Design

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Art Design

Banksy’s Gross Domestic Product Ecommerce Store Launches with Line of Sardonic Homewares

As we recently reported, Banksy debuted a dystopian homewares store on October 1, 2019. Making good on his promise to open an online platform to purchase goods displayed in the Croydon pop-up (which was never, in fact, open to the public, and closed this past weekend), the Gross Domestic Product store went live today. Featuring a slate of items, ranging from a rat race clock to a static-filled HD TV, each piece serves as a social commentary on issues ranging from the refugee crisis to children’s sugar-filled diets. Most items—some of which are pointedly nonfunctional—are available to request for purchase immediately through a somewhat opaque lottery process. Pieces all seem to indicate that they are signed by the artist.

To mediate demand, the website requires would-be buyers to answer the prompt ‘Why does art matter?’ In the event of demand outstripping supply, the answer to this question may be used to evaluate your application. Please make your answer as amusing, informative or enlightening as possible, the website states. Similarly, seemingly in anticipation of those wishing to re-sell their GDP purchases, the ecommerce website also links in the footer to BBay, which describes itself as “your first choice destination to trade in secondhand art by a third-rate artist.’ Keep up with the latest from Banksy on Instagram.

Design Illustration

New Geometric Creatures from TRÜF Creative

Charming new illustrations by TRÜF Creative (previously) combine a conservative color palette with wildly imaginative interpretations of animals. An ongoing passion project by the Santa Monica-based design studio, the series’s latest chapter is titled “Animals Strike Curious Poses,” (which is a reference to Prince, for fans who are wondering). The TRÜF team describes the project as “our minimalistic and strange interpretation of the animal kingdom that only exists in our heads.” If you’d like to make one of their geometric birds, whales, or fish your own, find prints in their online store.

Art Design Science

Honey Bees Complete Mixed Media Artworks by Building Comb Around Embroidery Hoops

Artist Ava Roth loves working on collaborative projects. But her studiomates aren’t fellow two-footed friends. Rather, Roth pairs with her backyard honeybees to create mixed media collages combining embroidery, beadwork, fabric, tree bark, and honeycomb. The Toronto-based artist builds artworks inside the comb frames, and the bees complete the pieces by encasing them in organic honeycomb patterns. “This project is a collaboration in the truest sense. It involves careful listening, respecting the bees, and cooperating with them entirely, from the choice of materials, size, timing and scope of design,” Roth tells Colossal. “My intention is to celebrate the extraordinary work of the honeybee and match it with sewings that invoke their delicate and ephemeral comb.”

The artist explains that she had been working in encaustic, a painting technique that incorporates wax, for several years, and decided to start collaborating with her bees as she learned more about Colony Collapse Disorder and sought to uplift and honor the bee’s work.

The threadwork in this collection mirrors the fragility and beauty of the honeycomb in which they are encased. By placing the embroideries in hoops, I am also giving a nod to a tradition of women’s work. Since the working bees are all female – and not making ‘fine art’, the finished pieces are very much in the tradition of marginalized women’s work, and sewing in particular. Because both the bees work and traditional women’s work have been largely functional, their beauty and significance have been easily overlooked.

Roth tells Colossal that it took a great deal of trial and error to solve for the variables like what materials the bees respond to instead of destroying, how long to keep the pieces in the hive before honey is deposited, and conveying to the insects which areas they should or shouldn’t build comb. The artist shares that she worked closely with Master Beekeeper Mylee Nordin on strategizing and implementing the project. Shown here are works from her abstract series; Roth also works in this mode with more representational images, which you can see on her website.

Ava Roth is represented by Loop Gallery in Toronto, Wallspace Gallery in Ottawa and Frederick Holmes and Company in Seattle. You can keep up with more of her interspecies collaborations on Instagram.

Design Food

Edible Apparel by Sung Yeonju Turns Vegetables into Cocktail Dresses

“Tasteful dress” gets a whole new meaning in Sung Yeonju’s edible apparel. The Korean artist’s ongoing series, Wearable Foods, combines relatable materials with digital editing to form cocktail dresses, shorts, and blazers. Gracefully draped scallions, polka-dotted lotus roots, and subtly striped banana peels become unique ‘fabrics’ suited for a night on the town. Watch Sung turn produce into fashion in the behind-the-scenes video below. (via Trendland)

Design

Hand-Painted Wood Offcuts Form Colorful Dovetailed Chairs and Benches by Donna Wilson

Textile designer Donna Wilson’s newest body of work is a collection of colorful chairs and benches called Abstract Assembly. The designer, who you may be familiar with through her quirky plush characters like Rita Radish and Lenny Leopard, debuted her new venture into hard goods at this year’s London Design Festival.

The vibrant, multi-part chair backs are translated from Wilson’s watercolor paintings and use offcuts of oak, beech, and Douglas fir wood. Each design is a limited edition of ten. All components are hand-painted by Wilson and then dovetailed together (she partnered with Jon Almond on production). Design Milk quoted Wilson’s creative exploration that sparked the Abstract Assembly collection:

A year ago I embarked on a new direction with the main purpose to satisfy my creativity. I finally managed to stand back from what I was doing with my company and see what I needed to do. With no idea where it would take me, I started drawing and painting in the evenings. The next step was for me to bring these abstract doodle to life and start working in wood, I wanted to make hand-assembled pieces using traditional carpentry techniques and luckily my partner Jon was able to help me develop these pieces into a collection of chairs and mirrors.

See more from the Scottish designer on her website, where you can pick up a chair of your own, or peruse the wide array of Wilson’s fabric-based designs. You can also follow the company on Instagram and Twitter. (thnx, Kate!)

Design

Breeze Through the Forest Canopy on a Spiraled Bike Path in Belgium

This summer, a new elevated circular bike path was built that winds through the Belgian forest about an hour outside of Brussels. ‘Cycling Through the Trees’ is part of the Limburg bike route, and works its way up to a height of 32 feet, placing riders inside the forest canopy. Unlike another recent circular tourist attraction, the bike path is not ticketed, and also offers riders places to sit and rest in nearby alcoves with benches. You can vicariously enjoy the ride through the video below. (via Web Urbanist)

Design

The Twist: A New Gallery in Kistefos Sculpture Park Connects Two River Banks

A sinuous new gallery and bridge reaches across the Randselva River in Jevnaker, Norway. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the aluminum-clad structure joins north and south river fronts on the campus of Kistefos Sculpture Park. 15,000 square feet of space allows visitors to explore Kistefos’s large art collection while also taking in the surrounding landscape through floor-to-ceiling windows. The Twist opened to the public on September 18th, with an exhibition featuring the work of conceptual artist Martin Creed and painter Howard Hodgkin. Kistefos Sculpture Park has  ticketed admission, which includes entry to The Twist, and is open seasonally from the end of May to mid-November. (via Design Milk)