MUSICAL INTERMISSION

Chinese Splendor

Raise The Red Lantern via National Ballet of China

Yellow Chinoiserie Wallpaper via NSR Handcrafts Co.

Wedgewood Jasper Conran Chinoiserie Green via Matching China

Raise the Red Lantern Film by Zhang Yimou

Midnight Blue Chinoiserie Wallpaper via Made in China

Mint Green Chinoiserie Wallpaper via de Gournay

House of Flying Daggers Bamboo Forest

Ralph Lauren's seems to have China on his mind, this is my favorite  collection in years.

I see some influence from Bernardo Bertolucci's wonderful 9 Academy Award winning film The Last Emperor which had incredible costumes, music and set design.

Also the colours in this collection made me think of Director Zhang Yimou films, The stunningly visual House of Flying Daggers with its incredible vibrant Jade Green Bamboo scene, the reds and blacks from both Hero and Raise The Red Lantern which was also made into a Ballet by China's National Ballet.

On 8.8.2008 Zhang Yimou directed the unforgettable Beijing Olympics opening Ceremony. So wish I could have been there.

Here are some links to view clips of these wonderful movies,

The Last Emperor www.criterion.com/films/254-the-last-emperor

House Of Flying Daggers www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLkedDMb8vI

Raise The Red Lantern www.youtube.com/watch?v=vivaoPZhIH8&feature=related

Hero www.youtube.com/watch?v=srFhXDZhUZI

http://www.ballet.org.cn/en/home.htm

www.ralphlauren.com

Amaridian

Amaridian is the symbolic combination of two words, the Zulu word " Amadlozi" meaning "Ancestral Spirit" and the word "Meridian" the imaginary lines that traverse the Globe.

This wonderfully named Gallery by South Africans Mary Slack and Fraser Conlon is based in New York city. Their vision  educates us on the immense talent of the African Continent, very tribal yet modern at the same time.

Anyone who has ever been to Africa falls in love with the place, the magic, the people, the colours, the animals, the music and now you can also fall in love with these artists thanks to Amaridian.

Thank you Africa for all your wonderful gifts. xo

All Photos  and more information on all the artists via,                   www.amaridianusa.com

Namibia by Sebastiao Salgado

visionofsplendor.com

INTERMISSION

CHANEL

PARIS ÉDIMBOURG MÉTIERS D'ART 2012/13

Linlithgow Palace, KIrkgate Linlithgow, West Lothian Scotland

Gorgeous clothes and setting but shame about the music.

Photographer:  Prabuddha Dasgupta Model:  Kamai Sidhu

LUCID STEAD by Phillip K Smith III

http://pks3.com

Intermission : Alice Temperley for Filofax.

Video Direction & Production by Vanessa Scott

Murray Fredericks

" The Photography is not a documentary, I don't even call it landscapes as such. It's about space, it's about the mind's relationship to emptiness and a visual representations of that" Murray Fredericks

 Australian born Murray Fredericks is no ordinary photographer, he sets of on solo journeys to remote locations for weeks at a time, with only the horizon line as his point of reference, using time-lapse sequences to shoot these surreal and magical images.

He deliberately avoids any animal, natural or human features that would give his work a sense of scale to his pictures. His work connects you to earth and draws your vision to infinity, solitude and fortitude, it is yet very human and otherworldly at the same time.

Whether shooting in Lake Eyre Australia or a remote glacial vastness of Greenland, both with constantly changing weather, storms, rain, Aurora Borelis , the Sun, the Stars and the Moon are what keeps him company.

Watch the Salt Documentary a fascinating look into his journey that the final product speaks volumes of. I encountered his work in London Hamilton's Gallery Murray's where owner Tim Jeffrey's had hosted his first solo UK exhibition, I was so enchanted that I bought a piece on the spot, not something I have ever done, but oh so worth it, I stare at the beautiful horizon everyday and it brings me a sense of peace and lightness.

Click on the Short TimeLapse sequence called Iridium it is mesmerizing, he also has been featured in National Geographic and his works sit in the private collection of Elton John,Valentino and National Portrait Gallery amongst many others.

www.murrayfredericks.com.au/projects/salt/video/Iridium_733.webm

www.murrayfredericks.com.au

To buy or view his work contact Hamiltons Gallery his representative in London,

www.hamiltonsgallery.com

La Citroen 2CV par Hermes

Celebrating this weeks up coming Hermès exhibition in London, I got inspired to do a few posts on the world of Hermès and some of their collaborations.

In April 2008 Citroen 2CV celebrated its 60th Birthday during the Paris Motor Show, to mark this special event they collaborated with Hermès to design a made to measure outfit for this lady.

The 1989 2CV 6 Spécial, painted in tan brown , the interiors outfitted all in the instantly recognizable Hermès Tan Leather with that perfect stitch.  The seats are upholstered in Hermès beige cotton canvas and natural leather. As a finishing touch, the bonnet and interior trim at the rear of the vehicle also feature Hermès cotton canvas.

Elle est si belle! xo

Photos via ,

www.hermes.com

www.citroen.com

The Light Aquatic

Aqua Creations Lighting & Furniture Atelier was founded in 1994 by designer-artist Ayala Serfaty who completed her degrees in Fine Arts at the Bezalel Academy of art in Design in Jerusalem and then at Middlesex Polytechic in London. Well known for her art creations Ayala and her husband Photographer Albi Sefaty collaborated to evolve their talents to develop Aqua Creations a Lighting & Furniture Atelier.

Based out of Tel Aviv where their pieces are all handmade by their team of skilled artisans who use their craft to create such unique pieces. They create, manufacture and design all out of these headquarters.

I am especially fascinated by the Light designs, there is something so modern but yet so soft to each piece, for some reason I see them as creatures from the universe both below in the depths of our oceans and above in our galaxies. They make me dream and escape into these worlds.. These magnetic pieces can be commissioned for a home, apartment, hotel, restaurant  I imagine they would blend in well with any type of lanscape sea, mountain, desert or snow. Fun to play around with and use your imagination with various colour and shape choices you will be surely transported to their world. 

I am floating xo

To commission a piece, Aqua Creations can be contacted in their offices in Tel Aviv or their Showroom in New york City,

Aqua Creations Head Offices

29 Ben Zvi road, Tel Aviv 68103, Israel

Telephone. +972 3 5151 222

Fax. +972 3 5151 223

Aqua Creations USA

200 Lexington Avenue, Suite #427

New York, NY 10016, USA

Telephone. +1 212 219 9922

Fax. +1 212 219 4042

All images via 

Aqua Gallery