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Art

A Dystopian Sci-Fi Movie Filmed Completely under the Radar in China … Starring Ai Weiwei [Updated]

Just announced today, The Sand Storm is a short film directed by New York filmmaker Jason Wishnow that was shot completely under the radar in China, starring none other than dissident artist Ai Weiwei in his acting debut. How such an audacious and risky endeavor came into being is pretty mind-blowing given the heavy amount of surveillance surrounding the artist. The movie takes place in a dystopian future where Ai Weiwei plays the role of a smuggler in a world without water.

The existence of The Sand Storm was kept heavily under wraps while shooting in Beijing. Ai Weiwei has been closely watched by the government since his 2011 imprisonment and authorities still have yet to return his passport. While the short film has already been shot beginning to end, the filmmakers are raising a bit of money on Kickstarter to finish the movie and recoup some costs as crowdfunding beforehand was too risky. Had this been announced yesterday I would have assumed it was a hoax.

Update: At the moment it appears the Kickstarter has been halted due to a dispute.

Art

Deadpan Comedy: Surreal Drawing of a Dystopian Future by Samuel Gomez

While visiting ArtPrize this weekend I was captivated by this amazing graphite and ink drawing by New York artist Samuel Gomez. The surreal triptych titled Deadpan Comedy measures 18 x 5 feet and is meant as commentary on the negative effects of corporations and capitalism. Even standing in front of it I found it nearly impossible to identify every single detail as the piece is so dense with imagery and symbolism. You can see more of Gomez’s work over on Behance or Facebook.

Art

The Street Art and Paintings of Wes21

Swiss artist Remo Lienhard (aka Wes21) has an imagination to kill for. His acrylic and spray paint works are explosively detailed and often depict a sort of dystopian fusion of people and the natural world. Though despite the grittiness and abundance of detail found in each of his works it’s clear he also possesses a keen sense of humor. Lienhard belongs to a collective of graffiti artists and illustrators called Schwarzmaler where you can find much more of his street art and other works. Also don’t miss him over on Facebook. (via street art utopia which has a killer roundup of street art this month)

Update: Wes21 is represented by SOON where you can learn more about his work.

Art Design

Contact 1: A 200,000 Piece Sci-Fi LEGO Masterwork by Mike Doyle

From the brilliant mind of New Jersey artist Mike Doyle (I’ve previously featured his spooky victorian houses), comes Contact 1 the first in a series of grand scale LEGO works “celebrating extra terrestrial contact events, spiritual beings and unique worlds.” The towering world is the culmination of some 600 hours of work using 200,000 individual bricks and stands nearly 5 feet high by six feet wide. Doyle is offering limited edition prints and DIY instructions on how to create individual portions of Contact 1 over on Kickstarter.

Art Illustration

A Separate Reality: New Paintings of Dystopian Worlds by Alex Andreev

Trying to categorize or summarize the genre of Alex Andreev’s (previously) digital paintings is nearly impossible. Part science fiction, part dystopian future, the scenes are equally disturbing and beautiful, his characters inhabiting a world Andreev tells me is deeply influenced by Soviet-era literature, music and movies. Based in St. Petersburg, Russia he works primarily with Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint and relies only on a small selection of brushes and colors to create each illustration, meaning there are no special effects or 3d-rendering of anything. Andreev recently published an art book, A Separate Reality, which is available through Blurb.com.