Things Chinese

Caught up with Philip Sinden today which was lovely as it's been ages since we last met.  He shot this series of painted hoardings which he came across in China. Apparently you find them on most streets, screening all sorts of things.  The painted scenic ones hold out a promise of sorts, of something beautiful and serene, to those who can't escape the grubby urban environment whilst the grey brick wall feels ominous and forbidding.  I couldn't resist including the shot of the embossed plastic strip screen which looks rather glamorous in the sunlight. Philip Sinden

Red, White & Blue

Pack Rat

Pack Rat

Crispin Finn are a very talented London duo who produce beautifully rendered (often by hand) design, illustrations and typography in red, white and blue.  The palette restriction was born out of their background in screenprinting when they were forced to work with limited colourways.  They are also obsessed with the everyday paraphernalia we're surrounded by, hence the two Pack Rat illustrations shown here which hero collections of very every-day stuff.  I love how once you only see the world through this red/white/blue prism, how much variety is actually possible.  The film posters are genius; a collection of props that appear in the film.  Guess which one's based on Jaws!  Crispin Finn

Right side up

I am a huge fan of Blommers Schumm who have been producing ever more brilliantly bewildering work since 1998.  They make the viewer see things differently; sometimes uncomfortably so but always in a way that forces you to look for longer.  These shots are taken from two series where they explore what happens with the way we read facial features when you flip the face keeping some features right side up.  Blommers Schumm

Food Glorious Food (couldn't help myself!)

Clive Booth had the lucky privilege of shooting food created by Heston Blumenthal and his team at the famous Fat Duck restaurant in Bray.  For me, Clive shoots food the way it should be photographed; given that you can't actually smell or taste it,  he satisfies all you need to know here in terms of texture and colour.  You can almost hear that butter sizzle and you can certainly anticipate how that honey will feel on your tongue and as for those chips...  What's more fantastic is that Heston, being the visionary he is, saw some beauty shots Clive had done which inspired him to get Clive to shoot his food for a new book; Clive had never shot food before!   See more shots and read Clive's account here.  He should definitely do more food please....Clive Booth

Legs 11

Caught up with Sam at Twenty Twenty recently who shared Will Sanders's newly edited portfolio with me.  Love the colourful exuberance and sense of fun spilling out of his work, not to mention his perfect graphic eye.  Someone give him a hosiery campaign immediately (or something!)!  Will Sanders

In My Country

Daniel Stier celebrates the extraordinary diversity of Londoners in this wonderful series, depicting immigrants in their national dress yet in surroundings familiar to them in their adopted city.  For Daniel, such traditional clothing has come to "represent a bastion of cultural resistance and an assertion of identity in a world which thanks to globalisation tends to flatten anything distinctive".  As he correctly asserts, it also lends a timeless quality to these pictures.  The culture clash in each picture is really compelling.  I also get a sense of the great pride each subject conveys dressed in their national costume. Daniel exhibited these at the Stour Space in London earlier in the year.   Daniel Stier

Money money money

Piero Martinello makes us take a closer look at what we carry around in our wallets with this fascinating macro portraiture series of figures on banknotes.  He has captured an intriguing range of expression, not to mention extraordinary detail and colour.  See more here: Piero Martinello

Improve your hotel room

Met Leon Chew today.  He often likes to play with geometric forms and scale in normal environments (and sometimes not so normal; he likes a black beach) using the simplest of materials like bits of perspex (which he says he always has in his suitcase) or tinfoil, as in the work shown above.  He calls this series Sculpture for Hotels.  I love that a chambermaid would have discovered Leon's art in situ once he'd checked out and wonder if they'd have appreciated it as much as I do. He also showed me some fantastic shots of flowers which reminded me of a giant Anish Kapoor sculpture.  Beautiful stuff. Leon Chew

The wonderful world of Richard Gray

Richard Gray's work leaves me speechless.  His illustrations have the disparity and marvellous awkwardness (if that's such a word!) of collage but yet also feel very complete with an extraordinary sense of design. What's more amazing is that he does this all by hand and he always likes to work with a model initially. What more can I say?  Richard Gray

Supersize your accessories!

Marcelo Krasilcic's work exudes fun and colour.  Here's how he shoots accessories for an editorial series.  Love the way he mixes high and low using flash photography in luxe locations with girls who are game for a laugh.  See more of his work here: Marcelo Krasilcic

Corn-row-rama

These exquisite paintings of corn row patterns are by So Yoon Lym, an artist based in Paterson, New Jersey.  They're based on pictures she'd taken a few years ago of some high school students she came across.  She calls this series "Dreamtime" and was inspired by Aboriginal art which is best seen from an aerial perspective. She says on her website: These braid patterns are the language for the new aboriginal, the transplanted and de-territorialized nomad.  The braid patterns both record journeys to the present and re-present cartographical longings; they are a stamp of entry into a brave new world order while simultaneously re-membering prehistory.  I just love the forensic detail So Yoon has captured of the different hair braid patterns.  This series will also feature in a book on hair to be published in the next year. So Yoon Lym