Things: Our top picks from this month's wealth of objets d'art
Cutting words, slippery surfaces, jail breaks, jacuzzi-bound academics, overdrafts, green brains, earthquakes and stories of the continent; it may just sound like that time on your gap “yah” when the “bantz” got out of hand and Tarquin lost his red cords to a crocodile but no, it’s Things.
Jay Mews Continental, MA Visual Communication, RCA
A collaborative publication by illustrators on the Visual Communication programme at the Royal College of Art, Jay Mews Continental is a compendium of stories, comic strips and deconstructed visual narratives that they describe as “untidy, experimenting with form.” The first edition of the Continintal, the book has great range in drawing style and narrative tone. The design, by students Rory Gleeson and Pietro Garrone, frames the work well – referencing fine printmaking techniques and the publishing of days gone by.
Overdraft zine
Overdraft is a zine of photography and writing, it covers skateboarding in Bristol, riding around in trollies, weed tattoos, call centres and exotic trips to the Carrefour. Printed by Printed Goods, it’s currently in its second issue and includes plastic covers and poster fold-outs.
Kiss Me I’m Dying, Brad Philips
Published by Stanley/Barker, Kiss Me I’m Dying draws from “a vast trove of cultural detritus – the tongue-in-cheek slogans of bumper stickers and needlepoint pillows to the sardonic quips of a misanthrope.” The slogans become almost like images, in their cursive style and scale shifting from “Fifty Shades of Greige” to “I Had the Time of Your Life.”
On The Edge Of TIme, Emma Löfström
The result of a residency with Space and IASPIS, Emma Löfström’s book started out in research at the Natural History Museum’s archive. It considers the relationship between natural and human history, and the quest by humans to control the natural world. Through detailed pencil drawings and ink collage Emma’s book is an interesting look at the link between science, observation and drawing.
Thik Cha Tom Caron-Delion and Gaurab Thakali
Based on a trip to Nepal, Thik Cha is a book of drawings and photographs by illustrator Gaurab Thakali and photographer Tom Caron-Delion. The book captures the people and landscapes of the country post-earthquake and conveys the rebuilding taking place – both architectural and social.
County Jail, Charlie Kwai
The second book from photographer Charlie Kwai, County Jail documents “a masked world of hysteria, filled with eccentrics and lined by impersonators.” The book is packed with characteristically candid photographs of the strange and wonderful.
3DMou.Se’s Dreams, Technological Free Association Graphics, P (edagogical) Soup and Conspiracy Jacuzzi Theoretics, Tom Pounder
This group of publications cover a variety of online hoaxes, weird televised dreams, clip art, early computer graphics and sitcom titles as well as a cartoon mouse and a diagram representing despair. They take on the aesthetic of bureaucratic advertorial design and push it to the point of satire with real wit.
Drunk Complexions, Samara Scott
Published by Studio Operative, Drunk Complexions is based on the work installed at an exhibition of Samara Scott’s at The Sunday Painter gallery in south London. Printed using hand exposed lithographic plates the book documents close-ups of the “ingredients” to Samara’s installation. These include Sprite, decorative sand, beans, insulation foam and a disposable BBQ.
Pocket Operator, Cheap Monday
With Teenage Engineering, Cheap Monday has made a micro synthesiser and composer, a pocket sized synth and alarm clock with an arcade game style display. The story is that it’s 1982and a brand new magic video game cabinet has arrived at the local amusement arcade. “Somehow the machine is stuck in some sound debug model?”
Storybox, This is Ground
To celebrate the new year This Is Ground are producing monthly Storyboxes and in January’s edition that involved a leather pencil case with a ruler, a pencil with a brain shaped eraser attached, diagrammatic cable-tidiers and a box of matches. The set comes with a guide to how to harness your creativity, through a series of games and exercises.
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