Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2010 Catwalk Review: Richard Sorger

Richard Sorger A-W 2010 Abigail Daker
Richard Sorger by Abigail Daker.

Before his A/W 2010 fashion show I knew nothing about Richard Sorger, but I quite liked the graphic design of his invitation featuring a glossy printed bee – and sometimes this is enough to get me to a show.

Bee on the invite for the Richard Sorger show
Bee on the invite for the Richard Sorger show.

Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory

The main area at Victoria House had been curtained off and the space in front had been turned into a small curved catwalk that the models walked around before stopping in a line up against the far wall. Due to a dearth of photographers I was able to take my place in what constituted the pit, as the girls tracked towards us. The lighting was a confusing patchwork so there was a lot of grumbling from the photographers around me, but I managed to take some moody shots with no flash.

Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

The small collection had none of the graphic simplicity seen in the invite, with the very basic dress shapes somehow grating against the excessive embellishment creeping across them – 3D embroidered bees and flowers alluding to the Swarm of the title, netting spilling willy-nilly off the front of one dress. The colour palette didn’t help – sludgy greys, beiges and menstruation red not being my favoured tones – and making the clothes somehow came across as leaden rather than glamourous.

Richard Sorger A W 2010 Abigail Daker
Richard Sorger A W 2010 Abigail Daker
Richard Sorger by Abigail Daker.

All in all I left finding it a bit hard to believe that Richard Sorger dresses some of the celebs listed on his website – including Courtney Love, Cindy Crawford (my wasn’t she beautiful back in the day?!) and Heidi Klum, but then maybe this collection was a big departure from his usual style because a further search of the blogosphere reveals that he has produced some much more interesting clothes; some of them available for a knock-down price over at ASOS.

I love his oversized flamingo and skeleton arm jersey tees – maybe a lighter, bright colour and feel should infuse Richard Sorger’s next catwalk collection. So much fresher than sludge!



Categories ,Abi Daker, ,ASOS, ,Bees, ,Cindy Crawford, ,Courtney Love, ,Embellishment, ,embroidery, ,Flamingos, ,Heidi Klum, ,London Fashion Week, ,Richard Sorger, ,Skeletons, ,Victoria House

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2010 Catwalk Review: Richard Sorger

Richard Sorger A-W 2010 Abigail Daker
Richard Sorger by Abigail Daker.

Before his A/W 2010 fashion show I knew nothing about Richard Sorger, side effects but I quite liked the graphic design of his invitation featuring a glossy printed bee – and sometimes this is enough to get me to a show.

Bee on the invite for the Richard Sorger show
Bee on the invite for the Richard Sorger show.

Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory

The main area at Victoria House had been curtained off and the space in front had been turned into a small curved catwalk that the models walked around before stopping in a line up against the far wall. Due to a dearth of photographers I was able to take my place in what constituted the pit, as the girls tracked towards us. The lighting was a confusing patchwork so there was a lot of grumbling from the photographers around me, but I managed to take some moody shots with no flash.

Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Richard Sorger A/W 2010. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

The small collection had none of the graphic simplicity seen in the invite, with the very basic dress shapes somehow grating against the excessive embellishment creeping across them – 3D embroidered bees and flowers alluding to the Swarm of the title, netting spilling willy-nilly off the front of one dress. The colour palette didn’t help – sludgy greys, beiges and menstruation red not being my favoured tones – and making the clothes somehow came across as leaden rather than glamourous.

Richard Sorger A W 2010 Abigail Daker
Richard Sorger A W 2010 Abigail Daker
Richard Sorger by Abigail Daker.

All in all I left finding it a bit hard to believe that Richard Sorger dresses some of the celebs listed on his website – including Courtney Love, Cindy Crawford (my wasn’t she beautiful back in the day?!) and Heidi Klum, but then maybe this collection was a big departure from his usual style because a further search of the blogosphere reveals that he has produced some much more interesting clothes; some of them available for a knock-down price over at ASOS.

I love his oversized flamingo and skeleton arm jersey tees – maybe a lighter, bright colour and feel should infuse Richard Sorger’s next catwalk collection. So much fresher than sludge!

Categories ,Abi Daker, ,ASOS, ,Bees, ,Cindy Crawford, ,Courtney Love, ,Embellishment, ,embroidery, ,Flamingos, ,Heidi Klum, ,London Fashion Week, ,Richard Sorger, ,Skeletons, ,Victoria House

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Amelia’s Magazine | A review of Ctrl.Alt.Shift’s latest venture, “Dear Diary”


Dan Eldon’s visual diaries; courtesy of Kathy Eldon

At some point in your life, cost you may have kept a diary, capsule pouring into it all of your deepest and darkest thoughts; the ones that you felt were too embarrassing or inappropriate to say aloud. My experience of reading old diaries is always toe-curling, but amusing as I struggle to make sense of why I cared so much about some things to write about them (for example, “loaf of bread head guy” who I adored from afar featured regularly in my diaries for a while – don’t ask!). As much as I would like to say that my diary entries were highly interesting, intelligent, deep and profound, most of them are sleep-inducing and consist of a type of written diarrhea. Thankfully, this is not the case at Cltr.Alt.Shift’s new exhibition, “Dear Diary”.

Dear Diary” is a new project launched by the youth anti-poverty charity to explore the art of diary keeping, taking participants on an inspirational and reflective journey, through the private pages of young individuals across the globe. The exhibition is housed under a funky t-shirt shop in Covent Garden in an intimate space, bringing together several diary collections ranging from Nirvana frontman and lyricist Kurt Cobain, to the stunning visual diaries of Dan Eldon, a young and promising photojournalist who was killed on the front line by an angry mob in Mogadishu, aged only 22.


Dan Eldon’s visual diaries; courtesy of Kathy Eldon

The room is divided into seven exhibits where on entry, you are confronted by four portraits of Eldon’s work, each infused with vivid, bold colours; a stark contrast to the bare white walls. The first image I encountered was the profile of a young, elegant looking tribeswoman wearing an intricate-looking traditional headdress, set against a backdrop of vibrant oranges and pinks. What I found most intriguing about this visual is that it had been signed with “Love and kisses, Angela” and “Love Maria”, and I was curious to know who these woman were. Had they been part of Eldon’s life at some stage and if so, how would their own diaries have read after his death?

Another one of Eldon’s portraits which had a gripping effect on me was that of four faded pictures in what appears to be a group of friends on a camping trip, smiling and chatting happily amongst each other, mounted on a map of Tanzania’s national parks. On closer viewing, the outlines of what appears to be three people – sketched with thick graphite pencil onto grainy beige/orange-coloured paper – are superimposed onto each of the original photos, as if they are joining the group but are separated through their apparent difference in physicality. A sentence is scrawled across the bottom of the map reading: “Dedicated to all 3 who lost their lives during the dramatic escape from Mikumi Nat Park”, providing us with a glimpse of the harsh reality of civil warfare, to which Eldon perished.


Kenya to the UK: Secrets and Struggles Diary Wall (photography by George Ramsay)

I was deeply moved by some of the diary excerpts displayed on the diary wall, written by teenage Kenyans living in extreme poverty and political instability. Although many of the entries were simplistic and occasionally poorly structured, the diarists’ basic descriptions painted a vivid and poignant image of the future that they longed for: “It’s also my hope in future this kind of thing will never happen again coz it also took death to many of my friends and also the separation of my beau and since then we have never communicated which made me so lonely”. Other diary entries detail the violence around elections and the hardship that economic deprivation brings: “…Our family made up of 11, it was hard to grow up due to poverty. It was hard and difficult to study”.


Audio diaries with images above audio decks by Kenyan conservationalist and playboy diarist, Peter Beard (photography by George Ramsay)

Aware that I am painting quite a grim and depressing picture of the exhibition, I assure you that this exhibition is not just a collection of doom and gloom. The audio diaries present a more eclectic mix of personal accounts, ranging from the inspirational to hilarious. Of these, the most compelling piece was of a courageous 19 year old South African girl called Thembi who broke the silence about living with AIDS at a time when it was still a taboo subject in South Africa; she eventually went on to share her story with more than 50 million people. A highly amusing reading from comedian Richard Herring about his painful years as a chubby brainiac, who at the time believed he would be a virgin forever, also makes for an entertaining listen.


Diary library with comfy sofa chair (photography by George Ramsay)

In a far corner of the show room, there is an area for quiet reflection with an extremely comfortable chair which I made my home for a good part of the evening, taking advantage of the diary library, which included entries belonging to Samuel Pepys, Frida Kahlo, Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love and several volumes of Anaïs Nin’s journals. On the top shelf (no, not what you are thinking), there were two books available for documenting your own thoughts, which people had written in throughout the course of the evening, with one refined gentleman expressing that he was looking forward to going home and banging his wife! Nice.


Irving Finkel’s collection of diaries (photography by George Ramsay)

Other exhibition highlights include the unpublished diaries of ordinary people from the 19th century displayed in a glass case, collected by the British Library’s Irving Finkel over the years. Finkel would often search for these items at secondhand shops and house clearances, believing that they hold the key to our histories through the casual documentation of one’s environment at the time. The child in me gravitated towards the Children’s Pocket Annual and Birthday Book of an eight year old girl and scouts’ diaries with stained pages and frayed edges, detailing the mundane routines of school work, bath days and playing with wolf cubs (well maybe playing with wolf cubs wouldn’t have been so mundane).

Ctrl.Alt.Shift’sDear Diary” is an intelligent and thought-provoking initiative, which takes a concept that we are all familiar with to help us understand and relate with others. Through encountering a range of diaries, including that of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, a boy living with Tourette’s in the US and teenagers living in the slums in Kenya, our attention converges on the fact that whatever our language and ethnicity, the expression of thought transcends cultural boundaries. Although we may be divided geographically and by our heritage, fundamentally the feelings that we experience are the same.


Limited edition diary with cover illustrated by Alexa Chung

As part of the project, Ctrl.Alt.Shift have also launched a limited edition diary, with a cover illustrated by Alexa Chung featuring extracts from Courtney Love, Daniel Johnson and Anaïs Nin, which you can buy here. All proceeds raised from the ‘Dear Diary’ project go towards Maji Na Ufanisi, working with young people from the slums of Nairobi.

For more information about location and opening times, check out our listings here.


Excerpt from Courtney Love’s diaries; courtesy of Courtney Love

Categories ,Anais Nin, ,British Library, ,Cltr.Alt.Shift, ,Courtney Love, ,Covent Garden, ,Dan Eldon, ,Daniel Johnston, ,Dear Diary, ,Frida Kahlo, ,Gallery Seven, ,Irving Finkel, ,Kat Phan, ,Kenya, ,Kurt Cobain, ,Maji Na Ufanisi, ,Mikumi National Park, ,Mogadishu, ,Nairobi, ,nirvana, ,Richard Herring, ,Samuel Pepys, ,Scouts, ,South Africa, ,Super Superficial, ,Thembi, ,Tourettes

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with illustrator Faye West, as featured in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration

(Commision which came about from Amelia's Mag feature) by faye west
Commission which came about from Amelia’s Magazine feature, by Faye West.

Faye West‘s whimsical watercolours first came to my attention nearly four years ago when she had just graduated from university. Since then a lot has changed, but her unique take on fashion illustration remains the same – beautiful, timeless and finally gaining the recognition it deserves. Since appearing in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration 2011 has been a busy year for Faye and 2012 looks set to be even more so, with a big move to London imminent. Time to check in with one of Amelia’s Magazine’s most prolific and delightful contributors…

My Fave 'Amelia's' piece by Faye West
Faye West‘s favourite illustration for me. This was to illustrate the Gossypium dress and bag that comes free with issue 10 of Amelia’s Magazine, and appears in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration.

You first came to my attention several years ago when you delivered some gorgeous (and yummy) hand decorated cupcakes to my door – what prompted the idea and what persuaded you to get in touch again last year?
My London College of Fashion friends finished their Fashion Journalism degree with a bit more of a clue in what was going on than I had (Faye studied at Fashion Promotion and Illustration at University for the Creative Arts), and knew Amelia’s Magazine was highly illustrative so we devised a plan to woo you with illustrated cupcakes. I had always meant to follow it up with some illustrations, but it was before I was twitter-conscious and the next brief I happened to see was in fact the ACOFI, or Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration open brief.

Faye west Cupcakes
Those infamous cupcakes! I wish I had taken a better photo… alas they have long since been demolished…

Florian-Jayet-by-Faye-West
Florian Jayet S/S 2012 by Faye West for Amelia’s Magazine.

How has producing fashion illustrations for Amelia’s Magazine and ACOFI developed your perception of the fashion and illustration worlds?
It has basically been a way to stay working to briefs, in the way you do as a student. It’s very hard to stay motivated without someone else setting you a brief because you are only doing self-authored work which tends to get a bit stale. The variety of images you then produce are so wide and interesting that your work just evolves through all the experimentation. Amelia’s Magazine is almost like a giant spider gram of illustration opportunities.

Finalist entry for V Mag Gaga comp
Finalist entry for V Magazine Lady Gaga competition.

You’ve just launched a sexy new website, what prompted the redesign?
I wanted to get a website up and running that was a bit more of a platform for my pieces, almost as though someone had decorated a Faye West shop for all of my work to be displayed or sold in. It was also a little challenge to myself to get to grips with the creative side to website building.

Sketchbook Magazine image by Faye West
Sketchbook Magazine image by Faye West.

What was behind your decision to create Edit Collective, and can you describe a bit more about the project?
I had just spent a while contacting galleries, local to Devon and London and had a very negative response. Which is all part of the business but having graduated over 6 years ago, exhibiting was a goal that was proving unobtainable. So I thought I’d see if anyone else was having the same issue and the idea of a group exhibition started. Edit Collective is basically to show off the work we have produced over the last year, all the JPegs sat on computer desktops, and original pieces filling up portfolios not seeing the light of day. I was so bowled over by the interest from other artists that it involves near to 30 artists. I hope to continue expanding this number each year, keeping to the proviso that it is editorial work. Fellow ACOFI featured illustrator Gemma Milly is partnering my venture and the majority of artists have come to know each others work through contributing to magazines such as Amelia’s Magazine.

Faye West Self Portrait
Faye West Self Portrait.

How did you get involved with Think Act Vote, and can you give us a taster of what you’ve produced?
I was sent a lovely email asking if I would like to take part in their upcoming publication. As a student I was away with the fairies, I had no political view point at all which seemed to vex my tutors a bit. But in my old age I am starting to become very interested and unfortunately angry at the current state of affairs. This is what drew me to to illustrate Katherine Hamnett‘s piece in particular. I have illustrated something playing on her infamous slogan tshirts, mixed with the idea of a figure representing Democracy in the same vein as the Statue of Liberty.

for Ballad of Faye West
Illustration for Ballad Of by Faye West.

What is the VV Collective and what you have done for it?
This is Vivian Vile, a collective put together by two artists who feel that young female artists can often be overlooked. I am always drawn to the feminine, and feel quite proud to be alongside some wonderful artists and photographers in the ‘Members Lounge‘ They were involved with Ladyfest this year which was something I had wanted to get involved with since being a student interested in Riot Grrls and the like. They have just launched a competition to submit a self portrait which, if successful will be exhibited at Cultivate on Vyner Street. I decided to really set myself a challenge and paint on canvas with acrylic which was a little more time consuming and frustrating at times compared to my usual water colours. 

Harriet Gray's Dream by Faye West
Harriet Gray‘s Dream by Faye West.

Gareth Hopkin's Dream by Faye West
Gareth A Hopkin‘s Dream by Faye West.

You’ve built up quite a friendship with Ukraine based illustrator Daria Hlazatova, recently creating Lupine Osmunda together – how did this come about – both meeting and doing a project together?
I am her number one fan. I just loved her work so much, it makes me feel like a child starting at fairy tales again! So basically I commissioned her to illustrate me scenes from the Twelve Dancing Princesses because it was a story book I had as a child with illustrations which fascinated me. We often chat on twitter and email and our discussions would turn to the bizarre dreams we were having so we decided to illustrate each others and turn it into a project.

Teatum Jones by Faye West
Teatum Jones S/S 2012 by Faye West for Amelia’s Magazine.

Apparently you have some exciting news, that you will be will soon be in-house illustrator for Ballad Of. How did this come about and what will you be doing?
Yes, it’s all very new so not started anything yet. But I really enjoyed doing some pieces for the girls for their last issue. They have a two submission limit to give everyone an opportunity to have their work showcased. It was the last submission for me which I was rather sad about! So I asked them to consider me if they were ever looking for someone to help out with little illustration jobs. They liked the idea and agreed to have me on board, so I am looking forward to their next issue and to start writing some of the Illustration blogs for them. Ballad Of is one of the things I found through fellow Amelia’s Magazine illustrators on their blogs and through twitter; a wonderful example of how many doors have opened from the advice you gave me to get some internet presence!

Ballad of Bag Faye WEST
Ballad Of tote bag by Faye West. Photo courtesy of Lindsey and Claire.

GLITTER love Faye West
GLITTER love by Faye West.

What has been the most exciting thing to happen because of your involvement with Amelia’s Magazine and ACOFI?
Has to be seeing my work on printed silk dresses for Beautiful Soul and finding out that I was one of the 30 illustrators going in to Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration! Also I designed an exclusive limited edition tote for Ballad Of‘s last launch party and I had a special Courtney Love commission (see above) from a blogger who like the image I did of the singer for Topshop Boutique a few years ago.

Tallulah pet portrait commission by Faye West
Tallulah pet portrait commission by Faye West.

Anything new coming up? What will you be up to in 2012?
At the moment I am working on portrait commissions for Christmas presents, I have had a high number of dog portrait requests this year! Very sweet. I love being asked because you know you’re helping someone give a special and unique gift. I plan to move back to London, get Edit Collective‘s exhibition under way, and I would really like to concentrate on some more print design. Here is a link for portrait commissions which I have just put together! Do get in touch!

Morris-Dancers-by-Faye-West
Morris Dancers by Faye West for Amelia’s Magazine.

You can see more of Faye West‘s beautiful work in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. Buy both my books together with four rare back issues of Amelia’s Magazine (including the one with the bag illustrated above) for just £50. A bargain! And I can’t wait to see how Edit Collective evolves.

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Ballad Of, ,Beautiful Soul, ,Courtney Love, ,Cultivate, ,cupcakes, ,Daria Hlazatova, ,Devon, ,Edit Collective, ,Fashion Illustration, ,Fashion Promotion and Illustration, ,Faye West, ,Gareth A Hopkin, ,Gemma Milly, ,gossypium, ,Harriet Gray, ,interview, ,Katherine Hamnett, ,London College of Fashion, ,Lupine Osmunda, ,Pet Portraits, ,Riot Grrls, ,Sketchbook Magazine, ,Statue of Liberty, ,Think Act Vote, ,Topshop Boutique, ,Tote bag, ,Twelve Dancing Princesses, ,UCA, ,University for the Creative Arts, ,Vivian Vile, ,VV Collective, ,Vyner Street

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Amelia’s Magazine | Little Fish at the Old Blue Last: Live Review

Rob Ryan, <a target=physician All It Took” title=”Rob Ryan, salve All It Took” width=”480″ height=”612″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-29087″ />
Rob Ryan, decease All It Took.

There is something heartbreaking about Rob Ryan’s art. His work shows us a world full of beauty, where people love and long for each other so all-consumingly that everything else pales in comparison. The surrounding scenery, intricately carved out in the tiniest details, cushions the people in Ryan’s world, creating a protective bubble where they can speak the most beautiful words in order to tell each other how they feel. While the characters in Ryan’s images seem to be in this intense state all the time, in the real world these special moments come and go. But most of us will at some point have experienced them, and so you’ll find yourself standing in front of one of Ryan’s large-scale cut-outs, craning your neck as you follow the winding text incorporated in the image, and think, ‘Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s like.’

Rob Ryan by Holly Trill
Rob Ryan by Holly Trill.

The private view of Rob Ryan’s new exhibition, The Stars Shine All Day Too, drew a crowd last Tuesday night at Mayfair’s Air Gallery. Large papercuts and screenprints, mostly monochrome in black on white, lined the walls of the small space, buzzing from the heat of the crowd enjoying vodka-champagne drinks. The artist himself was surrounded by guests eager for a chat, and a signature in their copy of the book, which pairs Ryan’s papercuts with a story by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Also on display was a collaboration between Ryan and the designer Lulu Guinness. The limited edition fan-shaped clutch bags, embellished in Swarovski crystals, go on sale Monday.

While the partnerships demonstrate the broad appeal of Ryan’s work, the act of viewing his art feels distinctively private. Especially studying the originals, where the slight paper-buckling causes delicate shadows, provokes an image of the artist hunched over a massive desk, knuckles white around a scalpel as he carves out leaves, birds, words and people. Undoubtedly a very time-consuming and fiddly process, you wonder how romantic Ryan feels if his knife slips and he cuts off the delicate paper strip connecting a shooting star, or even the heroine’s head. But the resulting work is romantic to the extreme, sincere and generous without a shred of irony. ‘Stars and galaxies rotate eternally, and you and I circle each other. For you are my universe entirely, and I will always be yours,’ reads the piece entitled Countless Moons, where the couple bathes in a pool under the stars.

Rob Ryan, Countless Moons
Rob Ryan, Countless Moons.

A few of the works lack text, such as Starry Night, showing a couple on a bench under a densely-starred sky. ‘Maybe it’s better that way, as you can interpret it how you like,’ my friend pointed out: ‘Like here, maybe she’s telling him to get his hands off her.’ I laughed, as this caption would get more giggles, for sure. But I can’t help but think we get our fill of sarcasm elsewhere, and we can always tune in to a re-run of ‘Mock the Week’ later if all this loveliness is getting too saccharine sweet to bear. In fact, there’s something very refreshing about the unapologetic tenderness of Ryan’s work. ‘If you believe in love but find it difficult to explain, this is for you,’ Ryan once chiseled out – that sounds about right. Not that everything Ryan does is about romantic love, mind, as demonstrated by one of my favourite pieces at the show: ‘Look closer and closer and look further and further and listen harder and harder to the noise of our earth and the silence of the stars, and what you will hear is a small voice that whispers – don’t try to get, try to give …’

Rob Ryan by Jessica Stokes
Rob Ryan by Jessica Stokes.

It took me all night, but I finally managed to steal a minute or Ryan’s time in the end. I asked him, where does it all come from, the inspiration for all this? ‘Oh no, it’s an interview!’ he laughed, before he shrugged: ‘I don’t know anymore, I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I get to go to my studio and do something I love. It just comes to me.’ Or at least he said something to this effect – by this point it was very loud and hot in the gallery, and having skipped dinner I should have declined that last vodka-champagne. Either way, Ryan’s disarming manner made me feel confident enough to tell him how I’d discovered his work, several years ago as I came across a picture in a magazine. It was a very simple papercut with large text over a row of houses: ‘Maybe in this very city or in a field a thousand miles away, but you must be patient and never despair, for one day we shall truly find each other.’ I’d just been dumped and was feeling something akin to despair at the time, but Ryan’s little print made me feel better. I don’t know what I expected Ryan to say to this, but his response was moving – his eyes lit up and he thanked thanked me for sharing it with him. Maybe that’s the sort of reaction he’s hoping for with his work, I wondered, but I didn’t get the chance to ask as autograph-hunters were circling closer and my moment with the star of the night was up.

Rob Ryan, Your Job
Rob Ryan, Your Job.

As the title of the show suggests, stars are a feature of most of the works displayed at the Air Gallery, but one piece stands out from this pattern. It’s a smaller cut-out in red, featuring not a couple but a boy and a bird. It reads: ‘Your job is to take this world apart and then put it back together again … but even better!’ And you read it and you think, ‘Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s like.’

See Rob Ryan’s The Stars Shine All Day Too at the Air Gallery, Dover Street, London W1, until 20th November 2010. For more details check out our listing.

Rob Ryan, <a target=order All It Took” title=”Rob Ryan, buy All It Took” width=”480″ height=”612″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-29087″ />
Rob Ryan, web All It Took.

There is something heartbreaking about Rob Ryan’s art. His work shows us a world full of beauty, where people love and long for each other so all-consumingly that everything else pales in comparison. The surrounding scenery, intricately carved out in the tiniest details, cushions the people in Ryan’s world, creating a protective bubble where they can speak the most beautiful words in order to tell each other how they feel. While the characters in Ryan’s images seem to be in this intense state all the time, in the real world these special moments come and go. But most of us will at some point have experienced them, and so you’ll find yourself standing in front of one of Ryan’s large-scale cut-outs, craning your neck as you follow the winding text incorporated in the image, and think, ‘Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s like.’

Rob Ryan by Holly Trill
Rob Ryan by Holly Trill.

The private view of Rob Ryan’s new exhibition, The Stars Shine All Day Too, drew a crowd last Tuesday night at Mayfair’s Air Gallery. Large papercuts and screenprints, mostly monochrome in black on white, lined the walls of the small space, buzzing from the heat of the crowd enjoying vodka-champagne drinks. The artist himself was surrounded by guests eager for a chat, and a signature in their copy of the book, which pairs Ryan’s papercuts with a story by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Also on display was a collaboration between Ryan and the designer Lulu Guinness. The limited edition fan-shaped clutch bags, embellished in Swarovski crystals, go on sale Monday.

While the partnerships demonstrate the broad appeal of Ryan’s work, the act of viewing his art feels distinctively private. Especially studying the originals, where the slight paper-buckling causes delicate shadows, provokes an image of the artist hunched over a massive desk, knuckles white around a scalpel as he carves out leaves, birds, words and people. Undoubtedly a very time-consuming and fiddly process, you wonder how romantic Ryan feels if his knife slips and he cuts off the delicate paper strip connecting a shooting star, or even the heroine’s head. But the resulting work is romantic to the extreme, sincere and generous without a shred of irony. ‘Stars and galaxies rotate eternally, and you and I circle each other. For you are my universe entirely, and I will always be yours,’ reads the piece entitled Countless Moons, where the couple bathes in a pool under the stars.

Rob Ryan, Countless Moons
Rob Ryan, Countless Moons.

A few of the works lack text, such as Starry Night, showing a couple on a bench under a densely-starred sky. ‘Maybe it’s better that way, as you can interpret it how you like,’ my friend pointed out: ‘Like here, maybe she’s telling him to get his hands off her.’ I laughed, as this caption would get more giggles, for sure. But I can’t help but think we get our fill of sarcasm elsewhere, and we can always tune in to a re-run of ‘Mock the Week’ later if all this loveliness is getting too saccharine sweet to bear. In fact, there’s something very refreshing about the unapologetic tenderness of Ryan’s work. ‘If you believe in love but find it difficult to explain, this is for you,’ Ryan once chiseled out – that sounds about right. Not that everything Ryan does is about romantic love, mind, as demonstrated by one of my favourite pieces at the show: ‘Look closer and closer and look further and further and listen harder and harder to the noise of our earth and the silence of the stars, and what you will hear is a small voice that whispers – don’t try to get, try to give …’

Rob Ryan by Jessica Stokes
Rob Ryan by Jessica Stokes.

It took me all night, but I finally managed to steal a minute or Ryan’s time in the end. I asked him, where does it all come from, the inspiration for all this? ‘Oh no, it’s an interview!’ he laughed, before he shrugged: ‘I don’t know anymore, I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I get to go to my studio and do something I love. It just comes to me.’ Or at least he said something to this effect – by this point it was very loud and hot in the gallery, and having skipped dinner I should have declined that last vodka-champagne. Either way, Ryan’s disarming manner made me feel confident enough to tell him how I’d discovered his work, several years ago as I came across a picture in a magazine. It was a very simple papercut with large text over a row of houses: ‘Maybe in this very city or in a field a thousand miles away, but you must be patient and never despair, for one day we shall truly find each other.’ I’d just been dumped and was feeling something akin to despair at the time, but Ryan’s little print made me feel better. I don’t know what I expected Ryan to say to this, but his response was moving – his eyes lit up and he thanked thanked me for sharing it with him. Maybe that’s the sort of reaction he’s hoping for with his work, I wondered, but I didn’t get the chance to ask as autograph-hunters were circling closer and my moment with the star of the night was up.

Rob Ryan, Your Job
Rob Ryan, Your Job.

As the title of the show suggests, stars are a feature of most of the works displayed at the Air Gallery, but one piece stands out from this pattern. It’s a smaller cut-out in red, featuring not a couple but a boy and a bird. It reads: ‘Your job is to take this world apart and then put it back together again … but even better!’ And you read it and you think, ‘Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s like.’

See Rob Ryan’s The Stars Shine All Day Too at the Air Gallery, Dover Street, London W1, until 20th November 2010. For more details check out our listing.

Rob Ryan, <a target=pills All It Took” title=”Rob Ryan, patient All It Took” width=”480″ height=”612″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-29087″ />
Rob Ryan, order All It Took.

There is something heartbreaking about Rob Ryan’s art. His work shows us a world full of beauty, where people love and long for each other so all-consumingly that everything else pales in comparison. The surrounding scenery, intricately carved out in the tiniest details, cushions the people in Ryan’s world, creating a protective bubble where they can speak the most beautiful words in order to tell each other how they feel. While the characters in Ryan’s images seem to be in this intense state all the time, in the real world these special moments come and go. But most of us will at some point have experienced them, and so you’ll find yourself standing in front of one of Ryan’s large-scale cut-outs, craning your neck as you follow the winding text incorporated in the image, and think, ‘Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s like.’

Rob Ryan by Holly Trill
Rob Ryan by Holly Trill.

The private view of Rob Ryan’s new exhibition, The Stars Shine All Day Too, drew a crowd last Tuesday night at Mayfair’s Air Gallery. Large papercuts and screenprints, mostly monochrome in black on white, lined the walls of the small space, buzzing from the heat of the crowd enjoying vodka-champagne drinks. The artist himself was surrounded by guests eager for a chat, and a signature in their copy of the book, which pairs Ryan’s papercuts with a story by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Also on display was a collaboration between Ryan and the designer Lulu Guinness. The limited edition fan-shaped clutch bags, embellished in Swarovski crystals, go on sale Monday.

While the partnerships demonstrate the broad appeal of Ryan’s work, the act of viewing his art feels distinctively private. Especially studying the originals, where the slight paper-buckling causes delicate shadows, provokes an image of the artist hunched over a massive desk, knuckles white around a scalpel as he carves out leaves, birds, words and people. Undoubtedly a very time-consuming and fiddly process, you wonder how romantic Ryan feels if his knife slips and he cuts off the delicate paper strip connecting a shooting star, or even the heroine’s head. But the resulting work is romantic to the extreme, sincere and generous without a shred of irony. ‘Stars and galaxies rotate eternally, and you and I circle each other. For you are my universe entirely, and I will always be yours,’ reads the piece entitled Countless Moons, where the couple bathes in a pool under the stars.

Rob Ryan, Countless Moons
Rob Ryan, Countless Moons.

A few of the works lack text, such as Starry Night, showing a couple on a bench under a densely-starred sky. ‘Maybe it’s better that way, as you can interpret it how you like,’ my friend pointed out: ‘Like here, maybe she’s telling him to get his hands off her.’ I laughed, as this caption would get more giggles, for sure. But I can’t help but think we get our fill of sarcasm elsewhere, and we can always tune in to a re-run of ‘Mock the Week’ later if all this loveliness is getting too saccharine sweet to bear. In fact, there’s something very refreshing about the unapologetic tenderness of Ryan’s work. ‘If you believe in love but find it difficult to explain, this is for you,’ Ryan once chiseled out – that sounds about right. Not that everything Ryan does is about romantic love, mind, as demonstrated by one of my favourite pieces at the show: ‘Look closer and closer and look further and further and listen harder and harder to the noise of our earth and the silence of the stars, and what you will hear is a small voice that whispers – don’t try to get, try to give …’

Rob Ryan by Jessica Stokes
Rob Ryan by Jessica Stokes.

It took me all night, but I finally managed to steal a minute or Ryan’s time in the end. I asked him, where does it all come from, the inspiration for all this? ‘Oh no, it’s an interview!’ he laughed, before he shrugged: ‘I don’t know anymore, I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I get to go to my studio and do something I love. It just comes to me.’ Or at least he said something to this effect – by this point it was very loud and hot in the gallery, and having skipped dinner I should have declined that last vodka-champagne. Either way, Ryan’s disarming manner made me feel confident enough to tell him how I’d discovered his work, several years ago as I came across a picture in a magazine. It was a very simple papercut with large text over a row of houses: ‘Maybe in this very city or in a field a thousand miles away, but you must be patient and never despair, for one day we shall truly find each other.’ I’d just been dumped and was feeling something akin to despair at the time, but Ryan’s little print made me feel better. I don’t know what I expected Ryan to say to this, but his response was moving – his eyes lit up and he thanked thanked me for sharing it with him. Maybe that’s the sort of reaction he’s hoping for with his work, I wondered, but I didn’t get the chance to ask as autograph-hunters were circling closer and my moment with the star of the night was up.

Rob Ryan, Your Job
Rob Ryan, Your Job.

As the title of the show suggests, stars are a feature of most of the works displayed at the Air Gallery, but one piece stands out from this pattern. It’s a smaller cut-out in red, featuring not a couple but a boy and a bird. It reads: ‘Your job is to take this world apart and then put it back together again … but even better!’ And you read it and you think, ‘Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s like.’

See Rob Ryan’s The Stars Shine All Day Too at the Air Gallery, Dover Street, London W1, until 20th November 2010. For more details check out our listing.

Rob Ryan, <a target=symptoms All It Took” title=”Rob Ryan, drug All It Took” width=”480″ height=”612″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-29087″ />
Rob Ryan, check All It Took.

There is something heartbreaking about Rob Ryan’s art. His work shows us a world full of beauty, where people love and long for each other so all-consumingly that everything else pales in comparison. The surrounding scenery, intricately carved out in the tiniest details, cushions the people in Ryan’s world, creating a protective bubble where they can speak the most beautiful words in order to tell each other how they feel. While the characters in Ryan’s images seem to be in this intense state all the time, in the real world these special moments come and go. But most of us will at some point have experienced them, and so you’ll find yourself standing in front of one of Ryan’s large-scale cut-outs, craning your neck as you follow the winding text incorporated in the image, and think, ‘Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s like.’

Rob Ryan by Holly Trill
Rob Ryan by Holly Trill.

The private view of Rob Ryan’s new exhibition, The Stars Shine All Day Too, drew a crowd last Tuesday night at Mayfair’s Air Gallery. Large papercuts and screenprints, mostly monochrome in black on white, lined the walls of the small space, buzzing from the heat of the crowd enjoying vodka-champagne drinks. The artist himself was surrounded by guests eager for a chat, and a signature in their copy of the book, which pairs Ryan’s papercuts with a story by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Also on display was a collaboration between Ryan and the designer Lulu Guinness. The limited edition fan-shaped clutch bags, embellished in Swarovski crystals, go on sale Monday.

While the partnerships demonstrate the broad appeal of Ryan’s work, the act of viewing his art feels distinctively private. Especially studying the originals, where the slight paper-buckling causes delicate shadows, provokes an image of the artist hunched over a massive desk, knuckles white around a scalpel as he carves out leaves, birds, words and people. Undoubtedly a very time-consuming and fiddly process, you wonder how romantic Ryan feels if his knife slips and he cuts off the delicate paper strip connecting a shooting star, or even the heroine’s head. But the resulting work is romantic to the extreme, sincere and generous without a shred of irony. ‘Stars and galaxies rotate eternally, and you and I circle each other. For you are my universe entirely, and I will always be yours,’ reads the piece entitled Countless Moons, where the couple bathes in a pool under the stars.

Rob Ryan, Countless Moons
Rob Ryan, Countless Moons.

A few of the works lack text, such as Starry Night, showing a couple on a bench under a densely-starred sky. ‘Maybe it’s better that way, as you can interpret it how you like,’ my friend pointed out: ‘Like here, maybe she’s telling him to get his hands off her.’ I laughed, as this caption would get more giggles, for sure. But I can’t help but think we get our fill of sarcasm elsewhere, and we can always tune in to a re-run of Mock the Week later if all this loveliness is getting too saccharine sweet to bear. In fact, there’s something very refreshing about the unapologetic tenderness of Ryan’s work. ‘If you believe in love but find it difficult to explain, this is for you,’ Ryan once chiseled out – that sounds about right. Not that everything Ryan does is about romantic love, mind, as demonstrated by one of my favourite pieces at the show: ‘Look closer and closer and look further and further and listen harder and harder to the noise of our earth and the silence of the stars, and what you will hear is a small voice that whispers – don’t try to get, try to give …’

Rob Ryan by Jessica Stokes
Rob Ryan by Jessica Stokes.

It took me all night, but I finally managed to steal a minute or Ryan’s time in the end. I asked him, where does it all come from, the inspiration for all this? ‘Oh no, it’s an interview!’ he laughed, before he shrugged: ‘I don’t know anymore, I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I get to go to my studio and do something I love. It just comes to me.’ Or at least he said something to this effect – by this point it was very loud and hot in the gallery, and having skipped dinner I should have declined that last vodka-champagne. Either way, Ryan’s disarming manner made me feel confident enough to tell him how I’d discovered his work, several years ago as I came across a picture in a magazine. It was a very simple papercut with large text over a row of houses: ‘Maybe in this very city or in a field a thousand miles away, but you must be patient and never despair, for one day we shall truly find each other.’ I’d just been dumped and was feeling something akin to despair at the time, but Ryan’s little print made me feel better. I don’t know what I expected Ryan to say to this, but his response was moving – his eyes lit up and he thanked thanked me for sharing it with him. Maybe that’s the sort of reaction he’s hoping for with his work, I wondered, but I didn’t get the chance to ask as autograph-hunters were circling closer and my moment with the star of the night was up.

Rob Ryan, Your Job
Rob Ryan, Your Job.

As the title of the show suggests, stars are a feature of most of the works displayed at the Air Gallery, but one piece stands out from this pattern. It’s a smaller cut-out in red, featuring not a couple but a boy and a bird. It reads: ‘Your job is to take this world apart and then put it back together again … but even better!’ And you read it and you think, ‘Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s like.’

See Rob Ryan’s The Stars Shine All Day Too at the Air Gallery, Dover Street, London W1, until 20th November 2010. For more details check out our listing.

little fish by aniela murphy
The Old Blue Last by Aniela Murphy.

The Old Blue Last pub, nurse just off Old Street is a 120 capacity pub and live music venue owned by Vice Magazine that has recently undergone a refurb. Sure the stage area is small and the dressing rooms a little neglected, patient but the atmosphere is warm, the toilets work and there’s something about the place that reminds me just why live music is so great.

littlefishinterview_anielamurphy
Willemÿn with Little Fish singer Julia, by Aniela Murphy.

The main reason I’m here is to see Little Fish, an Oxford based duo who have recently confirmed they’re a three piece with the permanent addition of their Hammond player, Ben Walker. Before they hit the stage, support band AWOLNATION threw an unexpected blistering thirty minute set. Hailing from America to promote their debut EP Back from Earth, and in good spirits, the band got a relatively meek crowd’s heads bopping and hips shaking. Opening with their fan pleaser Guilty Filthy Soul, their set merged dance beats, killer hooks and catchy rhythms, it’s clear this band have got energy, bags of charisma, and a hot lead singer. Off to a good start then, and one to keep an eye on.

On to Little Fish, who took to the stage after a swift set change, bringing out the bigger drums and bigger guns it would seem. Opening with the title track to their debut album Baffled and Beat, it didn’t take long for the room to fully get into the swing of the night. A couple of tracks in, and the floor was literally jumping with the crowd lapping up every ounce of sweat pouring from the stage. Lead singer and guitarist Julia ‘Juju’ Sophie never once showed sings of waning. Her vocals spilling over with raw emotion, it’s clear she absolutely loves what she does. The drums, courtesy of Nez Greenaway, thunder throughout the set, only letting up during the momentary softer close to a few tracks. Hammond in tow surges from back of stage through Little Fish’s explosive ferocity, bringing extra solidity to their sound, and allows them to sit comfortably above many other garage bands out there today.

 Little Fish Live Shot
Little Fish live. Photographed by Willemÿn Barker-Benfield

Stand out tracks of the night include the vastly popular Darling Dear, Whiplash, and the sonically awesome Die Young, which confirms how far the trio have come, whilst retaining their classic stripped roots that scream a passion for conviction, since their debut EP Darling Dear last year. It’s tough not to compare Juju’s vocal ability and physical prowess to other women in rock, like Juliette Lewis and Courtney Love, both of which Little Fish have toured with, and why not? There aren’t enough women out there packing a rock and roll punch these days, and Little Fish aren’t scared to get their fisty cuffs out. If you like your rock hitting the garage mark hard, then head on down to their next gig and bring your dancing shoes. Brilliant.

Their debut album Baffled and Beat is out now and released on Island.

Categories ,Aniela Murphy, ,Awolnation, ,Back from Earth, ,Baffled and Beat, ,Ben Walker, ,Courtney Love, ,Darling Dear, ,Die Young, ,Island, ,Juju Sophie, ,juliette lewis, ,Little Fish, ,Nez Greenaway, ,Old Blue Last, ,Whiplash

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