol. So we were excited to hear that she’s winging over to Australia as a guest speaker at this year’s Perth Semi-Permanent, which is taking place on April 8. We asked her what she was expecting to find on her first visit to the country: ‘I’ve always wanted to visit. I loved to look at National Geographic articles about Australia when I was growing up and always hoped to actually visit someday. I don’t have any expectations at this point. I’m just looking forward to seeing the cities, maybe some wildlife, and perhaps meeting some cool people’. Can you give us a sneaky window into what you’ll be talking about at Semi-Permanent? ‘Well, you’ll have to actually be there to find out because I’m no good at curriculums! I’m really excited and nervous but that is obsolete in comparison to how grateful I am for even being invited. I just want to share what I can with the audience and hopefully offer some insight to the artists or interested people attending’. You are exhibiting pretty regularly. And you draw a lot of girls. What is it about the female form that you particularly like capturing? ‘Yeah. I like to draw girls. I often attach personal metaphors to my characters, but they will vary greatly with each work’. Who are the artists that are inspiring you at the moment? ‘Range Murata, Kay Nielsen, and other “golden age” illustrators’.