I've been listening to this track on repeat since it came out a couple of weeks ago, Skee Mask's Soundboy Ext. from the album, Compro. A trippy, dreamy landscape to get lost in.
the sun will fall to the sea
ARtwork: wall mural by Ricky Lee Gordon, the sun will fall to the sea, Berlin, 2016
Artist Ricky Lee Gordon's wonderful mural in Berlin, the sun will fall to the sea, is a response to people's quest for progress, how the decisions of so few in power affect so many, and especially how this negatively impacts on the environment. We're all connected, and Gordon believes that with people becoming more aware of their connection to nature they're “creating an uprising of creativity, sensitivity and consciousness, but it’s also creating a lot of despair because people don’t know what to do”. And his message is, that's okay. Nature will have it's way, no matter what we do (http://rickyleegordon.com).
The sun will fall to the sea.
The moon and tides will rise.
These kings and their castles will wash away.
die Sonne wird im Ozean versinken .
Der Mond und das Wasser werden steigen.
Diese Könige in ihren Schlössern werden weggewaschen.
Berlin 2016. For Urban Nation Museum
121 Landsburger Allee
Photos-Nika Kramer
paths
Imagine walking through a forest, the colours dense and dark with old growth trees and lush greenery. The sky is overcast, and you can smell the mulchy iron of the earth, wet from the recent rain. And perhaps you're walking aimlessly, thinking of nothing much, or you're searching for something: a sign, inspiration, a way through a difficult situation. Or you're happy simply to be in nature, away from the city smog, just so you can breathe. Out of nowhere, you come across words written in chalk on the bark of the trees: Trust Your Path.
It stops you in your tracks. It makes you wonder.
This is the latest work of artist Sean Yoro, aka the hula (@the_hula). Revisiting the site of a previous biodegradable chalk work, now washed away, Yoro said this temporary piece was inspired by, "the struggles of finding your own path in life".
muggles
Some wise words for the beginning of the week from the marvellous J.K Rowling:
“Don't let the muggles get you down.” (@_nitch)
Yep. Totally on board with that.
dream delivery service
Image: Mathias Svalina preparing for the day’s delivery, 2017
Poet/writer Mathias Svalina spends his days writing surreal stories—dreams (and sometimes nightmares), and then, at 2am he gets on his bicycle and delivers these handwritten tales on pink cards, in pink envelopes (he likes the colour), to the recipients' homes. He can make up to 40 deliveries depending on the town and city he finds himself in.
Originally from Denver, Svalina ditched his adjunct poetry professor gig at the University of Colorado to combine two things he loved—writing strange fiction and riding his bike (and travelling). After 4 years, Svalina's Dream Delivery Service is self sustaining, and what he doesn't deliver by hand, he does through the mail.
So, if you'd love to have a dream delivered to you (he delivers overseas as well), find out more about this fabulous project at the Dream Delivery Service website (here). Also, check out the short video to meet the guy who creates these wondrous tales.
Here's just one of them:
Day 26: February 9, 2018.
You are walking around the city at night & see a small cocktail bar that looks inviting. You step inside & the entire place is full of people you don’t want to see, disliked co-workers, exes, that weird dude who used to follow you around. They are all there. And as you walk in, they all look up & see you. You can’t leave—that would be weird. But you don’t want them to recognize you. The host says Hello! Welcome! And then, to disguise yourself, you respond in a heavy Cockney accent Oi! ‘Ello! Ahm jus popped in from ‘cross the pond! Immediately, none of the people you don’t want to see can recognize you. The host guides you to the bar, where you order & cocktail. The cocktail, when it arrives, has a living plant in it, the roots dangling over the ice. And with each sip of the cocktail the flower grows, until, with your final sip, the plant blooms into a wide, beautiful sky-blue flower. Then later you are at Home Depot looking for a new set of windows to install into a house you just bought on an island somewhere. All the windows are too much, too ornate, too delicate, too dark. And finally you realize that on this island windows are superfluous, a waste even. Then you are in your house on the island, the ocean breeze washing over you like a calming caress. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, in the world that is permanently bad, you realize.
(Source: Hyperallergic)
Dream on, Mathias, dream on.
wide awake
This came out earlier this week, Rockaforte's (Luca Olivotto) EP, Sundaze, and the hypnotic track, Wide Awake. You can check out the EP on Beatport here. The EP was released on Olivotto's brilliant Endless Music record label.
don't lose your aim
Artwork: wall mural by millo, Don’t lose your aim, Mexico
Wonderful wall by Millo (@_millo_) in Conalep, a National College of Technical Professional Education in Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato, Mexico. The piece is titled:
No pierdas el tino,
Mide la distancia
Que hay en el camino
It's a sentence from “Cantos para romper la piñata” and translates as: Don't lose your aim,
Measure the distance, That's on the way.”
The wall is part of a bigger social project in Guanajuato and Millo states: “The goal of the project is to bring art where there isn't and closer to young people in order to let them feel inspired by another point of view.”
director's reel
I stumbled upon Samantha Casolari's 2018 Director's Reel, which is basically a mash-up of highlights from her recent video work. Casolari is a photographer and video artist based in New York who works across portraiture, fashion, music, film, contemporary culture and dance. What hooked me in was the melding of mood, movement, colour and a killer song by American electronic duo, Boy Harsher, Suitor. Check it out, and you can listen to the track on SoundCloud here. You can also check out Casolari's work at her website www.samanthacasolari.com and on IG @samanthacasolari.
the world is a song
Photo: Chalkie Davies
Love musician/artist David Byrne's POV of how the world “works—
"I sense the world might be more dreamlike, metaphorical, and poetic than we currently believe...I wouldn't be surprised if poetry...in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes and designs...is how the world works. The world isn't logical, it's a song."
(source @_nitch)
apollo and daphne
Artwork: wall mural by Bosoletti & Jarus, Apollo and Daphne, Berlin, 2018 (photo by @nikakramer)
Incredible mural by Argentinean artist Francisco Bosoletti (@bosoletti) and Canadian artist Young Jarus (@youngjarus) in Berlin, 2018—the myth of Apollo and Daphne inspired by Ovid's version in Metamorphosis.
slowdive
Feels like Sunday—song by Slowdive, No Longer Making Time.
Check it out.
pale blue dot
Illustration by the wonderful Oliver Jeffers (@oliverjeffers)
Earth. It's home. So, Earth Day—it's every day.
A Yoshitomo Nara Day
Artwork: Yoshitomo Nara, Beh!, 2003
Beh! (or Blah!) Yep, today felt like this.
beauty is on the street
Artwork: stencil by L.E.T. (@l.e.t._les.enfants.terribles)
Another great stencil work from L.E.T. (@l.e.t._les.enfants.terribles).
Seth in Shanghai
Artwork by Seth, Shanghai construction game, Shanghai 2018
The wonderful artist Seth (Julian Malland) has an exhibition currently at MoCA in Shanghai, Like Child's Play. As part of the exhibition, Seth has created 17 street art works featuring children playing iconic Chinese games from the 70s and 80s. The works feature in neighbourhoods virtually emptied of the population as the areas are due to be destroyed, and as Seth comments, this raises questions about the transformation of the city. Check out some of the work from the exhibition @seth_globepainter, and more of his work at his website, www.seth.fr.
totality
Image by @dso.m42
Such an incredible image popped up on my IG feed today of the moon shadowing the sun by @dso.m42, (@universetoday).
breathe
Image: Breathe by Yoko Ono
“When people ask me what the most important thing is in life, I answer: Just breathe.”
Yoko Ono (@_nitch)
hangin' with the hippo
Image: @fundacioantonitapies
Just hangin' with the hippo—as you do...
Hippo featured in the exhibition Allora & Calzadilla at Fundació Antoni Tàpies museum, Barcelona, on until 20 May 2018.
equinox moon
Image: @mathewspaceman 11.4% full moon
Yesterday, the moon was 11.4% full (@mathewspaceman).
It was also the equinox. An equinox moon.
No matter if its waxing, waning, full or new, the moon is always beautiful.
what to read next...
Scrummy...the new reading pile :))