Art

REWILD: A Short Film by Splash and Burn and ESCIF Chronicles Rainforest Restoration Efforts in Sumatra

To draw attention to the ecological devastation wrought by palm oil farming in Southeast Asia, the Splash and Burn project (previously) creates and documents large and small-scale art activations. The initiative’s most recent endeavor, titled REWILD and executed with Spanish artist ESCIF, involved carving a rewind symbol into a palm oil plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia, and creating a short film documenting the effort. ESCIF explains, “the idea of going back, of rewinding, is an invitation to reconnect with ourselves; to recover awareness and respect for the earth, which is the ecosystem of which we are a part.”

The land art intervention took place on an acquired plantation within a new forest restoration site made possible by the Sumatran Orangutan Society. After clearing the palms, diverse vegetation has been re-planted. In a release about the project, Splash and Burn explains that the restoration site is located on the borders of the Leuser Ecosystem, one of the most biodiverse places on earth. Sumatra’s forests—and the wildlife populations within—have shrunk by 40% in the past two decades, replaced by palm oil, paper pulp, and rubber plantations. Though not commonly known in the U.S. as a cooking oil, palm oil is the most widely consumed oil on the planet, found in everything from chocolate and instant noodles to lipstick and laundry detergent.

You can watch the trailer of REWILD below. It features an abstract soundscape by Indonesian composer Nursalim Yadi Anugerah. If you are interested in contributing, head to moretrees.info, and follow Splash and Burn (comprised of Ernest Zacharevic and Charlotte Pyatt) on Instagram.

Art

Finely Wrought Metal Flowers and Leaves Form the Bodies of Mammals and Birds in Sculptures by Taiichiro Yoshida

Taiichiro Yoshida’s metal sculptures (previously) are so meticulously crafted and impossibly delicate that one could be forgiven for thinking they are digital renderings. However, Yoshida is an accomplished metalsmith who uses silver, bronze, and copper to form the leaves, flowers, and butterflies that cover the bodies of each mammal or bird. Every petal, leaf, and wing is hand-formed, with the coloration created by heating and cooling the metals at specific temperatures. The 29 year-old Japanese artist earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in metal carving at Tokyo University the Arts. He has exhibited widely and most recently had a solo exhibition at Gallery Kogure in Tokyo. See more of Yoshida’s sculptures on the artist’s website.

Art

A Stadium in Austria is Filled with 300 Trees to Highlight the Tenuous Future of Natural Spaces

Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift: all typical headliners for stadium attractions. Less common? 300 trees. In Klaus Littman’s public art installation, “FOR FOREST – The Unending Attraction of Nature”, at Wörthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria, an arboreal group takes center stage. The Swiss curator worked with landscape architect Enzo Enea to arrange the temporary forest, which is comprised of a range of trees typical in the woods of central Europe.

Littmann was inspired by artist Max Peintner’s work, circa 1970, titled “The Unending Attraction of Nature” (some translations use unbroken instead of unending), which depicts a dystopian future where a group of trees is penned in like zoo animals, as a rare artifact and spectacle. The curator first saw Peintner’s drawing more than 30 years, ago and the concept of bringing it to life remained with Littmann over the past three decades.

Visitors to “FOR FOREST” can stop by any time between 10am and 10pm from today through October 27, 2019. Admission is free. Follow the project on its dedicated website and Instagram.

Design Food

A New Circular Juice Machine Turns Orange Peels into Bioplastic Cups

Freshly squeezed orange juice is a welcome sight at cafes worldwide. The machines often showcase about-to-be-squeezed oranges with pinball machine-esque wire loading racks and clear cases that allow the consumer to see their juice being made in real time. International design firm Carlo Ratti Associati (previously) takes the immediacy of the experience to another level. ‘Feel the Peel’ is a prototype machine that uses orange peels to create bioplastic, shaping bespoke cups to hold the juice made from the cups’ own innards.

In a press release about the project, Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) explains that the approximately 9-foot tall machine handles 1,500 oranges, and the peels accumulate in the lower level. The peels are dried, milled, and mixed with polylactic acid to form a bioplastic, which is then heated and melted so that an internal 3-D printer can form each recyclable cup. CRA shares that they will continue to iterate, and are considering creating clothing from orange peels as a future functionality.

Follow along with CRA’s wide-ranging projects on Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy Feel the Peel, also check out the cone-shaped french fry holders made from potato peels, designed by Simone Caronni, Paolo Stefano Gentile and Pietro Gaeli, as well as Mi Zhou’s toiletry containers made of soap. (via designboom)

Art

Material Properties: Celebrating the Art of Craftsmanship in a Group Exhibition at Paradigm Gallery + Studio

Colossal is proud to announce Material Properties, a forthcoming group exhibition curated by our Founder and Editor-in-chief Christopher Jobson. The show, which opens on September 27 and runs through October 19, 2019, is at Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia, PA. Material Properties examines the intertwined histories of fine art and craft through the work of six artists from around the world.

Iranian embroidery artist Maryam Ashkanian (previously) captures the dream worlds of sleeping people on pillows and Portuguese textile artist Vanessa Barragão (previously) creates massive tapestries of natural topographies using salvaged materials. Philadelphia-based sculptor James McNabb (previously) builds stylized urban landscapes, while Kendal Murray (previously) imagines nostalgic miniature worlds set atop found makeup compacts and purses. Michigan-based sculptor Matthew Shlian (previously) transforms simple sheets of paper into large-scale tessellated surfaces, and Yoonmi Nam, who lives and works in Kansas, plays with temporality and impermanence in her meticulous replicas of single-use containers.

Please join us for an opening reception on September 27 from 5:30 to 10pm. Artist James McNabb and Christopher Jobson will be present at the opening and you can RSVP on Facebook.

Art

140,000 Pieces of Paper Form a Colorful ‘Universe of Words’ Installation by Emmanuelle Moureaux

Tokyo-based French architect Emmanuelle Moureaux (previously) recently hung 140,000 pieces of paper from the ceiling to create rainbow passageways in celebration of a Japanese soft drink company’s centennial. Each piece of paper is cut in the form of a symbol from the Japanese writing system, hiragana. The colorful installation, titled “Universe of Words,” opened this summer during the Tanabata Festival and was inspired by the tradition of writing wishes on paper and hanging them from bamboo branches.

There are 46 basic hiragana characters. According to a statement about the installation, Moureaux chose the simple language because of its use during Tanabata. “The universe created by these floating hiraganas evokes an emotion through its stillness and its endlessness.” Aligned in three-dimensional grids by color, sections of the installation were removed so that visitors could immerse themselves in the alphabetical tunnels, viewing them up close while also looking around at the seemingly endless rows of symbols.

“Universe of Words” is a part of Emmanuelle Moureaux’s ongoing 100 Colors series. To see more of her artistic and architectural work, follow Moureaux on Instagram.

Art

Large Scale Murals of Resting Giants Painted on Streets and Rooftops by Ella & Pitr

French artists Ella & Pitr (previously) paint large murals of sleeping characters whose bodies are contoured into the confines of rooftops, geometrical lots, and building facades. Best viewed from above, the murals often feature stripes and the limited color palette of the French flag: red, white, and blue.

The artists often tackle politics and social issues with their murals with their murals—such as the global refugee crisis—but they also paint lighthearted, fun pieces. The recently completed mural atop the Paris Parc Expo features a sleeping grandmother next to six lanes of traffic. Wearing a red coat with blue and white stripes, the woman measures almost 270,000 square feet and took 8 days and several volunteers to complete. The artists have also spent 2019 adding giants to walls and roofs in Bulgaria, Croatia, Colombia, Norway, and in other countries around the world.

To see more of their travels and the large pieces they have left behind, follow Ella & Pitr on Instagram.